The practice of releasing video game soundtracks on vinyl records began in the 1980s, fell out of favor in the 1990s and 2000s as vinyl records were replaced by other storage media, and experienced a resurgence of interest in the 2010s due in part to a vinyl revival.
History Vinyl recordings of video game music find their origins in the 1970s with early experiments by Kraftwerk and albums such as Yellow Magic Orchestra's self-titled 1978 release sampling electronic music from the games Circus, Space Invaders, and Gun Fight. In 1984, Haruomi Hosono released the first generally recognized video game soundtrack album, Video Game Music, and the practice experienced its "golden age" in the mid-to-late 1980s with hundreds of releases including Buckner & Garcia's Pac-Man Fever, Namco's Video Game Graffiti, and Koichi Sugiyama's orchestral covers of the Dragon Quest series. The 1990s saw many fewer commercial releases and a shift to promo releases with increasing use of video game samples in rap and hip hop.
The trend away from vinyl discs continued in the 2000s as fan-made remixes also began to be produced, however by the 2010s the trend reversed and the practice of producing video game soundtracks on vinyl experienced a revival. The vinyl revival of the 2010s has itself been attributed to inspiration in younger music buyers from video games, and it has led to the establishment of video game soundtrack oriented vinyl record labels like Black Screen Records, Data Discs, Brave Wave, and iam8bit, and shifts toward similar releases for labels like Ghost Ramp, Ship To Shore Phonograph Co., and Mondo Tees. In a 2015 article, music journalist Mike Diver suggested that "this scene within a scene is experiencing boom times", however he noted that some in the music industry, including Invada manager Redg Weeks, were concerned by the risk of over-saturation of the market. These concerns were later repeated by Jamie Crook of Data Discs, and although he has joined Mondo's Mo Shafeek in arguing that the vinyl medium itself and the related revival is in no way a fad or bubble, in 2017 Kotaku reported concerns from dedicated video game soundtrack labels that pressing plants were scheduling their manufacturing runs last in order to favor traditional labels.
The 2000s–2010s revival of interest in this medium has been characterized by releases in limited numbers and promotional albums only available at special events or as pre-order bonuses. In addition, the practice has been adopted by the cult and Indie game scenes, with its proponents citing audio quality, interactivity, artwork, nostalgia, unique content, and the fact that vinyl albums represent tangible aspects of intangible (digitally distributed) products as key elements to what makes vinyl soundtrack albums attractive. Additional considerations for collectors include archival and preservation aspects for older games, examination and recontextualization of the music as a means to expand or further explore the game, and curiosity among audiophiles unfamiliar with video gaming music as a genre. Due to the limited nature of modern releases, many albums are considered highly collectible, with some regularly selling in excess of US$100. For Western collectors, additional difficulty is imposed by the cost of importing albums from Japan where the majority were produced during the "golden age" of the 1980s.
Soundtrack albums
1990s–2010
Rel. OST Title Game title Label Notes Ref(s) 1996 Wipeout 2097: The Soundtrack Wipeout 2097 Virgin Records 2×LP on black vinyl. Valentine, Dave and Chris Greening. "Tim Wright (aka CoLD SToRAGE) Interview: From Lemmings to Wipeout". VGMOnline. 7 May 2010. 1997 Ghost In The Shell – PlayStation Soundtrack Ghost in the Shell Sony Music 2×LP on black vinyl. 1997 PaRappa the Rapper PaRappa the Rapper Vacuum Records Picture Disc LP with Vinyl Killer 2001 Grand Theft Auto III Single Grand Theft Auto III Game Recordings Album sampler. Side One: "Rising to the Top" Radio Version, Street Version and Instrumental. Side Two: "Spit Game" Radio Version, Street Version and Instrumental. 2005 Chaos Theory – The Soundtrack To Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory Ninja Tune Composed by Amon Tobin. "Splinter Cell: Essentials – Splinter Cell Soundtrack". GameTrailers. 17 September 2008. 2009 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Capcom Limited release only available at Comic-Con 2009 Elston, Brett. "TalkRadar 73 – Do the Mario ". GamesRadar. 16 October 2009. 2009 Brütal Legend (Original Soundtrack) Brütal Legend Double Fine Productions Composed by Peter McConnell. GDC: 2014 LiveBlog ". Wired. 18 March 2014. 2009 Shatter – Official Videogame Soundtrack Shatter Mushroom Music NZ Ltd On blue vinyl. 2010 I Am Rapture, Rapture Is Me (Official BioShock Score) BioShock Take Two Interactive Included with the Special Edition of BioShock 2 Aska, Jeri. "Sound Current: '21st Century Vinyl – Garry Schyman on the Orchestral BioShock LP' ". GameSetWatch. 6 February 2010. 2010 Machinarium Soundtrack Machinarium Minority Records There are 5 pressings, the first pressing was limited to 555 printings, 150 of which are pressed on a clear yellow vinyl. All first pressings are signed by the cover artist and numbered. Caoili, Eric. "Machinarium Soundtrack's Vinyl Release Shifts You Into 'Higher Levels Of Cognition' ". GameSetWatch. 4 February 2010.Caoili, Eric. "Machinarium Soundtrack's Yellow LPs, Subtitled Kooky's Return Trailer ". GameSetWatch. 8 April 2010. 2010 Tron Evolution Tron Evolution iam8bit This soundtrack was created by Sascha Dikiciyan. The soundtrack was pressed onto a picture disc resembling a Data Disk from Tron Legacy and limited to 200 copies. Helgeson, Matt. "Tron Evolution Game Soundtrack Released On Futuristic Vinyl ". Game Informer. 15 December 2010. 2010 Revolution Overdrive: Songs of Liberty StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Blizzard Entertainment Picture disc available originally only at Blizzcon 2010, and then released to other retailers. 2010 Red Dead Redemption Original Soundtrack Red Dead Redemption Wax Poetics Records Sold on the official Rockstar Games website. Limited to 1,000 copies on clear red vinyl. Good, Owen. "Pick Up Red Dead Redemption's Soundtrack — In Vinyl". Kotaku. 20 November 2010.Aska, Jeri. "Myths, Mavericks, And Music Of Red Dead Redemption ". Gamasutra. 4 November 2011. 2010 W/F: Music From Final Fantasy XIII Final Fantasy XIII Square Enix Limited release only available from the Japanese Square Enix e-store. Side A: "Nautlius", "Fang's Theme", "The Sunleth Waterscape", "Can't Catch a Break". Side B: "Chocobos of Pulse", "Dust to Dust", "Blinded By Light", "Ragnarok: Sans Pipe Organ" (exclusive) 2010 W/F: Music From Final Fantasy XIII ~ Gentle Reveries Final Fantasy XIII Square Enix Limited release only available from the Japanese Square Enix e-store. Side A: "Prelude to Final Fantasy XIII", "Saber's Edge", "Serah's Theme / Overseas Version", "Fighting Fate". Side B: "March of the Dreadnoughts", "Sulyya Springs", "The Yaschas Massif", "Will to Fight". 2010 W/F: Music From Vana'diel Final Fantasy XI Square Enix Limited release only available from the Japanese Square Enix e-store. Side A: "Ronafure", "Gustaberg", "Sarutabaruta", "Vana'diel March". Side B: "Autumn Footfalls", "Echoes of a Zephyr", "The Cosmic Wheel", "Vana'diel March #4".
2011–2014