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Answerman - Are Anime Companies Cutting Back On Convention Appearances?

I still get Funimation titles a bit early too, but those have been closer to the stated release date. I suspect that since Funimation also has its own store, they opted not to distribute copies to other retailers too early.

vision33r wrote:

[So what you're claiming is that stealing is ok if you don't have the cash? That sort of reasoning is why there will be fewer jobs as the content industry can't expand. Anime companies stay in Japan because Japanese fans do support the anime industry by paying for content & merchandise.

Hit the nail right on the head. I was in a FB group and they all talk about is where can I find this show and that show to torrent or stream illegally. I go on to explain to them that doing that isn't helping the industry one bit. And that the more they do that then that is just hurting all the anime fans. They then go on to complain that they don't have any money. Yet I countered saying that if you can afford to go out to eat, or have a $300 cell phone, and internet, then you can afford to support the industry. If that means you have to give up going out a few times a week then wouldn't that be the better thing to do? Nope, not to this generation of entitled spoiled brats that don't want to work for anything and want everything handed to them. I mean heck even if you can't buy the physical releases then you can at least sign up for CR, Funi, or Netflix. That is dirt cheap. And heck even if you watch CR (free) with the commercials it is still better then watching it on KissAnime and the other BS sites like that.
I'm a disabled Iraq veteran that makes 20% from the VA. That is a $266 a month and I still make sure to buy my anime. I may not be able to get everything right away but I do make sure to set aside enough to be able to get the blu rays I want. And heck I still have rent, utilities, car insurance, food, internet, and a cell phone to pay.
I mean it isn't that hard. Then again, working hard is something this generation seems to not know how to do.

I really only have one thought regarding the "people spend money at conventions vs. online argument. We as a community could discuss buying trends of fans all we want, but fundamentally fans buy things at conventions if they don't have a credit card and online if they do.

neozxtc wrote:

I mean it isn't that hard. Then again, working hard is something this generation seems to not know how to do.

As fellow veteran, I agree with you. I think current generation of young fans take things for granted. I want to add that their parents raised them wrong by giving them everything they want. When I was a teenager in the 90's, I bought a $500 Laserdisc player and a few anime LDs with money I saved from a summer job.

I really only have one thought regarding the "people spend money at conventions vs. online argument. We as a community could discuss buying trends of fans all we want, but fundamentally fans buy things at conventions if they don't have a credit card and online if they do.

Kinda sucks knowing many of these companies don't come to local conventions a lot these days.
But that's a given I suppose, given the cost.

reanimator wrote:

neozxtc wrote: I mean it isn't that hard. Then again, working hard is something this generation seems to not know how to do. As fellow veteran, I agree with you. I think current generation of young fans take things for granted. I want to add that their parents raised them wrong by giving them everything they want. When I was a teenager in the 90's, I bought a $500 Laserdisc player and a few anime LDs with money I saved from a summer job.

There may be some truth to that, but it's worth bearing in mind that this generation of teenagers is growing up in an age of unprecedented advancements in job-killing automation and AI, implacable government austerity, and bipartisan job-killing "trade" agreements. Which means that the teenager summer jobs of yesteryear are now increasingly held year-round by adults who've been pushed out of employment in other sectors. Combine that with stagnant wages, virtually non-existent unions, increased college debt, and increased costs for housing, health care, food, etc., and you have a recipe for decreasing disposable income, relative to the past. As the population increases while the amount of available jobs decreases, something's eventually going to have to give.

I'm sorry, but I can't stand when I hear people saying that the younger generation is lazy or doesn't know what hard work is. I work with 19 and 20 year olds that busy their ass every day, and 40 year olds who are the laziest most worthless people I've ever worked with. It's not about the generation, or the age bracket. It's about the individual and their work ethic. Plus, every generation says this about the generation that came after them.

[...]

Turning this around… if it's not too indelicate to ask… what guides ANN's approach to appearing at conventions? I assume it's pretty ad hoc -- you go to AX every year because Zac, Jacob, and Justin are all in Southern California and it's by far the biggest. But beyond that? Sometimes you guys have a panel at Otakon (Christophe this year, joined by some of the writers), and we get reports from writers who attend other cons, but that's about it. I assume that if, for example, you rented a table in the dealer room and tried to get attendees to sign up for subscriptions to the site, it likely wouldn't pay for itself? And there isn't some other business case for attending?