Forum - View topicInterview: Kazuyoshi Fukuba, Executive Director of Pony Canyon
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reanimator
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Despite your contempt toward bonus materials, even licensees like Funimation and Sentai are doing collector/limited editions with bonus materials to appeal to fans. You can deride Japanese Otaku and publishers all you want with your "must-fill-the-shelves" mentality. However, buying habit of Japanese otaku is one of the major influences of how typical anime is produced and sold. Obviously, your bargain-shopping, "must-fill-the-shelves" value is not compatible with what they're offering. And they're not super desperate for your money either. They prefer having customer loyalty from hardcore fans who'll buy their product at high price than fans who are too fickle and unreliable. That's their value discipline and it has not hurt their bottom line for years. So if you don't get to buy those coveted discs of some hot anime title, does it mean that you can't enjoy anime? There are people out there who aren't mass collector like you, but enjoy anime in many different ways. Some people buy art books, some people buy toys and trinkets, and some people create costumes, and etc. Whatever it might be, they enjoy anime in their own ways. It's better to be happy with what you already have. If you can't, then you're just comparing yourself with others and expressing dissatisfaction by blaming others. |
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Kadmos1
Posts: 13566 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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However, DBZ is likely the biggest offender in this if you count the amount of DVD/BD/VHS releases/re-releases that they have done. |
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TarsTarkas
Posts: 5840 Location: Virginia, United States |
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People were tired of buying singles, because they were tired of throwing money away on a series, which either didn’t sell the final volumes, or created shortages of the final volumes. Nothing worse than not being able to complete your series. You are not completely wrong, but there was more to the elimination of singles than the price point. |
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CrowLia
Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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While I understand what you mean (and I certainly feel the pain of drowning in bills due to unemployemnt), I can't feel completely unsympathetic to the sentiment of wanting the company who's making this already niche market even more niche with their ridiculous greedy prices and pompous arrogance ("We can do it because we are PONYCAN", ugh). Intelectually, of course one wouldn't want the underpaid salarymen to get thrown to the streets, but I think the image of greedy giant Japanese corporation is more powerful than the sympathy for regular employees, especially because, were this business model to succeed, more companies may try to go this way (a very understandable concern given how PC is already copying AoA's extremely unpopular model) |
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reanimator
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So Japanese company who put price on their niche product based from their financial standpoint is greedy? In that case, Western fans are totally spoiled by "subsidized" pricing offered by licensees like Funimation and Sentai when it's the Japanese fans who are pretty much alone that pays the most cost of the anime production.
People love to argue about how outrageous the price of Japanese price is, but do we consider things like: 1. Is there a reliable rough estimate of how many fans in the West buy licensed anime discs steadily? 2. Is number of disc-buying fans in the West growing, stagnant, or shrinking? I know a lot of people don't like prices set by Japanese companies. Before labeling them as greedy pigs, can we even estimate how well licensed discs are selling in the states first? People watch latest shows from Japan without much problem and fans are enthusiastic at conventions and all, but does it mean that licensed anime discs in general are sold so well that we don't even need collectors edition? Obviously Japanese companies are catering toward very specific customers and none of us are special snowflakes as we consider ourselves as. |
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Madoka...AYUKAWA!
Posts: 158 |
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This. But a lot naive kids (if not a kid, worst yet) will think they are "supporting the industry" well true in a way...in a very dirty, unhealthy, shameful, greedy way. That high ranking executive can now afford to have one more extra luxury apt and commode and extra lover, nice! |
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mgosdin
Posts: 1302 Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA |
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I'm quite happy with what I have and I expect that I will remain happy for the foreseeable future. My goal is not crowded shelves. I just don't want to see what I believe to be a mistake occur. What works in Japan does not always work in North America and the reverse is also true. It's been a costly lesson for business on both sides of the Pacific, repeatedly. If you enjoy the deluxe sets then more power to you. But don't be surprised when others ask for something different. Mark Gosdin |
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mdo7
Posts: 6268 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
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I share this same thought. I also agreed what work (or probably not) in Japan will not work in the US. I mean how can anime fans in the US can afford these titles if they're expensive (and over-priced). Now I'm not sure in Japan if anime blu-ray are doing well despite the tax hike Japan imposed late of last year. I also listen to NHK World Radio Japan Focus last night on revitalizing anime exports and the broadcast never brought up price of the anime titles as an issue which really concern me in my opinion. |
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Beatdigga
Posts: 4386 Location: New York |
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It's like say...New York City real estate. You keep jacking up prices and flipping off any alternatives, you'll isolate all but the 1% super niche of otaku.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Posts: 23817 |
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This is a very messed up way of looking at things. It is true that the otaku market drives anime production in Japan. If Japanese otaku didn't support the current pricing system there, one of two things would happen: a) anime producers would have to find a way to expand the appeal of their titles so they could attract a wider base of consumers willing to pay moderate prices; or b) only titles that have a shot of wide appeal would get made. Western fans are a secondary market. We pump additional money into the Japanese anime production system through license fees and royalties. This is not chump change. And, of course, anime producers rightfully make their titles without considering for a second Western tastes and desires. Why should they? We aren't their primary market. And we shouldn't pay primary market prices, either. We are their gravy. Useful gravy that puts more money into their system than otherwise would be there. I know, from several of your previous posts, that you are a knee-jerk "pay a ton!" apologist who simply can't fathom the concept that Western fans may not be thrilled to cough up $210 (or more) for a 12-13 episode show like our Japanese otaku comrades. The Western market also doesn't support $50 cookies or $10 paper clips. Yeah, we're just SOOOOO spoiled, I know. |
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DmonHiro
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Actually, no, neither of those things would happen because they have been proven to not work. a) There have been several attempt at this, from both angles. The first angle was to try and create shows with much wider appeals. This worked, but the shows that are always in the top ratings don't actually SELL disks, they sell merchandise. Problem is that market is already almost completely served, so creating even more of those would solve nothing. b) Again, does not work. The thing about Japan market is that it is almost completely non-flexible. Lowering the price does not attract more buyers beyond maybe the 1st volume. Making more shows does not increase the total people buying because that number is also pretty much fixed. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Posts: 23817 |
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@ DmonHiro - two things. First, your confident assertion that Japanese producers have tried to create shows with wider appeal as a direct attempt to circumvent the inelastic market problem is unprovable. So your next assertion that apparently this "wider appeal" initiative worked is equally unprovable. The only assertion of yours that could be proven or disproven is the one where you claim that shows that are always in the "top ratings" don't sell disks (and by top ratings, I assume you mean broadcast ratings). I have no idea if that claim is true, but I acknowledge that at least there is a way to determine if it is true or not.
Second, you seem to be conflating two separate issues when you say that my b) scenario wouldn't be in play. I have heard the claim that lowering prices for titles does not result in more buyers because the Japanese anime buying consumer market is supposedly inelastic. I'm not saying this claim is true, I'm just saying I've heard that said. But it doesn't matter if it is true or not because it actually has nothing to do with my original point. Which was - if Japanese otaku suddenly abandoned the "high price - low volume" pricing strategy that is currently in place, only two things could possibly happen: 1) producers would need to find a way to make the consumer market elastic (by creating shows with wide appeal) or 2) Fewer shows would get made (nobody is going to make a show that has zero chance of probability). I'm not saying the industry would completely collapse. Popular franchises like One Piece would still get made. Anything that seems marginal would not, ergo fewer titles getting made. |
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Felis
Posts: 80 |
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If they want to do premium releases, they should have asked NIS America for advice instead. I think NIS America releases are much nicer than Aniplex's (and a much better value). If I'm going to get a premium release, I want a nice chipboard artbox and an artbook (not a cheaply made booklet). I have no use for a couple postcards or a small poster.
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Zalis116
Moderator
Posts: 6871 Location: Kazune City |
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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Whispers on the wind say sometimes Japanese companies sabotage foreign releases to prevent "reverse importation". |
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