with vocals consisting of Toshiyuki Kageyama, Koichi Hirota, and Yoko Fujita. composed the game's original soundtrack, with Matsuura instructing them to create music that fit the game's world without giving players the impression that a particular style of music is associated with the game. Working with the band, Matsuura wanted a soundtrack that would encourage players to use their music CDs. Reluctance to associate the game with anyone's music genre was a big part of why the game's visuals are so color-neutral and simple. A soundtrack was released by King Records titled . A second soundtrack was released on vinyl in 2020 by Minimum Records, featuring the unreleased song "Rainbow". Release Vib-Ribbon was released in Japan on December 9, 1999, and in PAL regions on August 30, 2000. The North American release was skipped as Sony Computer Entertainment America were reportedly unimpressed with the game's simplistic graphics, causing fans to campaign for an American release, which Matsuura supported. In December 2000, Sony Magazine released a promotional picture book in Japan titled . At E3 2014, Vib-Ribbon was mentioned and highlighted by Shawn Layden, the then-new CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America. Layden did not realize that the game had, at that point, never been released in America, and many on the internet saw the mention of the game hinting at a North American release despite the company having no plans to do so. As such, many people on Twitter became displeased when there was no further mention of the game during the press conference. When Layden realized his mistake, he asked his team to work on perfecting a North American port for PlayStation Network. It was released on October 7 in North America with Layden writing an apology for the confusion. It was released in Japan the following day and in Europe on October 15. Reception Vib-Ribbon sold 100,000 units in Japan within its first week. The game was received positively by reviewers. When reviewing the visuals, GameSpot Jeff Gerstmann noted that the minimalistic style gives it a defining look and adds to the game's appeal. The simplistic wireframe design was picked up by TechnologyTell, stating the graphics were "impressive" and "minimalistic". Hyper reviewer, Cam Shea, felt the minimalistic visuals were refreshing due to other video games attempted to outdo one another with graphic fidelity. Shea praised the visual concept of evolution to show progress, and thought the game