Forum - View topicHow hard is it for anime over in Japan, WSJ lets us know.
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2 |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Koji98
 Posts: 112 |
|
|||
http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_ss?__mk_ja_JP=%83Jタ%83J%83i&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bakemonogatari&x=0&y=0 Here's a list of Bakemonogatari Blu-ray/DVDs. Now, look at the first item on the list, which is the first volume of Bakemonogatari on Blu-ray. The price after the 27% off is ￥5,386. As of this post, 1 USD equals to around 87.9557 JPY. http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=1&From=USD&To=JPY&image.x=41&image.y=12&image=Submit http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter#from=USD;to=JPY;amt=1 http://money.cnn.com/data/currencies/ So, ￥5,386 equals to $61.2482. About $61 if we round it down. Now, click on the actual item and bring up its page. When you scroll down, you will see information about the disk. 時間: 48 分 is listed there. If you are to put that through google translate, it translates to Time: 48 minutes. A 48 minute run time pretty much consists of only two episodes. animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-10-21/japanese-animation-blu-ray-disc-ranking-october-12-18 At the time this newspost was made, the first Blu-ray volume of Bakemonogatari, that I have been talking about, had sold about 40,000 copies, which is is really good. That information is for Blu-ray only, and adding the numbers of the DVDs sold makes it about 56,000 according to Sankaku Complex, (NSFW) http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2009/10/14/bakemonogatari-sales-monstrous-indeed/. This isn't an attack, this is just me adding more information from what hissatsu01 said, along with providing evidence to back it up. Note: The volume 1 of Bakemonogatari Blu-ray is listed as the Limited Edition version on amazon.com, but the sell numbers are of this version and not of a standard version. |
||||
|
||||
Mushi-Man
 Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
|
|||
I think this might actually be the simplest way to raise income for these companies. The Japanese anime market is structured horrible. Im honestly surprised anime is still being made at this level. From what I understand the production companies' main source of income is from sponsorship and royalties. This is an awful way to function, the market is extremely limited in this sense. And they sure as hell aren't getting much money from dvd sales. Just look at this past week's anime dvd sales we see really low numbers. The top selling dvd posting numbers only in the 6,000. By most industry standards, that is awful. Even when accounting for smaller Japanese population (compared to America's) and the fact that even in Japan anime is often a sub culture thing, these numbers are still quite low. And I think the main reason for this is the nightmarish prices on dvds in Japan. American's, who have to go through allot more legal tape and additional payments to get the shows on the market, only pay a fraction of what the average Japanese fan would have to pay. I honestly think that the Japanese anime market could greatly benefit from actually cutting coasts of dvds. |
||||
|
||||
|
Wu Ming
Posts: 113 |
|
|||
|
Given what was said in the news report though, i have two questions:
1.) What was the difference between our current time and 4 years ago? 2.) If the above is only the fact that the global economy has been severely battered, than despite our love for the products, doesn't it essentially make sense that a subset of the larger entertainment industry should be going through tough times? Maybe there just isn't enough disposable income in the domestic market as there was 4 years ago. |
||||
|
||||
zgripţuroicǎ
 Posts: 140 Location: Newburgh, NY |
|
|||
|
Okay, guys, let's clear things up. Japan has a very poorly structured distribution scheme. Because of the number of middlemen, DVDs cost substantially more. I really don't feel like the anime industry on its own has the economic might to change how the entire Japanese distribution system for products work. Keep in mind, this is a country where melons can sell for over $100.
Secondly, the DVD sales are nice, but it's been mentioned in a couple ANN articles recently that on the Japanese side of things, most anime profits are derived from merchandise. OSTs, shirts, action figures and the like are where the profits are to be found in Japan. On the US side of things (since we've got a couple of people who are still whining about it), DVDs cost $30 or so for a reason. Dubbing, translation, licensing, and all the other costs associated with localization need to be recouped. This is true of all foreign media, really. Look at this. Almost fifty years old, the domestic release of The Virgin Spring retails for $35. Why? It's a niche market. Like foreign films, anime makes up a fairly small chunk of US DVD and Blu-Ray sales. Also, for the genius economist, lowering the cost to boost sales doesn't always work. It works fairly well if you're part of a large company, can expect to gain a significant amount from it, and have the financial backing to grin and bare it if it fails. If you have a niche market, you automatically destroy that for most titles. You don't see any licensors with the financial might of Fox Movies. You also don't see anime distributors that sell as much. That's why Fox can release DVDs at $15-$20, and still make a profit. When talking about lowering the price to ensure profit, you need to take volume of sales into account. Anime doesn't have the sales figures necessary. For someone who's holding back and sticking to basic economics to shelter use from his (or her) braininess, you seem to be lacking any understanding of the topic. Next you'll probably tell me mom-and-pop stores deserved to go out of business when Walmart came around, because those idiots didn't boost sales by setting their prices lower than Walmart's. In short, the market isn't large enough to sustain itself at such prices. While demand might initially go up, the companies would be burning up money, and nobody could afford to stay in business. Plus, with anime already being a small market, the money from merchandise taps an even smaller market, so they don't really get money off the merchandise here like they do in Japan. If you're going to post in a thread on a topic you're (admittedly) utterly ignorant about, expect to look dumb. You don't know how Japanese companies work (We don't have to hack them to know about the chain of distribution, it's a common problem in most Japanese industries), you don't know a thing of their economy, and you also don't know how things work in the one area you claim to be interested in. Come back when you've learned how things work and gotten a grasp on basic economics, ShinobiX. Although you've clearly mastered irony. Your line, "Ok a flamer. A stupid one too." directed at Koji98 was simply sublime. The perfect use of irony made me laugh quite a bit. If only you used economics as effectively. |
||||
|
||||
yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
|
|||
The factor that determines whether lower prices yield higher total revenues is the price elasticity of demand. The anime market in Japan seems fairly price inelastic. That may be the result of if being "niche;" I also suspect it has something to do with the market having a large proportion of people with relatively high incomes and relatively low living costs. Japanese census data show that large fractions of people between 18 and 35, men in particular, are still living with parents at those ages. The otaku among them have enough disposable income to spend it on anime and affiliated products. People living on their own, and especially people raising families, may simply be unable to afford anime products at any reasonable price.
Actually the biggest difference between movie studios and anime licensors isn't size, but the fact that the movies have already made back some or all of their initial production costs in theaters. DVDs, television syndication, and overseas sales all constitute "gravy" for films. DVDs are the whole meal for anime licensors. |
||||
|
||||
hissatsu01
 Posts: 963 Location: NYC |
|
|||
Actually, the stupid flamer comment was aimed at me. 
Not that it makes much difference. I doubt he'll learn a thing, even though he admittedly has no clue what he's talking about. This is a guy who thinks that the yen is now weak compared to the dollar because after all the puny little yen is only worth like 1/89th of a dollar. Anything beyond "Durr, just lower the prices!" seems to be beyond him. |
||||
|
||||
|
zgripţuroicǎ
Posts: 140 Location: Newburgh, NY |
|
|||
|
Well, it can all be summed up by saying domestic releases tend to have several advantages anime doesn't. Whether it's a movie's run in theatres, or Family Guy airing on television countless times, they have other ways of making money besides just DVD sales, and they can expect more of them.
If anime could expect to see sales go up by a 20% if they reduced the price of a DVD to $20, they might be able to do it and make their money back. But they can't expect that, because it's a poorly advertised niche market. It gets comparatively little shelf space in mainstream stores, although it is expanding. Also, count the number of anime ads you've seen outside a publication or website dedicated to anime. Excluding youtube, I think I can count them on one hand. They're not going to see enough sales to make their money back. I'd also speculate that anime fans in the US tend to have a pretty large disposable income, at least the ones purchasing legitimate DVDs. There are fans who don't have the money, and they just buy bootlegs or get the fansubs. If you're living off $25000 a year, and you're a fan of a long series like Inuyasha, it's a no brainer. Buying the legitimate DVDs could probably run you up on $1000, plus more for the manga or new show if you want to know how it ends. Buying the bootlegs might run $200. As much as I wish they could, I don't think anime studios in the US can really cut the price of a DVD to match domestic releases and still run a profitable business. |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group