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| [Anime] Bandai downsizing, ending US distribution From the article:
quote:
On January 3rd, the publisher is announcing that it will cease to release new DVD and Blu-ray releases in North America.
The timing of the near-shutdown coincides with the final releases of Star Driver, Tales of the Abyss, The Girl Who Leapt Through Space and Mobile Suit Gundam (the new release of 0079 with Japanese audio), which means that they will all be released in their entirety. However, all releases after February 2012 have been cancelled. Three series that were announced last year, including Turn A Gundam, My Ordinary Life (Nichijō) and Gosick, will not be released and their rights will revert back to their licensors.
Damn, that sucks. I would've bought Nichijou, and Gosick. Hope someone else picks them up. (Hello Sentai!!!)
This also affects the manga they distribute as well, which sucks for followers of things like Code Geass, Gurren Lagaan, and Lucky Star. Again, hopefully someone else will pick those titles up.
Sorry Bandai, when the economy is in the shitter, people don't have extra to blow on X number of DVDs to see a slimpack released at the end, they just as soon wait for the slimpack.
Full story:
»www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature···nterview | | |
|
 alamarcoThe Amazing Spider-ManPremium
join:2003-06-18
Windsor, ON | The only good news out of this is that they are going to continue releasing their current lineup and finish them out instead of leaving them to dry. | |
 SnakeoilIgnore Button. The coward's feature.Premium
join:2000-08-05
Mentor, OH
kudos:1
 ·RoadRunner Cable
 ·magicjack.com
| reply to captokita
Do they have a streaming deal with Amazon/vudu/itunes/netflix? Maybe they are making more from streaming vs DVD sales?
Or have they lost a lot of sales due to piracy?
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Is a person a failure for doing nothing? Or is he a failure for trying, and not succeeding at what he is attempting to do? What did you fail at today?. | |
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 ·AT&T U-Verse
| reply to captokita
Not really surprised at all. Over the last few months Robert (of Robert's Anime Corner Store) has been complaining about the lack of communication from Bandai in regards to anime releases. I suppose the fact that they could never tell him when items would ship was a sign of something going on.
Besides, I think Bandai is still releasing DVDs individually rather than doing series sets like Funimation. I'm sure people not wanting to get individual DVDs might have something to do with it as well.
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Luffy, Zoro and Usopp: Chopper's a doctor?!?!
Nami: Why did you think we made Chopper join our crew?
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Sanji: Emergency food supply... | |
| said by mareastrum:Not really surprised at all. Over the last few months Robert (of Robert's Anime Corner Store) has been complaining about the lack of communication from Bandai in regards to anime releases. I suppose the fact that they could never tell him when items would ship was a sign of something going on. According to the article, the decision was made back in October, but they held off saying anything until now, probably to avoid even lower holiday sales.
quote:
Besides, I think Bandai is still releasing DVDs individually rather than doing series sets like Funimation. I'm sure people not wanting to get individual DVDs might have something to do with it as well.
Originally, I blamed Bandai for this, but looking at the article, I noticed this:
"The pricing range for our products kept dropping in Western countries, and people tended only to buy sets with very reasonable prices, which we understand is what fans want, but it lead us to a different strategy than what Japanese licensors wanted," he remarked. "So we always had a problem [with licensors wanting something different than what consumers wanted]."
So I take from that Bandai (USA) realized that we (consumers) wanted thinpaks, or more content, but the Japanese licensor wanted the individual format, and wouldn't put up the license without that stipulation. If that's indeed how it was, I feel bad for Bandai, because they can do nothing but abide by what the license holder wants. I'm pretty sure single discs sell really well in Japan, so I can see the license holder's thought on it, but this is a different market completely. | |
alamarcoThe Amazing Spider-ManPremium
join:2003-06-18
Windsor, ON Reviews:
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| From what I understand, it's not even Bandai (USA), but Bandai (JP).
"In a decision made last October, but only now becoming public knowledge, Bandai Entertainment's corporate parent at Namco Bandai Holdings made the decision to exit the American home video business. Iyadomi says he wasn't privy to the fine details. "The decision was made in Japan by the contents SBU (Strategic Business Unit)." That business unit originally included the video games division, but recently was merged with all of the company's audio visual businesses, including Sunrise, Bandai Visual and Bandai Channel."
That tells me it was the Japanese company making this decision and a little later on in the article explains their reasoning.
"But at this point, little is set in stone. Only one thing is clear: the role of a distributor for anime in North America is changing, and some well-equipped licensors can now cut them out of the process entirely, if they choose. Japanese publishers can now create Blu-rays with English subtitles, ready to import to English speakers worldwide. While those won't sell as many copies as American-produced discs, the higher price point and lack of middleman can still result in a decent amount of revenue with little additional cost. Bandai Visual Japan recently discovered this for themselves with their release of Gundam Unicorn. "They found the results pretty good, and that's how I think they would like to move forwards," Iyadomi says."
With the success of Kara no Kyoukai and Gundam Unicorn I think we will be seeing more of this. Fate/zero is getting released in this manor and it seems ANIPLEX is leading the way while Bandai is keen to follow.
Kara no Kyoukai sold out at $500 for the set quite quickly. I do not know precisely how well Gundam did since I don't follow Gundam, but Fate/zero is priced at $400 for just half the season. It seems Japanese companies are leaning toward this release method as it gains them the most profit. | |
Reviews:
·Cox HSI
| reply to captokita
Bleh, I never liked buying anime. Either you got dubbed version with absolute shit voice actors that has a several year delay or you got subbed anime that came out several months later. Even if something was dubbed/subbed correctly why wait months for it to come out on dvd when I can just as easily load up one of 23895634985 websites that stream the episodes with good quality subs 1 day after they air in japan. If they seriously wanted my business they would set up some sort of netflix type system I could subscribe to that would have same day subbed anime (Every show, not just the top three Naruto, Bleach and One Piece etc.). I would easily pay 15-20 bucks a month for something like this.
Gabe Newell from Steam pretty accurately describes it:
“One thing that we have learned is that piracy is not a pricing issue. It’s a service issue,” explained Newell during his time on stage at the Washington Technology Industry Association's (WTIA) Tech NW conference. “The easiest way to stop piracy is not by putting antipiracy technology to work. It’s by giving those people a service that’s better than what they’re receiving from the pirates.” | |
 Tenar
join:2008-01-02
Midland, ON | reply to captokita
For me, It looks like it's time I gave up on the anime hobby. I'm not interested in watching subbed only shows. Reading subtitles ruins the experience for me.
I have a lot of bandai releases in my collection - bet they will go up in value now 
I predict anime to go further out of the mainstream maybe to be discovered again someday though another dragon ball show.
said by PinkyThePig:If they seriously wanted my business they would set up some sort of netflix type system I could subscribe to that would have same day subbed anime (Every show, not just the top three Naruto, Bleach and One Piece etc.). I would easily pay 15-20 bucks a month for something like this. Funimation continues to build on their services, give them time I think it will grow. There is subbed anime on Netflix to watch, anything from Viz is sub only there (jerks). | |
alamarcoThe Amazing Spider-ManPremium
join:2003-06-18
Windsor, ON Reviews:
·Cogeco Cable
| If anime does go out of mainstream, it's because the companies forced it to. These companies just don't get that this is a different market and that you have to take it differently. There are a ton of anime fans in North America and these companies just do things the wrong way.
There are so many problems that it's no wonder people don't buy anime. Take for instance Tokyopop leaving the manga industry. They license a ton of manga, and when things don't sell they cancel the series and replace those licenses. How is that smart business?
1) Tokyopop is wasting so much money by constantly licensing and replacing titles.
2) What does your average consumer think? Why would an average consumer buy a product when he knows that there is a 90% chance the series will be cancelled before it's completed?
Point 2 leads to a continuous circle and it should be up to the company to break that circle. Anime and manga don't sell because people are afraid of buying a product that will not be completed. So they wait for it to be completed before buying. The issue here is the company thinks the product isn't selling so they cancel it. It's a vicious cycle and the average consumer isn't going to be the one to lay down money.
Companies need to start earning trust of the consumer. Don't license thousands of titles. License the good ones that fit your company and release them to completion. Get the consumer to trust you and they will start buying more.
Companies can point to sales all they want, but in the end it's just a number. These companies refuse to look at themselves when pointing the blame and blame the customer. | |
| You got part of it right alamarco, but you also have to realize the companies - Tokyopop for example, know the numbers, and if they're not there, why would you continue releasing it? YOU get a copy, but that one copy isn't paying the bills, so you cut your losses and move onto another license you hope brings in more revenue. Sucks for the fans of those killed off series yes, but they would be foolish to continue releasing non-selling items.
I don't buy the individual discs of Gundam 00 for example because I'm afraid Bandai would go out of business, or stop the series..... I don't buy the individual discs because I know when all is done, they will release a slimpack for a FRACTION of what the entire set cost me originally. (well, not anymore... lol) THAT is why it's a losing battle for them, and from what we've seen, they're tied to the stipulations of the original holders that demand the individual disc format. I think the American companies would be happy to release the slimpacks alone if they knew they would sell and the Japanese companies agreed to it.
As for what licenses to get, that's a toss up, which is also why they license so many, some of which never even get released! For the sole fact that one may tank, and another will earn smash numbers, while others just break even. Sentai Filmworks has made changes in the industry, by releasing sub-only releases. Same with NIS. Sentai is doing dubs too, but they do the numbers to see what series deserves a dub. | |
Tenar
join:2008-01-02
Midland, ON | reply to captokita
Online streaming delivery won't bring anime into the mainstream, I think only getting it on TV would. As much as it might be cool to be able to get next day sub streams I question the profitability in it. If you had enough shows with subscription service then it might work.
Funimation is only big and surviving because of the profits from Dragon Ball which was a mainstream show. They are also smart branching into the Asian Film market which is a larger market than anime. | |
alamarcoThe Amazing Spider-ManPremium
join:2003-06-18
Windsor, ON Reviews:
·Cogeco Cable
| reply to captokita
said by captokita:You got part of it right alamarco, but you also have to realize the companies - Tokyopop for example, know the numbers, and if they're not there, why would you continue releasing it? YOU get a copy, but that one copy isn't paying the bills, so you cut your losses and move onto another license you hope brings in more revenue. Sucks for the fans of those killed off series yes, but they would be foolish to continue releasing non-selling items.
That's the circle and that's why it's up to a company to stop it. Companies may have been able to get away with this when they just started out as a one or few time thing, but when most series don't see completion why would fans buy it? A companies job is to satisfy the customers. The customers have the money and the customers job isn't to fill the pockets of the companies. If the company wants sales, they have to appease the customers and dropping series unfinished is one way to quickly lose loyalty.
Of course part of the circle is that customers need to support the company and buy their products, but would you trust a company like this? That's why it's the companies job to regain the customers trust, not the customer blindly trusting.
said by captokita:I don't buy the individual discs of Gundam 00 for example because I'm afraid Bandai would go out of business, or stop the series..... I don't buy the individual discs because I know when all is done, they will release a slimpack for a FRACTION of what the entire set cost me originally. (well, not anymore... lol) THAT is why it's a losing battle for them, and from what we've seen, they're tied to the stipulations of the original holders that demand the individual disc format. I think the American companies would be happy to release the slimpacks alone if they knew they would sell and the Japanese companies agreed to it.
That's one reason, and I'm sure many people do that. You can't deny that another reason is series being cancelled.
First, a lot of anime fans tend to be collectors and what is the worst thing for a collector? Their collection being incomplete of course.
What about fixed income individuals? They might only have a few extra to spend on themselves so why would they buy anime from a company who is eventually going to cancel the product?
What about people new into anime? Why would they even consider starting to buy anime when the product is going to be cancelled?
I think a lot of people like slimpacks, but there's proof out there that people also don't mind spending a lot on anime. I'll point to Kara no Kyoukai again. ANIPLEX released Kara no Kyoukai for $400. For 7 OVA's that's $60 per OVA. Kara no Kyoukai sold out and ANIPLEX was quite happy with the sales that they're now releasing Fate/zero in similar fashion. Expensive? Very, and not for everyone, but there seems to be a market for it.
So while some people may like slimpacks, others like their limited edition sets. There is a market for both, and for a company to blame sales without looking at other factors is taking the cheap way out.
said by captokita:As for what licenses to get, that's a toss up, which is also why they license so many, some of which never even get released! For the sole fact that one may tank, and another will earn smash numbers, while others just break even. Sentai Filmworks has made changes in the industry, by releasing sub-only releases. Same with NIS. Sentai is doing dubs too, but they do the numbers to see what series deserves a dub.
Considering the amount of people watching anime online via fansubs and the like, they can get stats easily. FUNimation has surveys and their own streaming service. Crunchyroll can provide stats on what shows were getting what type of views. Torrent trackers provide stats on how much a show was downloaded and while pirating is illegal, if you don't look at the stats you're only hurting yourself.
Just judging on stats you won't guarantee hits because a hit in Japan isn't necessarily a hit in America, but you can at least make better choices instead of licensing everything and then dropping 90% of it. It's all about educated guesses and licensing everything is not doing guesses and only hurting the company. | |
| said by alamarco:A companies job is to satisfy the customers. The customers have the money and the customers job isn't to fill the pockets of the companies. If the company wants sales, they have to appease the customers and dropping series unfinished is one way to quickly lose loyalty. That's PARTLY right - my job as a business, is to make money, I'm not in business to LOSE money. If I have a manga I'm printing, it costs me $x to produce, and in order to make money, that is, to stay in business, I need to sell a certain number of copies > $x. If that series doesn't pull its weight and sell the number needed, I'm not going to continue to produce it, regardless of the people that DO buy it. Business doesn't work that way. I'm not going to go under just to finish a series, it's not worth it. Ever see a tv show that you liked that got cancelled? Same thing.
As for if I would trust them, I may find myself holding off buying anything until it's been out for awhile, but even then there is no guarantee. A solution to this is to offer a digital version, and I think this is where it will eventually go, and you will see series recently dropped picked back up to be finished.
quote:
I think a lot of people like slimpacks, but there's proof out there that people also don't mind spending a lot on anime. I'll point to Kara no Kyoukai again. ANIPLEX released Kara no Kyoukai for $400. For 7 OVA's that's $60 per OVA. Kara no Kyoukai sold out and ANIPLEX was quite happy with the sales that they're now releasing Fate/zero in similar fashion. Expensive? Very, and not for everyone, but there seems to be a market for it.
Right, I don't even want to think about how much money I would have if I didn't buy anime, because it's a LOT. I don't mind buying sets, if the sets have something in them besides a disc. I keep going back to SEED and DESTINY, SEED had inserts in the cases with the discs, which added something extra, small, but extra. DESTINY didn't even have the inserts, just a disc! Unless it was a special t-shirt box, which was extra. In that regard, what benefit is there to spend the 100s on a set with no extras, vs a slimpack with the exact same extras? None, that's what. If you want to sell sets, have at it, but when they don't offer anything why would you bother with the individual discs?
There is no silver bullet to this, companies will certainly need to remodel to remain in business in this new age of electronics, instant demand, and competition for resources. Do people want more streaming? More simulcasts? Closer dub release to original airdate? You will likely see all of the above in the coming at some point. Manga companies will take advantage of kindles, tablets, etc, anime companies will do the same. | |
Tenar
join:2008-01-02
Midland, ON | said by captokita:...Manga companies will take advantage of kindles, tablets, etc, anime companies will do the same.... Viz has a nice manga app for ipad and the manga is a lot cheaper to buy on there.
I don't understand people insisting that they choose to read scanlations because the quality is better. I've read some scanlations and they are usually filled with grammatical errors, bad spelling, and missed panels.
Particularly I think of the Berserk manga, I always thought Dark Horse did a good job with it but I still read people arguing that the scanlation is somehow better. | |
alamarcoThe Amazing Spider-ManPremium
join:2003-06-18
Windsor, ON Reviews:
·Cogeco Cable
| reply to captokita
said by captokita:That's PARTLY right - my job as a business, is to make money, I'm not in business to LOSE money. If I have a manga I'm printing, it costs me $x to produce, and in order to make money, that is, to stay in business, I need to sell a certain number of copies > $x. If that series doesn't pull its weight and sell the number needed, I'm not going to continue to produce it, regardless of the people that DO buy it. Business doesn't work that way. I'm not going to go under just to finish a series, it's not worth it. Ever see a tv show that you liked that got cancelled? Same thing.
You don't have to go under to finish a series. If things were done properly, i.e. not licensing more series then your company can afford, you could easily finish series and gain more fan support by doing so. If a series isn't doing well don't print as many copies, go omnibus (even though I hate omnibus), etc. There are more options than just cancelling it and licensing another series that will eventually be cancelled too. If you're constantly cancelling series and replacing them with series that are being cancelled, how is that making you money to stay in the business?
I also don't think TV shows being cancelled is a good comparison. If the anime in Japan gets cancelled then that's a better comparison to a North American TV show being cancelled. With anime series here, the anime or manga is already complete so the hard work is already done.
Businesses need to make a profit, but I never heard of one successful company that constantly spends money on products that fail, constantly dropping them for new ones that fail. Customers lose their patience and stop purchasing. If memory serves me correctly, was over licensing not the reason ADV went under? They licensed more than they could handle. You can't run a business that way. Customer relations is a huge part of a business that relies on the customer.
said by captokita:As for if I would trust them, I may find myself holding off buying anything until it's been out for awhile, but even then there is no guarantee. A solution to this is to offer a digital version, and I think this is where it will eventually go, and you will see series recently dropped picked back up to be finished.
If that's the case I for one will stop purchasing anime and/or manga. I don't mind streaming, but streaming eventually leads to potential DVD releases. If they shut down all companies and only streamed I would stop streaming immediately. This of course is personal preference, but there's no doubt that I won't be supporting a digital only world.
said by captokita:Right, I don't even want to think about how much money I would have if I didn't buy anime, because it's a LOT. I don't mind buying sets, if the sets have something in them besides a disc. I keep going back to SEED and DESTINY, SEED had inserts in the cases with the discs, which added something extra, small, but extra. DESTINY didn't even have the inserts, just a disc! Unless it was a special t-shirt box, which was extra. In that regard, what benefit is there to spend the 100s on a set with no extras, vs a slimpack with the exact same extras? None, that's what. If you want to sell sets, have at it, but when they don't offer anything why would you bother with the individual discs?
This is personal preference. For me, the benefit is getting the anime. I'd love to have the same interviews that the Japanese has, but if I can get the anime in it's original quality then I'm happy. As long as the prices compare to the Japanese prices, I'm not going to complain. Just keep them aligned in terms of pricing. | |
alamarcoThe Amazing Spider-ManPremium
join:2003-06-18
Windsor, ON Reviews:
·Cogeco Cable
| reply to Tenar
I read scans because they come out on a weekly/monthly basis. You don't have to wait a month after the Japanese volume to get your fix. If it's a series I enjoy I'll buy the manga when it gets translated and reread it, but often times images are censored and sometimes even text is made less offensive.
Also, I'm a huge ecchi fan and a lot of ecchi content does not get brought over. Besides Black God, I doubt I'll ever seee another Im Dal Young manga brought over. I don't think the general American fan likes ecchi as much as the general Japanese fan. So without scans, I'd never get to read my favourite manga.
Also, manga companies (and eventually anime companies) need to do a better job of giving people who have the physical copy access to the digital copy. Digital copies are so cheap for companies, so why do I have to pay $4-5 per volume when I already paid $12? Even $0.99 is pushing it, but until they find a way to give phsycial customers an incentive, they won't be as successful as they can be.
Also, in terms of the iPad, it's very limited. The app itself is great, but Apple has strict regulations and you can't get adult content. So any ecchi tittles will never see a release, any title has to be censored, etc. Until Apple puts less restrictions on their device, the iPad app will never be something I pay attention to.
Question for you though, based on that. Do companies like Viz, Yen Press, etc. offer more content on the Kindle or is it the exact same content? | |
| reply to alamarco
said by alamarco:You don't have to go under to finish a series. If things were done properly, i.e. not licensing more series then your company can afford, you could easily finish series and gain more fan support by doing so. If a series isn't doing well don't print as many copies, go omnibus (even though I hate omnibus), etc. That's just it, as a publisher of manga, I need many licenses to be profitable, relying on one or two killer selling titles isn't going to cut it for long. As for printing less copies, if I'm only selling 50 copies of one title, why would I spend the money to produce it? I would guess a company prints as many copies as they initially need to pay the bills for the title, and if the demand requires it, they issue additions printings of it to meet the demand. Even if I only printed the 50 copies alone. There is a # required to print to make the license worth having. You (consumer you, not you personally) could always buy 100 copies of a book, but why would you do that?
quote:
There are more options than just cancelling it and licensing another series that will eventually be cancelled too. If you're constantly cancelling series and replacing them with series that are being cancelled, how is that making you money to stay in the business?
That's exactly the way it works! When one title doesn't work, you dump it and move onto another one hoping it does better. Your consumers may not like it, but they should also realize that that is how business works. The fans should be getting their friends to buy it too, and they in turn get their friends too, and so on.
quote:
I also don't think TV shows being cancelled is a good comparison.
Ok, then compare it to comic books. Even gotten into a title only to read "Next issue is our last issue!" Why is that? Lack of sales. Plain and simple. Sure, Marvel makes it's $$$ on X-Men, Wolverine, etc., but if "Harry the Hermaphrodite" doesn't sell, would they continue to produce it? Their other high selling titles could easily cover the losses, but it doesn't make sense. C-ya Harry. Only difference is that like you said, the manga is continuing in Japan, but ending here.
quote:
Businesses need to make a profit, but I never heard of one successful company that constantly spends money on products that fail, constantly dropping them for new ones that fail.
But that's what happens all the time! Also is the reason why many go under. As an anime/manga distributor, it's always a gamble with any series you try to release. What if DBZ or FMA weren't popular? Funimation would likely be gone like ADV, and ADV had EVA. As you mentioned, they went overboard, and paid for it.
I see your points, but it's not as cut and dry simple as you would like it to be. Sucks when they cancel a book you read, or anime you watch, but if more people read/watched it, it wouldn't be a problem. | |
alamarcoThe Amazing Spider-ManPremium
join:2003-06-18
Windsor, ON Reviews:
·Cogeco Cable
| said by captokita:That's just it, as a publisher of manga, I need many licenses to be profitable, relying on one or two killer selling titles isn't going to cut it for long. As for printing less copies, if I'm only selling 50 copies of one title, why would I spend the money to produce it? I would guess a company prints as many copies as they initially need to pay the bills for the title, and if the demand requires it, they issue additions printings of it to meet the demand. Even if I only printed the 50 copies alone. There is a # required to print to make the license worth having. You (consumer you, not you personally) could always buy 100 copies of a book, but why would you do that?
We aren't talking about 50 books, they sell way more than that. Also, like I mentioned there are other ways such as omnibus to cut costs and still finish a series. The bottom line isn't just how much money you save by doing one cancellation, but how it's going to affect you in the long run.
There will never be any numbers on this, but if so many titles would not have been cancelled do you think more people would buy the product? By constantly cancelling titles and annoying customers, they ran themselves into the ground.
A business runs on customers. You have to find ways to both make a profit and please customers. If you are only focused on profit and ignore the constant cries from customers, you are going down and that's what's happened to so many anime/manga companies.
said by captokita:That's exactly the way it works! When one title doesn't work, you dump it and move onto another one hoping it does better. Your consumers may not like it, but they should also realize that that is how business works. The fans should be getting their friends to buy it too, and they in turn get their friends too, and so on.
How expensive is that? You can't just dump and hope. You have to look at statistics, fan responses, etc. I'm not saying cancellations should never happen, but the amount that happens means they are doing something wrong. Are the expectations too high? Bad marketing? Over the top production costs? There can be many factors, but everyone always blames sales and looks at sales figures.
That's my point. There is a lot more to a business than just final sales and a successful business looks at all the factors that lead to both a success and a failure so as to learn from every experience.
said by captokita:Ok, then compare it to comic books. Even gotten into a title only to read "Next issue is our last issue!" Why is that? Lack of sales. Plain and simple. Sure, Marvel makes it's $$$ on X-Men, Wolverine, etc., but if "Harry the Hermaphrodite" doesn't sell, would they continue to produce it? Their other high selling titles could easily cover the losses, but it doesn't make sense. C-ya Harry. Only difference is that like you said, the manga is continuing in Japan, but ending here.
That's the point. If you were to compare the Japanese manga ending in Japan to a comic ending in America I'd totally agree (besides the lack of sales plain and simple point). There are a lot more factors when you are the actual one creating the content compared to just licensing an already created piece of work.
said by captokita:But that's what happens all the time! Also is the reason why many go under. As an anime/manga distributor, it's always a gamble with any series you try to release. What if DBZ or FMA weren't popular? Funimation would likely be gone like ADV, and ADV had EVA. As you mentioned, they went overboard, and paid for it.
FUNimation would be gone if they went overboard. If they use smart strategy, and it seems they do with their constant strategies, then they can better cope with a failed license. It's all about coping within your means.
said by captokita:I see your points, but it's not as cut and dry simple as you would like it to be. Sucks when they cancel a book you read, or anime you watch, but if more people read/watched it, it wouldn't be a problem.
Exactly, it isn't as cut and dry. It's not only about more people reading/watching, you have to ask yourself why there wasn't more people reading/wataching.
- Was the product marketed successfully or at all?
- Was the product right for this market or was it just randomly selected?
- Are people avoiding the product because this type of product has always been cancelled in the past?
- Were the translations correct?
- Was the BluRay an upscaled DVD instead of the HD source?
- etc. | |
 ChiyoSave Me Konata-ChanPremium
join:2003-02-20
Charlotte, NC
kudos:1 | reply to captokita
Japan has yet to realize that anime here in America is so tiny. I think the cost of entry into a show is way to high. Gundam UC is doing well because its Gundam but at 50 dollars an episode only so many people can or will pay for it.
The economy is still shit, I bought 2 whole purchases this year Code Geass season 1 complete and K-On BD volume 1 ironically both Bandai titles. I would of love to buy more but the rising cost of day to day necessities such as gas and food play a large factor in what I can spend on my hobby.
Someone had mentioned the only reason Funimation is so big is because of Dragon ball Z yet they dub every single show they do how are they staying afloat outside of new DBZ? Or why would Aniplex choose to dub Madoka Magica? a super popular hit show that could of been released 6 to 9 months ago on DVD for probably the same price as the BD-LE editions being released.
I can't remember for the life of me but who was the company that would jam the 100 dollar releases down our throats for years and then finally called it quits after years (Think it had something to do with Sunrise I don't remember) this is a lot like that. In the end the American anime fan is left with fewer options to purchase and more reason to pirate or never purchase a physical good.
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Midland, ON | said by Chiyo:Japan has yet to realize that anime here in America is so tiny... Absolutely agree. I think also there are sub sets of fans and some won't be interested in a lot of the niche titles. Shows with wider appeal have more success.
said by Chiyo:Someone had mentioned the only reason Funimation is so big is because of Dragon ball Z yet they dub every single show they do how are they staying afloat outside of new DBZ? Or why would Aniplex choose to dub Madoka Magica? a super popular hit show that could of been released 6 to 9 months ago on DVD for probably the same price as the BD-LE editions being released Having a dub means the title will have a wider reach which usually means more sales. But more sales doesn't always mean more profit. There is a lot to factor in including the cost of the license and the cost to dub it and how many people would buy it. Dubs are very expensive to produce when compared to just a sub release so you have to make sure the show will have a wide enough appeal even with a dub audience.
Like the Emma show that Right Stuff put out. Why can't they dub that show, they dub comic party and not Emma? I have all the manga and would buy it in a heart beat with a dub on it but sub only = no sale from me. But it could simply be that the audience for Emma is too small. 
said by Chiyo:I can't remember for the life of me but who was the company that would jam the 100 dollar releases down our throats for years and then finally called it quits after years (Think it had something to do with Sunrise I don't remember) this is a lot like that. In the end the American anime fan is left with fewer options to purchase and more reason to pirate or never purchase a physical good. Sunrise titles were distributed mostly by Bandai I think, but I could be wrong.
Pioneer there disks were pretty expensive back in the day. El Hazard OVA box set was MSRP $119 but it was very good quality and probably still one of the best dubs ever made if not the best. | |
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