List of video game soundtracks released on vinyl

Vinyl recordings of video game music find their origins in the 1970s with early experiments by Kraftwerk^[4] and albums such as Yellow Magic Orchestra's self-titled 1978 release sampling electronic music from the games Circus, Space Invaders, and Gun Fight.^[1] In 1984, Haruomi Hosono released the first generally recognized video game soundtrack album, Video Game Music,^[4][5] 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.^[1] The 1990s saw many fewer commercial releases and a shift to promo releases with increasing use of video game samples in rap^[6] and hip hop.^[7]

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.^[1][2] The vinyl revival of the 2010s has itself been attributed to inspiration in younger music buyers from video games,^[8] and it has led to the establishment of video game soundtrack oriented vinyl record labels like Black Screen Records,^[9] Data Discs,^[10] Brave Wave, and iam8bit,^[11] and shifts toward similar releases for labels like Ghost Ramp,^[12][13] Ship To Shore Phonograph Co.,^[14] and Mondo Tees.^[15] 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.^[9] These concerns were later repeated by Jamie Crook of Data Discs,^[10] 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,^[16] 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.^[2]

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.^[1] In addition, the practice has been adopted by the cult^[15] and Indie game scenes, with its proponents citing audio quality,^[1] interactivity,^[1][17] artwork,^[1][18] nostalgia,^[9][18] unique content,^[18][19] and the fact that vinyl albums represent tangible aspects of intangible (digitally distributed) products^[9][17][18] as key elements to what makes vinyl soundtrack albums attractive. Additional considerations for collectors include archival and preservation aspects for older games,^[20] examination and recontextualization of the music as a means to expand or further explore the game,^[14][19] and curiosity among audiophiles unfamiliar with video gaming music as a genre.^[20] 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.^[9][18]

Instead of direct sound recording, sequencer or other data can be encoded and stored on vinyl media. This process did not receive widespread acceptance.

• List of video game soundtracks released on CD