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NEWS: Bandai Cracks Down on Bootleggers at Anime Expo

Sure, I think it's great that these companies are cracking down, but I really don't see any profit coming from it. The only thing that will happen is more of the international crowd being a little irked that Americans are shutting down some of their pathways to the market. I guarantee that Bandai will only see profit increases because the market is growing in the US, not because they shut off HK bootlegs. Other than that go American Licensees!

There will always be exceptions, but it still makes for a good rule of thumb. Some Japanese DVDs have subtitles, a few even have english tracks, but these are still very few and far between.

Emerje

Himemiya wrote:

House of Anime has bootlegs? O.o What type of bootlegs was HOA caught with?

In addition to renting out DVDs that were not legal releases even after the legit ones came into market, their CD collection is comprised primarily of SonMays, EverAnimes and Alion.

Their wallscrolls and posters also appeared to be not from Japan but of the sort that many other vendors carry (printed in Hong Kong or Taiwan).

Hmm.

I admit I'm a bit torn on the whole bootleg issue....

On one hand, I wholeheartedly want to support American companies that are bringing the anime industry to the US. Particularly the ones who take the time to put together high-quality translations, watchable dubs and interesting DVD extras. Good stuff, and I want them to do well.

On the other hand, many of those companies are releasing discs that have only three or four episodes each, and are rarely less than $25 a pop. For a long-running show like Rurouni Kenshin or Inu Yasha, that adds up to hundreds of dollars. And if you're a student (or an underpaid production assistant, such as myself) that kind of spending isn't an option. I admit that I've bought HK boots of several series because I wanted to own them, but couldn't justify spending an entire week's paycheck on DVDs.

If American anime importers are genuinely interested in elbowing out bootlegs, they might want to consider the finances of their demographic when deciding how many episodes to put on each disc, and how much those discs will cost.

*sighs* alas, somehow I don't think it'll work out that way ;;

i mean, boot dvd prices are dirt cheap... you'll need to move a helluva lot more volume than McDonald's to make anything significant. The boot people even put there email addresses on the screen right in the middle of the anime. What kind of mafia discreetness is that?

As far as a stance on bootlegs, I actually asked a guy who was selling the stuff as I've always wondered why shops carry them anyways. He said he didn't want to sell it, but it was the only way to make any type of money in the anime biz because the domestic stuff is pretty pricey for his target market and the markup isn't that good. His target was teenagers and young adults, where most said they'd much rather wait a week longer and save their allowance and buy the latest video game ($45 - $50) which would last them a week or so than buy the latest anime dvd ($25-$30) which would only last 90 min (extras are no reason to buy a dvd). The store owner assured me that for every dollar he earned, he re-invested in domestic dvd's. Looking at his shelves, he only carried a small handful of the more popular boots that hadn't or had just barely been licensed... around 10 different titles. His domestic DVD selection was probably around 500 discs and growing. "Right now, surviving as a small shop, import dvd's are the only way to get by while the prices of anime are still pretty steep."

In the US, you're able to get LotR: Return of the King 2-disc special edition with 3 languages, subs and a tankload of extras for $19.99. 3 dinky anime episodes can hardly compare for $29.99.

I guess one of the US dist. companies is going to need to pull a 'Tokyopop' on the industry and start selling dvd's at a more reasonable price (like Tokyopop stomped Viz in the Manga biz with a $9.99 tag on new titles). Who ever does it first might find their face on the cover of Forbes Small Business just like Levy (hint hint ADV).

There are a lot of us, who have very tight budgets, and yet still find money to buy legal anime. For instance, if you only buy a dvd or two at a time, you can afford to collect a series a bit at a time.

Lastly about them considering the finances of their customers, perhaps we should instead consider the amount of money they spend to bring us these shows. The people that work for these companies are just trying to earn a living, and unlike say a hollywood movie, each dvd sold really matters in terms of the company staying around, they can't afford to take loses.

Just a random though:
I don't see anyboy giving me a new car for half price because I don't have any money.

Be a good citizen, but limit myself to the handful of discs I can afford?

And like I said, I want to support those companies and help them to do well. But which would be better for them -- lose a lot of money to bootleggers because of the high cost and low value (in terms of episode count) of their discs? Or lower their prices, beef up their content and thus drastically increase the volume of discs sold?

True. Which is why many in that position would opt to go for a cheaper, if inferior, model instead.

Lastly about them considering the finances of their customers, perhaps we should instead consider the amount of money they spend to bring us these shows. The people that work for these companies are just trying to earn a living, and unlike say a hollywood movie, each dvd sold really matters in terms of the company staying around, they can't afford to take loses.

Just a random though:
I don't see anyboy giving me a new car for half price because I don't have any money.

If he can't afford to buy/sell legal anime, then why doesn't he perhaps get into another business, perhaps the video game market?

And how many millions did LotR make at the box-office before it was release to dvd? Perhaps that's why it's a bit cheaper than anime. And if you're paying $29.99 for a 3 ep disc then you need to go online or find a better store. I can go to Best Buy and get a 5 ep disc for $20 any day of the week.

We're already paying the lowest prices we ever have for anime, and they're pretty good if you consider what I said above. (about how the only way amercian companies make any money back is buy selling dvds)