Rockman 1-6 album scans

[Eriol]

Scans removed.

[SephVBC]

I have a really big beef about coverscans. It makes it worthwhile if you're getting them for translation purposes, but people who request coverscans only want it to make their mp3 collection more complete (In most all cases I've come across). I mean, for this cd, I can understand since there's a 3 page interview with Capcom people, but that's no excuse. Send them to someone who can translate and give the translated information out, if you want the covers, you should really buy the cd. Front and back are okay, I guess, but why do they need to be super high quality like some people insist? And why in heck do you need a scan of the actual CD?! Or what's underneath the cd?! So you can print them out with your printer and be proud of your super pretty bootleg burned cd? Handing them coverscans makes them less likely to buy a cd since they have the music AND the art, both for free. Limited or not, this cd is still acquirable for a (albeit high) price.

And, while I'm at it, I'd like to discuss the progression of mp3. If any of you even remember the time when VQFs were popular, you might relate to this, I don't know. Back when VQFs were mainstream downloaded formats for audio (and rms for video), since it was such awful quality, you were more likely to go out and buy the music or video you downloaded. As time progresses, we move up to 128kbit mp3! A new standard, it's small, and sounds great! Now you're less likely to buy the cd, your quality increased in your mp3, and the size was relatively acceptable for length of the song. Then came broadband and high speed stuff, and the progression towards 192kbit ... then to 256, some people even went as far as 320cbr mp3s. How likely were you to buy a cd then, when it was "near cd quality". Nowadays, VBR rips are commonplace, and Lossless files are on the rise... I seriously doubt how many people, after downloading a lossless album, will buy the original cd. I mean, there's no loss in quality, at all... You burn it, you have a 100% perfect cd, just as if you bought it in the store. Now, give them coverscans... then you defeat the entire purpose of buying the cd. They have everything.

In a community like this, where VGM music is relatively hard to look for (if you're new to it) and where cds average 25$/disc, the turnaround of people downloading an album to people purchasing that same album is slim. 10 years ago, where buying the Chrono Trigger OST for 50$, because you'd have CD quality music, instead of your stinky VQFs, was worth it. Now that you have relatively perfect to exact compressed data of it, the turnaround is even smaller. I'm a victim of it, everyone's a victim of it. I mean, if I download an album, and like it, but not enough to purchase it, I'm not going to delete it. Of the however many posters on this board, how many are serious collectors? (Me, Eriol, Lentium, Naka, Jodo [pardon if I forgot anyone]?) 4 out of (insert number of registered users here). That's a VERY small turnaround.

I in no way mean this to be snappy at anyone, I just think there's some serious flaws with the game music industry that need to be addressed, such as domestic availability, shipping costs, and the standard 2 year print run (Why do they do that?! It makes no sense whatsoever. What's the standard print run in the US for soundtracks? 10 years? Is there even one?). It's not that I'm anti-sharing or anti-quality (I've done my fair share of both in the past), but we're really doing a disservice to the community, the companies, and the artists by doing this.

Am I crazy? Am I ranting?

[Policenaut]

I agree with a lot of what you said, Seph, but I also believe all these things you mention can have a positive effect.
Also, there's the argument of people that download music who never would've bought the real thing in the first place, given the opportunity. Getting it for free changed nothing there.

I can only speak from my own experience, and that is mp3s and scans have actually led me to buy the real albums. I wasn't always like this, but I started to appreciate more the music I had, and went to hunt down the real albums. I bought Castlevania Chronicle after listening once to an mp3 rip I downloaded, wondering what it was.

I don't know, I suppose this all works in a case by case basis.

[SephVBC]

Yeah, you're right. I can't really clump together everyone into one big summation.

I used to download and download and download, and never listen to any of it. I actually used to search out people to encode vbr for me, just so .. I could have it in better quality. I bought cds then, but not as much as I do now.

It took my 80gb hd crashing to make me realize how retarded it was. I lost all the music on it, and I never backed it up ( takes too much time ), so I said "Hell with this, I'll just download good quality albums and albums I'm interested in".

If I like it, I'll think about buying it (Of course, we all can't buy EVERYTHING we like, but I you can make a mental list of what's 'worth' it or not), unless you're really rich or something. :P

Even if you back your music up, what happens if one day, god forbid your house burns down or something, and you lose it all. Or you're driving from college-> home (for those that apply), and your car gets wrecked and breaks your cds. Or they get stolen. Kind of a waste of time to back them up still, but the chances are slim that any of that's going to happen. ... But ... the same could be said about hte originals.

There's probably an exception to everything I said, and every example I gave, but what we really need is some sort of global push for VGM or something. Cheap global shipping, warehouses in America, cheaper prices (although that won't happen anytime soon because of Japans crazy closed economy). Although, I can't imagine why a site like animenation or gamemusic.com can't perhaps set up a business partnership with CDJapan. It would benefit the both of them and us at the same time.

[Eriol]

A1) Music on a CD is a digital medium, so the price of copying is virtually zero.
A2) There will always be freeloaders in the system who will take advantage of this.
A3) If enough people do this, then the artist will produce less.
B) The ability to sample something before buying is valuable asset. Some people can make more informed purchases this way.
C) Trying to make a living by simply selling CDs isn't going to work very well with the given technology. This is why the RIAA does not like this. They've lost control over the medium and can't get revenues from CDs.
D) There is still not a big enough push for VGM in the U.S. There is a greater number of fans, but the numbers still aren't as large as the number of Britney Spears fans.
E) I think Gamemusic is trying to be the U.S. supplier of popular VGM. Since they do warehouse their inventory, you can tell if something is in stock. Animenation, however, is going to need to learn about real-time inventory. But Animenation is in the business of anime, not VGM. Anime still acccounts for greater sales than VGM.

[Secret Squirrel]

Seph does make a good point, though. Trading mp3s beyond a certain point doesn't do anything postitive for the VGM community from the supply and economics side.

Perhaps we should give serious consideration to removing mp3 content and support from SD, and focusing more on finding ways to bring more affordable VGM to the small pocket of US fans.

(I realize that this sounds a bit silly coming from someone with one of the largest VGM mp3 collections around.)

[SephVBC]

SS: Nah, I don't think removing the mp3 content from slightlydark is a good idea. I don't have a problem with extremely rare and hard to find albums, since obviously it could and probably would cost an arm and a leg and a LOT of hard time looking for to actually purchase. And the SSBM rip, I mean, you can't buy that (yet...), so it's alright.

I don't think just stopping and pointing people in the direction of it will do anything. They'll just look somewhere else to download it. I say, if the album is still in print, give multiple links of where to purchase it openly available on the download page. Kind of like what Mike does in his #gamemp3s nfos. He gives a link to CDJapan to order it (If it's still In Print and available). The stuff that I saw on your mp3 page was pretty rare and hard to find, so have something on the front page that explains all about where to get out of print vgm (ebay, used cd stores, Yahoo! Japan, etc) and approximately how much it might cost them, so they're not suprised.

Like I said, you can't just stop distributing mp3s all at once. The RIAA and whatever people are trying to do it, and look how far it's gotten them so far. I don't mind distributing mp3s at all, but when people go overboard and say "I have the 192 version of this album, can anyone get me the <insert obscenely high bitrate / compression here>"

If you're interested, and Naka is alright with it, I'll help you write something up on where and how to buy VGM, if there's not one somewhere already.

[Policenaut]

If you're interested, and Naka is alright with it, I'll help you write something up on where and how to buy VGM, if there's not one somewhere already.

Now this is very interesting. It would be a great feature to have around, and might actually get a few more into buying the actual albums. I'm all for discovering new sources.

[Naka]

Thats fine with me. We can have a section on SD called like VGM Buyers guide or something.

[SSGohan]

i didn't read the whole thing u posted seph but...
i read the first sentences which probably reflect the whole message.

to complete their collection even greater with is not ok, i understand that with most albums. but in this case, this thing is super rare... or should i say ultra impossible rare. ok... maybe not but some albums could be right? Not printed anymore, doesn't exist, not there. I think scans should be there for these albums to preserve their greatness.
oh yeah, also, i like mp3s.:thumbs:

EDIT:
oh yeah, thnx^^ Eriol
so rare.. u wont even open it, lol.... i know.
so tell us, do u keep it with u all the time, or have it in a locked storage box, or what?....

[Eriol]

Scans are going away by Fri. or Sat.

[SSGohan]

they'll live on forever

[Zephyrin]

...\=|

Anyways, yes. It is insane how the fact that we are outnumbered by mainstream fans, that we can't get imports.

Instead of buying from importers for the rest of our lives, why don't we start an action and sort of petition to coerce Japanese companies to sell in the US. Reveal to them the overwhelming popularity of Taiwanese bootlegs due to their low presence. Show them how successful their products would be in America, just the same as a video game, that video game MUSIC can be that successful.

Not just here, but get word from every damn VGM forum on the fukking internet. Start a mail in signature petition, an internet forum dedicated to petioning. Support the Majestic Mix and OneUp Studios remixes, and their affiliations with the VGM industry. Hell. Go out of your way to remix your OWN music. The more Majestic Mix clone companies we have out there, the more aware the Japanese VGM companies will become.

Sorry to say, but Eriol is right when bitching about armchair politics. If all you can do is sit here and bitch among your comrades on a forum, then you give no substantial donation to the VGM community.

I'm just a 16 year old boy with no job, no money, no freedom, no skills, no talent, and most of all...no direction.
But...maybe if there was something larger out there...perhaps I could align myself into it, and become one with direction?

[Eriol]

Originally posted by Zephyrin
Support the Majestic Mix and OneUp Studios remixes, and their affiliations with the VGM industry. Hell. Go out of your way to remix your OWN music. The more Majestic Mix clone companies we have out there, the more aware the Japanese VGM companies will become.

I don't like the music that PMM and One Up Studios produces. Why should I have to support them? I don't care how noble the cause is, when you mix money into the equation, I want the best value for my money.

Internet petitions don't really work. Most American branches of Japanese game companies don't have a lot of say in the global scope of things. In addition, Japanese game companies making soundtracks only care about their local market, not an outside market.

As another example how a Japanese company doesn't get it, Konami's Dance Dance Revolution is popular in the states where arcades are importing the machines. Konami of America is aware of this, but their hands are effectively tied. Konami of Japan does not seem to want to release more games to the U.S. Yet, DDR is LOSING popularity in Japan while it's GAINING popularity here. It seems some people refuse to jump on certain opportunities.

A long-term idea is to form a small company that negotiates with the Japanese companies to release VGM albums here.

[Zephyrin]

You can only stand on two sides of this issue. The side that believes it's hopeless to encourage domestication, and the side that believes it might be done.

Lie on that side, I was only giving my opinion. :shrug:

A company, huh? Might wanna try explaining how you'll pull that one off.

[Eriol]

Originally posted by Zephyrin
You can only stand on two sides of this issue. The side that believes it's hopeless to encourage domestication, and the side that believes it might be done.

Lie on that side, I was only giving my opinion. :shrug:

A company, huh? Might wanna try explaining how you'll pull that one off.

I stand on the side that it can be done. I only disagree with the methods. I don't believe PMM or OUS, as they currently are, will do anything for bringing VGM albums to North America. It'll increase PMM and OUS's credibiity as arrangers. They can leverage their increased popularity to pitch the idea of bringing more soundtracks to game companies.

There was a U.S. company called Mars Colony that did manage to license some albums here. Tokyopop also releases a few VGM albums, but they are abbreviated from their Japanese counterparts. Somebody could try to talk with them about the business.

[SSGohan]

....yyyyeah....
anyway, im gonna go listen to some rockman music.
I enjoy stuff, not complicate it.:thumbs:

[Blackjack]

Could I get the scans from someone? I sort of joined after the date they were taken off...

[Sir VG]

SephVBC, do you work for a division of the RIAA or something?

In my neck of the woods, getting VG or anime albums is VERY hard. Stores hardly carry them, there are no anime conventions. About your only alternative is to get them on Ebay or Amazon or other sites as such. And that only benefits those willing to put their credit cards out on the line. If I did have one, I'm not too trusting of putting that info on the net quite yet.

So thus, the only way to get stuff is my MP3s. I don't get them from "common" artists...I'm talking like Britney Spears or whatever. That's my fine line.

Then there's cover art. #1: It never looks as good scanned as made from the factory. #2: Like I'm going to use it to make a zillion genuine copies to sell to my oh...3 friends. I don't have a problem with them.

Eriol, I hope you continue to present album scans to us. Don't let people like SephVBC push you around.

[SephVBC]

Reread my post.

I was simply stating that absurdly high quality cover scans and mp3s are overkill, not necessary, and take away from the industry.

[Eriol]

Originally posted by VGHQ
SephVBC, do you work for a division of the RIAA or something?

In my neck of the woods, getting VG or anime albums is VERY hard. Stores hardly carry them, there are no anime conventions. About your only alternative is to get them on Ebay or Amazon or other sites as such. And that only benefits those willing to put their credit cards out on the line. If I did have one, I'm not too trusting of putting that info on the net quite yet.

So thus, the only way to get stuff is my MP3s. I don't get them from "common" artists...I'm talking like Britney Spears or whatever. That's my fine line.

Then there's cover art. #1: It never looks as good scanned as made from the factory. #2: Like I'm going to use it to make a zillion genuine copies to sell to my oh...3 friends. I don't have a problem with them.

Eriol, I hope you continue to present album scans to us. Don't let people like SephVBC push you around.

The legitimate e-commerce websites like www.gamemusic.com and www.cdjapan.co.jp use industry-wide encryption standards for your information.

Everything has risks, you know. You're missing out on opportunities by not buying from online sites.

I do NOT do album scans frequently at all, because it's a pain in the rear to scan. Do not expect me to do this on any regular basis. Sorry.

[Secret Squirrel]

Seph works for the mp3 division of the RIAA. =P

I haven't scanned very many of mine either, because it is a bit of a pain. The ones that I did scan (Poporogue, Popolocrois Monogatari 1 and 2), were nice high quality scans of every element, including the obi and the lining under the inside case. It probably took me about an hour to scan all 3, but I haven't done any of the post-processing of the images, so they are much larger than they need to be.

Heh, some CDs come with very interesting inserts. Yadokari Typhoon Perfect Arrange included some little card with a drawing of a game character, but on the back, it had a hentai picture from another game or anime series. =o