Where Are The Videogame Soundtracks?

Thanks to GamerDad for their editorial lamenting the lack of standalone videogame soundtracks available in the U.S. The author suggests: "Given that gaming is currently enjoying a lot of popularity, it's surprising that more game soundtracks aren't starting to fill the racks at Best Buy and music specialty stores across the country", and points out that "In Japan, where many big games are created and sold, game soundtracks are as popular as those for movies." Would you, like the writer, "personally love to go pick up the soundtrack to F-Zero GX at a music store, or maybe the OST to Final Fantasy Tactics Advance", without resorting to pricy imports, or is the market still too much of a niche Stateside?

Comments

Import not that expensive

[johannesg]

I buy all my CD's over the web, and it is usually cheaper than buying them from a store (then again, where I live CD's are outrageously overpriced anyway). Some URL's:

Game music

Anime castle

Anime jungle

Anime outpost

Right stuff

Anime nation

Diablo II mp3s can be downloaded from Blizzard.

[nefertari]

Some time ago I found the mp3s of Diablo II at Blizzard. I really like the ones of the expansion set and some of the outtakes.

Import soundtracks vs. domestic

[extrarice]

I would rather spend the money and get an import. The US distributors just screw up the release, for whatever reason.

Example: When Final Fantasy 9 was the hot thing, TokyoPop (that evil bastard of hell) got a hold of the rights to publish the soundtrack in the US. They released a single disc with 33 tracks on it. The original Japanese soundtrack is 4 disc-long, each disc containing over 20 tracks. Yeah, lemme think about that one - 1 disc versus 4 discs. I'll get the import version, thanks.

If a US distributor would keep the discs and packaging the same, and just translate the booklet, then I'll buy the domestic release.