Forum - View topicNEWS: Bandai Visual USA to be Liquidated by September
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baltered
Posts: 5 |
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That sucks, I liked Bandai Visual. Their Gunbuster vs Diebuster release was pricey, but it's the nicest DVD set I own. I was hoping their "quality over cheap-ass" strategy would work out.
This is a sad day for collectors. |
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cloud1989
 Posts: 274 |
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Has everyone forgotten that article stating that badai visual was going to start worldwide distribution, bandai visual usa had to go in order to do that, because there is no need for a US distribution if your going to do it all in japan, and bandai visual isn't just gone, they are merging with bandai ent, read the opening topic on aod to get an idea.
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cloud1989
Posts: 274 |
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Has everyone forgotten that article stating that badai visual was going to start worldwide distribution, bandai visual usa had to go in order to do that, because there is no need for a US distribution if your going to do it all in japan, and bandai visual isn't just gone, they are merging with bandai ent, read the opening topic on aod to get an idea.
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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Cloud, this is exactly how I interpreted the article. It seemed silly that Bandai Visual Japan sold Honneamise, Jin-roh and Yukikaze on Blu-ray with subtitles several months before Bandai Visual USA released the exact same pressing (or unreleased in subtitled Patlabor's case) for almost the same price. Why bother waiting for the US version if you are going to pay such a high premium for the same content. I wonder how many people waited for the US release of Yukikaze on Blu compared to those who bought the Japanese edition which also has subtitles.
Yukikaze and Jin Roh are what I hope Bandai will use as a model for future releases with the expensive "Honneamise" edition being released in Japan with English subtitles and the more affordable sub/dubbed edition being handled by Bandai Entertainment. If this strategy is implemented with new releases people who can't wait and are willing to spend the extra cash (the old BVUSA target demographic) can buy the Japanese import complete with subtitles as soon as the Japanese release occurs while the rest of us can buy the BE edition with both language audio tracks for an affordable price. There really is no need to have a BVUSA release in this case which will allow a R1 company to license the series in the States. |
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Kurokageshi
 Posts: 22 Location: IA |
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As long as we see their titles re-released with a lower price tag i'm perfectly happy with this turn of events. ^^v
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teh*darkness
 Posts: 901 |
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I'm really glad to hear this for reasons others have already pointed out. With BV USA gone, the titles they had hoarded can now be released at reasonable prices, so that those of us who like to buy anime can actually get these series, rather than have to rent them or just look at them in stores and move on to something cheaper. And BEI releasing sub-only sets doesn't bother me at all. I rarely watch the dubs anyway, so if I get more eps for the same price, or the same amount of eps for a lower price, I'm happy.
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mithrandiryod
 Posts: 11 |
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Heck this just sounds like a sound business move to me. Aside from tax liability, it's cheaper to consolidate one's business interests and incur less cost to increase profitability. Having two seperate enterprises usually doesn't make sense unless your tax liability is significantly decreased by doing so. As long as this prolongs the Anime industry and consolidates this companies strengths from a foundation of power in a unified central company, it should be fine for a while.
-mith |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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BV wasn't really hoarding titles. They only released a handful of titles no one perceived had any demand in the US. Their stuff was gorgeous. It really wasn't like having a taste for a type of food most people don't buy so it cost a bit more, so you only buy that food once in awhile & savors every moment one is eating it It really does seem more like a coldhearted business deal. The American economy is slushy right now. It seems to just be kicking off, but some are comparing it to what Japan went thru &, being Japanese, Bandai may be inclined to buy those predictions. If the market is shrinking, it makes no sense to have 2 delivery modes--better to shrink to 1. They could still handle these titles as though they were still coming from Bandai Visual (same price & ep count). BE could even still brand them BV. It's sort of like the US government having a Defense Department & a Homeland Security Department. One would think the 2nd could be a division of the first & thus eliminate some job function duplication. Bandai, being a business with an eye to profitability, is simply looking at their bottom line. Folding the 2 companies into one might just make up that money BV lost |
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Jih2
 Posts: 403 Location: East coast |
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[quote="giberwitz"]
Yes, but it bothers me that others somehow believe that we're going to receive anime faster and cheaper. If there was an international release of Macross Frontier in Blu-Ray right when it released in Japan or a few weeks after with various subtitles I'd pay the $50 for 2 eps rather than wait. I feel like there are a lot of North American fans who want twice the episode count at half the price and I don't think that's ever going to happen. |
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giberwitz
 Posts: 36 |
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I completely agree with you that many anime fans today are greedy. I gladly shelled out about $90 total for my FLCL dvds, and that was cheep at the time. The problem is that without a dub your market shrinks, with sky high prices it shrinks even more. if you wnat to make money you can't charge people more for less and dubs take more than a couple weeks to make not to mention licensing rights and all that entails. From a business standpoint there's not much to gain BV seemed to not see that. Patlabor had lots of material to add to the package having been out for some time even in the US, Shows like Diebuster (which I wanted to get till I saw the prices) did not. |
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grgspunk
Posts: 136 |
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How do we even know that BV's titles are even going to be redistributed by Bandai Entertainment? Has Bandai Ent. commented on this whole deal yet?
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GATSU
Posts: 15345 |
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Craeyst:
I agree. Especially since they didn't deserve it like other companies. Their releases were not awful like those from Toei; it's just their pricing scheme which rubbed people the wrong way. Also, Synch Point was doing the sub-work for BV titles, so they might still be in business and Tokyopop died out when they shifted to OEL. Ryu: Geneon's prices weren't the problem as much as their mediocre content. Very few people want to buy Hellsing twice, just because the OVA's closer to the manga story; and the company should have had more to offer near the end besides Ueki. CCS:
Then they started licensing titles which might have some demand, but not quite enough to make a difference. |
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Josh7289
Posts: 1252 |
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This is crazy!
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Aresef
Posts: 914 Location: MD |
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About damn time. I just hope BE continues putting the stuff out and keeping the party going....for a price that makes more sense.
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reanimator
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I totally agree with you. If Bandai Visual offered collector quality at a reasonable price, they could've survived. Seriously, they offered the nicest collector DVD sets in the industry. BV USA was the only company that I know who actually commissioned Japanese artists to do new package illustrations and designs (except Urban Vision's Twilight of Dark Master) for sake of collectors. That's a something that other companies don't do. Anyway, we're not sure if BV titles will be available after its merger with its sister company. If they're going to be available, I would love to see both regular edition and collectors edition in lower price and in better quality. |
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