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Despite the pandemic, the developer studios decided to not move the releases for the next year. So, where an aficionado of video game music could get their dose of soundtracks?
The number of exclusive releases has decreased.
Ultimately, there are several possibilities, depending on the thickness of your wallet. If your budget does not allow you to buy physical copies, the streaming services with their regularly updated libraries are the best solution for you. But what if you really want that physical copy?
Not much changed in comparison to the last year. Most of the big game releases are still accompanied by the OST record released after the premiere. However, the number of exclusive releases has decreased – for example the supply of the Final Fantasy VII Remake has depleted in just one month. It’s worth has tripled and it does not seem that the record will return to the shop shelves. There are a lot more examples, but those are mostly Japanese releases.
Luckily, the rest of the big releases of this year, got their premiers on both CDs and vinyl. We’re talking about The Last of Us and the surprisingly good Ghost of Tsushima. The music for both titles can be obtained easily in digital stores and in the regular stores. But what about the Japanese soundtrack releases? The European (USA) branch of Square Enix comes to the rescue. Their shop has continuously expanded their inventory. Well, alright, that’s only a fracture of the Japanese releases. What about the rest?
For the rest, we can try either the foreign stores, which are very popular among the players (Otaku.com, play-asia.com, cdjapan.co.jp), or the Japanese version of Amazon. Bear in mind though, for some of us the prices of the shipment and the albums themselves can be a bit repulsive. What else can be done when you really need your favourite soundtrack? There is one more option: the Japanese Mandrake, which offers second hand records very often in pristine conditions for a very low price.
Don’t forget about our local stores.
In those difficult times, especially for the music aficionados, we hope that this short guide will show you the easiest way to obtain your favourite album. And finally, don’t forget about our local stores (Black Screen Records, Materia Collective etc.), which also offer the video game music.
