http://www.falcom.com/kaisya/ir/pdf/060221.pdf

There are a few places you can buy cards for japanese iTunes if you like.

But can you download the files from a non-Japanese IP address?

Speaking of iTunes, I wonder if they're ever going to up the bitrate.  I would probably pay for 160~ kbps VBR AACs but not 128.  Closer to the 192 range would be nice.

If it is actually possible to buy from the Japanese iTunes, is there any other noteworthy game music?  Besides the FFXII sampler, of course.

The Gyakuten Saiban / Phoenix Wright series, naturally. ;)

I've never tried purchasing music from other regions myself, although it seems you would have to set up a whole new iTunes account for whatever region you're buying from.  From there, I believe that for each song you buy, they automatically convert its exchange rate and charge your credit card in your native currency.

Hmmm, I genuinely don't know the answer. Ordinarily, if you're paying by credit card, it goes by the region you are registered to. For example I can browse and select tracks from the US iTunes with no problem but it's when I go to pay for those and it goes to my account details that the problems start.

But these card for Japanese iTunes are sold on places like jlist that primarily sell outside Japan so I'm guessing they work or they would have realised pretty quickly that the cards are useless.

Here's what jlist says -

"Once you have your iTMS Japan code, follow these easy steps:

Load iTunes on your Mac or PC. If you don't have it yet, download it from Apple.
If you've already got an account in your home country, sign out by clicking on the Account button in the upper left hand corner, then Sign Out.
At the bottom of the iTunes Music Store window, choose the Japan Store.
Click the iTunes Music Card link along the left side, and enter the scratch-off number printed on the back of the card.
Create a new account, using any address in Japan you like (you may use ours as a dummy address if you like). You can do this in English or any language that's supported by iTunes -- Japanese is never required for the iTunes Japan Store.
Enjoy purchasing great music and albums from Japan's iTunes Music Store!
That's all there is to it -- iTunes music from Japan is fully compatible with iTunes and iPods from any country. iTunes has no problem with maintaining multiple accounts for multiple music store."

What kind of music?  Recent stuff or their entire catalog?

They pretty much have their entire catalog (112 albums).  They even have the Xanadu Next OST, which wasn't even released on CD.

Now if only they could sell it somewhere WITHOUT DRM, and maybe even in eVBR Mp3....

-Joshua

Oh man...too bad it's only in Japan.

Hmm, I might try out those instructions from Jlist and be a test-monkey to try and get that non-cd soundtrack...   Unless some other Falcom fan is eager enough to try first   

I'm way ahead of you.  I got it about a month ago

So I discovered if you sign out, you can browse different regions via a drop-down menu at the bottom of the home store page.  It's mostly in English, and you can even hear the samples!  Stupid iTunes tells you to sign in after about every eight songs, though.

There's a bit less VGM than I thought there would be---Is video game music not as popular in Japan as we think (obviously only compared to its nonexistence here), or is it iTunes that is unpopular?

Anyway, the Pheonix Wright stuff was OK---but I did find a bunch of great stuff under the soundtrack section.  The only artist I recognized, that I like and didnt have everything of, was a nice surprise--coba, of Suikoden IV theme fame!

Artists I haven't heard that I really liked---these are probably mostly movie soundtracks---Quruli, Ajinnokite (album), Seigen Ono, Joe Hisaishi (Shoot the Violist is amazing!), Red Beads of the White Wall (album), Sanodg, Imagination (album), Tamiya Terashima, Akihiko Matsumoto, and two artists without transliterated names, 松野弘明 with the album ワンス・アポン・ア・タイム・イン・アメリカ, and 高橋幸宏 with the album ガクの冒険 オリジナ.

Could someone translate those two for me?  Thanks.

松野弘明 is Hiroaki Matsuno and the album is Once Upon a Time Inn America. Second one is Yukihiro Takahashi and the album name is The Adventures of Gaku.

Whoa...accessing the Japan iTunes store....I never even thought about it...I just....I'm about to explode with all the Jpop artists whose songs I can now buy without having to shell out $30 for their actual CD.....Although of course the actual CD is always nice, but when you're trying not to spend that much money, the iTunes store is a good thing.

Now I can finally put to use those Apple gift cards I received!!

Thanks, Razakin.

Schala, Remember you need a JAPANESE iTunes card.  I suggest Ebay, the Buy It Nows are much cheaper than J-List.

It's really silly that one would have to pay more to 'import' digital files! Hell, it's absolutly ridiculous...

Of course, it's also ridiculous that they only allow you to rent them, but whatever.

-Joshua

Rent?  That's only music subscription services like Rhapsody.

Yes, rent.

You see, it's entirely possible that at some point in the future, you won't be able to play certain files.

-Joshua

Some of us believe the music industry is only semi-evil.

Yes, must remember that. Darn these region "lockouts"! Oh well, I probably won't be spending any money for some time anyway.

You can buy Japan iTunes prepaid cards from http://www.japan-codes.com to purchase contents from Japan Store. It's an online store that sells gift cards, game cards from Japan.

Say, you wouldn't happen to be affiliated with that site, would you?

Wow, this is a vintage thread.  If you had told me at that time that Apple would soon start to drop DRM from the iTunes music store, I would have reacted with incredulity.

So.  Six years later, is anyone still lamenting digital versions of Falcom soundtracks being limited to Japan?  I ask because Falcom has started releasing its soundtracks on iTunes worldwide.  I understand that it has been releasing them a few at a time since earlier this year, so I would expect more to become available as time goes on.

What are you guys talking about?  I discovered some weeks ago poking around in the iTunes store that a LOT of Falcom stuff is on there for purchase on the USA iTunes.  I just checked now and its still all there!  Search Falcom.  There's like 29 albums for download!