Pirate game soundtracks! Check your discs!

[OatBob]

just checked all the ones i am suspicious of. A little research and it appears I struck out 6/6.

Miya Records x4
SM Records x1
K-O Records x1

[Caffei]

MUUUUU. T.T
I just got my kof 2000 soundtrack today. Went to check the 100$ OST that another seller had put on buy it now and they were quite different. Then I searched Ever Anime. And my poor cd is a bootleg. *cries* I still paid 30$ for a bootleg! Now I will watch what I buy way more >_<
Thanks for all that precious info!

[mobiusclimber]

Weird thing is every single EverAnime cd I've gotten has had different artwork from the official release (and of course they put their logo/name on it too). Why is that, tho? Wouldn't they be trying to pass it off as legit?

And dammit I just bought an Evangelion OST made by SonMay, and an FF OST by Miya (another bootleg company). XD

[Jamtex]

if you can get the catalogue number of the CD (as it is normally on the spine or at the back) then visiting http://vgmdb.net/db/main.php and typing the catalogue number in will generally tell you if the CD is bootleg or not, if it doesn't then type as much of the title information in and see what comes up. If you are not sure then walk away.

I have about 150 game music CDs and all are original as I bought them in Japan, I do have a few CD-Rs but these came directly from the artists or companies so they are legit.

[dracula]

I think I found another bootleg brand not mentioned, it's SM Records. I have some Virtua Fighter cd's from them, but there is no sign of copyright and the cd's we're released by an other company in Japan.

sm= sonmay. EA=everanime

they are the 2 biggest taiwanese bootleggers. others include alion and archer, there are probably tons more.

[sharp]

sm= sonmay. EA=everanime

they are the 2 biggest taiwanese bootleggers. others include alion and archer, there are probably tons more.

Sorry I didn't read it a bit better. I didn't realise that SM is sonmay. Anyway I knew it were bootlegs when I bought them, but as they were price a euro each I found it a good way to check I liked the cd's and buy the original.

[slip81]

Ugg, I just checked my FFVI OSV and it's from Sonmay, and I got from gamemusic.com I think like 8 years ago.

Man after reading this thread again and going back and recheaking a lot of stuff online it's almost impossible NOT to buy a bootleg, but like other people have said, since it's nearly inevitable, I'll be buying all future soundtracks used, that way if I do get a bootleg without knowing it at least I didn't fund the actual company.

Also besides Yahoo Japan anyone know of any online retailers that sell non pirate SDTRKs?

EDIT: are there any good places to download game music? I know downloading the stuff is wrong, but I have to agree with others in saying that it's better to download it yourself than fuel a pirate. At least if I download a game soundtrack it's for my own personal enjoyment, and not to be resold on ebay for $14.95

[PapaStu]

Checking through some of my game soundtracks...

Nationally all the stuff published thru/under the Microsoft Game Studios is all legit (Sudeki, Halo, Halo w/DVD, Halo 2 Pt.1, Crimson Skies, Project Gotham 2 (3 different soundtracks), NHL Rivals, Advent Rising, Jade Empire among others).

Also stuff released by BanDai Entertainment as well as Gencon/Pioneer (my .Hack Best Collection (Pioneer) and .Hack Legend of the Twilight (BanDai) ) are also legit.

I do have one pirate that I know for sure (i've got more primarily DDR ones, but they arnt with me ATM) is by Smile Face International Records and its for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty Soundtrack 2: The Other Side. No where does it mention Konami and the booklet is a simple one pager. Now my MGS3 soundtrack is all Konami (and is legit), comes with a spine card and looks freaking amazing, especially when compared to my MGS2 soundtrack. Both of these were purchased from a Japanese import store in a Japanese mall.

I've got more which I can hopefully check later (Pop N' Music and some FF ones).

[Aussie2B]

Really, I wouldn't say it's that hard to get only legit albums. I haven't had any problems, and I've bought mine from numerous different sources. There are enough good resources out there to find the info you need on generally any album you could want. Once you know the official publisher, it's just a matter of comparing the two. And if you can't get the info you need from the listing or photo, asking questions never hurts. If I don't get a response at that point, then I just rule out the purchase.

And I don't know what problems gamemusic.com had several years ago, but now they should be okay. Or so I've heard from the hardcore soundtrack collectors; I've yet to buy from them myself. Even with the lower shipping than from buying straight from Japan, the prices tend to be high.

[smork]

I recently bought two anime soundtracks from Music Factory. If they are pirates, they are really good pirates because they are packaged quite nicely. I bought them from a nice anime store in a nice mall in Kuala Lumpur. Anybody heard anything about Music Factory?

They weren't cheap like pirates, but they weren't super expensive either....

[InsaneDavid]

My best recommendation is to try to avoid buying pirates if you can, but ultimately, get the music and enjoy it, and that's as much of a tribute to the composers as any of us can REALLY make.

Well put. If you're buying it for the music then enjoy it. I don't feel bad when buying pirates, if the actual honest release was there I'd buy it instead - but it isn't, sucks to be them then. What I'm saying is along the same lines as why I buy used import games. I would love to support the industry for those titles here, but the publishers don't bring the titles stateside so they don't get my money, a reseller does. (and importing games IS ILLEGAL) Yes one is an honest release (the games) and one is a pirated item (music) but the people that should get the money don't either way, because they don't want to provide me with the product directly.

Back when Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon was huge in the US (1998 or so) Sailormoonstore.com was making a killing selling the SonMay releases. In fact ALL of my Sailormoon CD's are SonMay releases - why? Because that's all that anyone here could get their hands on. Although they're pirated the quality is excellent on all of them - in packaging, case, the booklet, disc artwork, and sound quality. Same thing with all my Macross CD's.

And since the day it went on the market, every damn copy of the Ridge Racer Type 4 soundtrack I come across has been an EverAnime copy. With artwork on the inside from the game, Reiko Nagase on the back of the case, stills from the game on the inside, and Namco right on the front - was this the only release and possibly a legal one?

I'm really not crying over my pirated soundtracks, I knew that when I bought them. But until some of these game companies and publishers set up a North American branch to make these soundtracks available, then I'm going to keep right on purchasing the pirated soundtracks. Why? Because it's how you get the freaking music. Then when the game companies and publishers say "the market in the US isn't large enough to sustan us selling soundtracks there" they can look at the amount of bootleg sales that are taking place here and wise up. Until that day they can cram it.

It's not like I think "if I just buy the pirated version I can save $20" it's "I had to search and dig for years to find JUST this pirated version, that's all I came up with, I'm buying it because that's all there is!"

[Princess-Isabela]

if you are looking for ORIGINAL GAME SOUNDTRACKS - come to me, I'm selling only authentic ones.
I can find whatever you would like to get, but prices may be high - official osts are expensive, but ultimately - worth it!!
good post

[Aussie2B]

Yeah, but they're not THAT high. Your prices are overinflated compared to the real market values. You try to squeeze good deals out of the fans on marketplace forums by giving offers so low that they're insulting, and then you try to immediately sell back the same albums to the same communities with a ridiculous price inflation.

It's bad enough to see you constantly hawking your goods at SoundtrackCentral and Chudah's Corner, but now I gotta put up with it here too? :/ You could at least make some attempt to be a real member with posts that actually contribute to discussions, but so far, 99% of your posts are for advertisement purposes. And while you can get away with it in the forums intended for advertising, at the very least, have the decency to not crap up this forum and other discussion forums with that stuff.

I apologize to everyone for getting off-topic and ranting. I just don't want anyone falling sucker to her misleading advertising and ridiculous prices.

[Princess-Isabela]

Yeah, but they're not THAT high. Your prices are overinflated compared to the real market values. You try to squeeze good deals out of the fans on marketplace forums by giving offers so low that they're insulting, and then you try to immediately sell back the same albums to the same communities with a ridiculous price inflation.

It's bad enough to see you constantly hawking your goods at SoundtrackCentral and Chudah's Corner, but now I gotta put up with it here too? :/ You could at least make some attempt to be a real member with posts that actually contribute to discussions, but so far, 99% of your posts are for advertisement purposes. And while you can get away with it in the forums intended for advertising, at the very least, have the decency to not crap up this forum and other discussion forums with that stuff.

I apologize to everyone for getting off-topic and ranting. I just don't want anyone falling sucker to her misleading advertising and ridiculous prices.

you don't have to like prices, that's your right.
but while you complain, I actually have been selling game music for a long time, and people are extremely pleased with my service.
I do offer legit, authentic products from Japan.
I don't remember when I bought something off the soundtrack forums, I'm selling soundtracks imported from Japan so prices are higher.
you're a complete jerk, I'm always helping people identifying legit soundtracks and many comes to me, just so I can help them with various game music problems.
you're the one who doesn't actually do a single thing for the community, so get lost and stop ranting.
better try to kick pirate sellers like custom-specialists(who record cd's and then claim they are the real thing) off of ebay.

[Aussie2B]

you don't have to like prices, that's your right.
but while you complain, I actually have been selling game music for a long time, and people are extremely pleased with my service.
I do offer legit, authentic products from Japan.
I don't remember when I bought something off the soundtrack forums, I'm selling soundtracks imported from Japan so prices are higher.
you're a complete jerk, I'm always helping people identifying legit soundtracks and many comes to me, just so I can help them with various game music problems.
you're the one who doesn't actually do a single thing for the community, so get lost and stop ranting.
better try to kick pirate sellers like custom-specialists(who record cd's and then claim they are the real thing) off of ebay.

I would get the pirate sellers off of eBay if I could, but eBay doesn't care enough to listen to my complaints or anyone else's.

So instead I try to help my fellow video game music fans by steering them away from those sellers, and that's what I'm doing here too. You can call me a jerk if you want, but I'm not aiming to be nice; I'm trying to warn the people who may not be as well-versed in soundtrack values and rarities as fans on music-focused communities, so I was never specifically looking for a response from you with my prior post.

If people don't want to listen to me, they can check out these topics and decide for themselves:

http://www.altpop.com/stc/forums/viewtopic.php?id=549
http://www.altpop.com/stc/forums/viewtopic.php?id=1483

Everything I claimed is backed up by many other people, and most of those people are also pillars of the soundtrack collecting community. The matter may not be as black and white as someone selling pirates, but clearly there are plenty of people unhappy with your business practices and possessing a view that you're leeching off of the video game music community.

And finally, saying I don't do a single thing for the community is a silly thing to say, especially when you don't even know who the heck I am.

[Princess-Isabela]

if you do want to know, many people of these aforementioned boards apologized personally for their behavior after hearing what kind of service I'm providing.
the problem with you is you don't even know who I am as well and what I do for VGM community, you do seem unpolite because you've never dealt with me and you're backing your arguments off some silly posts which were written by the very same people who admitted were doing the same thing for a period of time - reselling with a profit, there is nothing wrong with that as long you're selling genuine items and let people know what they're getting) .
are you a bootlegger from ebay by any chance?
few people who read your post suggested it.
highly unlikely, but your attitude does seem a little peculiar, that's for sure.

[Aussie2B]

Uh, what? First of all, if you're so concerned with what I say, why does it take you over half a year to reply?

Who on earth would think I'm a bootlegger? What could possibly give anyone that impression?

If you don't like what I think and say, fine; to some people, business is just business. I apply some morals to how I view and conduct business, however, and I think you take advantage of your own fellow collectors. You're in the same group of people that try to convince someone new to collecting older games that a Super Mario Bros. cart is "MEGA R@RE" and worth 20 bucks. Except those sellers tend to get their copies of Super Mario Bros. at thrift stores and what have you. You weasel your items out of the same community that's collecting it. You'll go to fan communities, where people just want to trade and sell their unwanted stuff to other people that would appreciate it, and you try to snap up every reasonable or low-priced soundtrack you can find before anybody else can get to it just so you can throw it up on eBay and set a Buy It Now several times what it's actually worth and wait until a sucker comes along and buys it.

Going back to the Super Mario Bros. analogy, what you do would be like not only selling Super Mario Bros. to a sucker for $20 but ALSO combing the Digital Press Marketplace forum for every cheap copy you can find to supply your selling habits, leaving no fair prices for the fans just looking to collect by buying and selling among each other.

I know the buying to resell game very well, since I do it myself, but I apply some standards to how I practice. I buy my items from thrift stores and pawn shops and what have you, not fan forums, and when I list them for sale, I check completed auctions on eBay to find a fair price based on what people have already been paying.

[Vectorman0]

if you do want to know, many people of these aforementioned boards apologized personally for their behavior after hearing what kind of service I'm providing.
the problem with you is you don't even know who I am as well and what I do for VGM community, you do seem unpolite because you've never dealt with me and you're backing your arguments off some silly posts which were written by the very same people who admitted were doing the same thing for a period of time - reselling with a profit, there is nothing wrong with that as long you're selling genuine items and let people know what they're getting) .
are you a bootlegger from ebay by any chance?
few people who read your post suggested it.
highly unlikely, but your attitude does seem a little peculiar, that's for sure.

Aussie2B a bootlegger? That's the funniest thing I have heard all day. It's too bad it wasn't meant to be a joke.

She is/was just trying to let people know that your prices are often higher than what most would call reasonable. That's doing something for the community.

You got a plug in for your sales, she got one in against them. I don't see a problem, it seems fair to me. She isn't accusing you of being a scammer or anything you are not. Especially considering most would probably agree with her sentiments regarding your prices. I know I do.

That conkers soundtrack for $180? I saw one, yes the same one in the same condition, sell for something like $10 recently.

$80 Mario Tennis CD? A bunch are going for $5-$10 each on yahoo japan.

$130 Paper Mario OST? $30 "Buy-it-now" on yahoo japan

$100 Majora's Mask OST? Again, plenty on Yahoo Japan for less: $12, $15 ($30 BIN)



Those are pretty exorbitant I would say. And before you even think of mentioning deputy fees and stuff for buying from yahoo japan, know this. Even after all of that, you would still be paying a ton less than your prices.

[Dimitri]

And since the day it went on the market, every damn copy of the Ridge Racer Type 4 soundtrack I come across has been an EverAnime copy. With artwork on the inside from the game, Reiko Nagase on the back of the case, stills from the game on the inside, and Namco right on the front - was this the only release and possibly a legal one?

http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f39339917

Here's a couple photos of a legit copy. Seems there's no back insert (both copies on Yahoo ATM don't have one). My Parappa the Rapper soundtrack is like that, though, so it's not surprising.

[lincoln174]

Hey, have just recently joined, and introduced myself on the board.

I also fell into the trap of accidentally buying a pirated CD,, and I purchased a Metal Gear Solid 3 First Bite CD, which, if it was real, would contain a "Special Key Camouflage", however since it was fake, my PS2 couldn't register the CD.

As I have a real copy of another Metal Gear Solid 3 sountrack, which works, and gives me the special camouflage. When I look on the back of the CD there are different layers for the audio, and another layer for the PS2 to register.

Is there anything I can do to get back at the eBay seller, or get a real copy of the CD?