TSTM NEWS

Jared Leto wants more of his music in your games.

January 29, 2010 - Jared Leto doesn't just like videogames; he wants want to help make them. The third album from 30 Seconds to Mars, This is War, was released in December, but before that the album's title track was featured prominently in Dragon Age: Origins. And for Leto, those ole videogame machines represent much more than just a way to pass the time.

"I think it's an exciting place to collaborate, an exciting place to experiment," he said. "I'm a big supporter of new technologies and new places to share music... I think the [Electronic Arts] Dragon Age is a great example of delivering a song simultaneously with an image that helped to build upon each other. I think there was a good marriage there."

But not everyone in the music industry has that mindset. "I've heard some other artists talk about how ridiculous the notion is that [their] songs would be heard in a video game," he said before reminding us that is not his view. "I think for people to assume it's just this wasteland of commerciality or something is ridiculous.

"I think there are incredible opportunities," he continued. "It's an exciting place to look for creative opportunities. When I see video games, I'm always blown away by how they're pushing technology, the sense of community, gamers themselves, their identity, and how it's become a major part of people's lives."

While the members of the band, including Leto, may like to pick up a controller in their downtime, he was hesitant to call them "gamers."


"All of us in the band dabble. You have to be careful if you identify yourself as a gamer, before someone comes in and shows you what a gamer actually is," he said. "For me, I'm more on the tech side of things. When I see someone playing a game, I'm less about, 'Ooh, I wanna play that.' I'm more about, 'How did they do that? How did they write that program?'"

For Leto, his ambition is not simply limited to having 30 Seconds to Mars songs show up in a game every once in a while.

"We're always looking for new opportunities to do something special, and I'd love to actually score a videogame at some point," he said. "I'm looking forward to finding new ways to experiment in that space."

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