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Funimation, Sony Comment on Majority Acquisition Deal


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Karl2



Joined: 16 Nov 2015
Posts: 59
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:18 pm Reply with quote
Now if they plan to have everything on PS4, I wonder if they are going to try to have them available in Western Playstation regions, because that is one positive I can see.
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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:32 pm Reply with quote
The Funimation sale is still waiting on the ink to dry. Nothing big will happen for a while. SONY is still getting their house in order and from their earnings report it looks like that is beginning to bear fruit for them.

Mark Gosdin
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fathomlessblue



Joined: 28 Mar 2012
Posts: 345
Location: Manchester, UK
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:42 pm Reply with quote
It's interesting to note what they don't mention. I'm pretty sure the thing people are most concerned about is the future for physical releases from the company, which, aside from upcoming scheduled licences, isn't addressed here. Will future aquisitions follow the same pricing of standard/collectors editions of one cour releases, or are there plans to pull an Aniplex & out-price all but the most diehard of collectors with pricier, lower episode sets? I'd like indication of how the business might change before being expected to accept that everything will continue as normal.
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KH91



Joined: 17 May 2013
Posts: 6176
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:46 pm Reply with quote
If you check the original source from The Hollywood Reporter, it states:

Quote:
The company also operates subscription streaming service FunimationNOW, which is available via Sony's PlayStation Store, iTunes Store, Google Play, Amazon Apps, Xbox Game Store and mobile devices.


Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens in the future.
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KabaKabaFruit



Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Posts: 1870
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 2:59 pm Reply with quote
I still expect that at some point in the future, Sony's board of directors will oust Fukunaga. I'll be breaking out the champagne once that happens.
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Kougeru



Joined: 13 May 2008
Posts: 5526
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:03 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
"We have IP across Funimation, Aniplex, Animax and the PlayStation platform, the challenge is to connect them all organically," Yoshida said.


This completely contradicts Funimation's statement of "Nothing will change".
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Sakurafire_



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 64
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:07 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
Quote:
"We have IP across Funimation, Aniplex, Animax and the PlayStation platform, the challenge is to connect them all organically," Yoshida said.


This completely contradicts Funimation's statement of "Nothing will change".


Personally this seems to me like the beginning of the end for Funimation. They can say that nothing is going to change, but in reality they don't have a say in anything anymore.
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MoonStar9



Joined: 01 Aug 2017
Posts: 24
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:25 pm Reply with quote
So it happened after all. There goes any independent decision they make with their licenses... Funimation actually learned how to appeal to their audience through years of trial and error, and they became quite adept at it. Now I'm worried about the changes that are certain to follow. Regardless, Funimation in its current incarnation is on its deathbed.
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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4421
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:32 pm Reply with quote
Kougeru wrote:
Quote:
"We have IP across Funimation, Aniplex, Animax and the PlayStation platform, the challenge is to connect them all organically," Yoshida said.


This completely contradicts Funimation's statement of "Nothing will change".


The part that stands out to me is that Funimation and Aniplex were mentioned right next to each other. If the idea is to connect things organically, it would seem contradictory to operate both companies independently of each other. Just consider the difference between the two in prices for physical releases. Unless Sony decided that Aniplex was the "premium" line and Funimation was the "standard" line, it seems odd to "organically connect" two business that take different approaches to the same market. It seems like something has to give, and I'm concerned that Sony will choose the option that is more expensive for customers.

I do hope that maybe the whole organic connection thing just means finding a way to make all these different things available for easier streaming, or something like that.


Last edited by Greed1914 on Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7336
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:35 pm Reply with quote
Sounds like Sony is just trying to find a way to make a media platform where they can host videos from the entire group on PS4. I'd expect it to be similar to what Crunchyroll setup with VRV and possibly not effect FUNi's individual streaming platform.

Emerje
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MarshalBanana



Joined: 31 Aug 2014
Posts: 5312
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:38 pm Reply with quote
Does anyone have a transcript, when I click on the link it just redirects me to the UK site.
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ragnawind



Joined: 29 Sep 2009
Posts: 68
Location: Florida, USA
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:16 pm Reply with quote
Greed1914 wrote:
Kougeru wrote:
Quote:
"We have IP across Funimation, Aniplex, Animax and the PlayStation platform, the challenge is to connect them all organically," Yoshida said.


This completely contradicts Funimation's statement of "Nothing will change".


The part that stands out to me is that Funimation and Aniplex were mentioned right next to each other. If the idea is to connect things organically, it would seem contradictory to operate both companies independently of each other. Just consider the difference between the two in prices for physical releases. Unless Sony decided that Aniplex was the "premium" line and Funimation was the "standard" line, it seems odd to "organically connect" two business that take different approaches to the same market. It seems like something has to give, and I'm concerned that Sony will choose the option that is more expensive for customers.

I do hope that maybe the whole organic connection thing just means finding a way to make all these different things available for easier streaming, or something like that.


Something many people don't seem to relaize is that Aniplex has no means of distribution within the USA itself and is deeply rooted in the traditional 4-7 episode discs releases, while Funimation does have their own distribution netwokr. You can also buy digital copies of Aniplex titles for about half the cost of physical, since their pricing is the same as any other TV show or movie in the digital market. Aniplex just chooses to have their stuff made in Japan and then imported to the US for distribution, while Funimation has production and distribution handled in the USA, which csots a lot less and allows them to sell for less. It also makes sense to keep all of their companies separate, but allow collaborations to cut costs and increase profit. This could cause delays, but it would lower overall costs and increase overall profits.
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Snakebit1995



Joined: 25 Apr 2015
Posts: 842
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Greed1914 wrote:
Kougeru wrote:
Quote:
"We have IP across Funimation, Aniplex, Animax and the PlayStation platform, the challenge is to connect them all organically," Yoshida said.


This completely contradicts Funimation's statement of "Nothing will change".


The part that stands out to me is that Funimation and Aniplex were mentioned right next to each other. If the idea is to connect things organically, it would seem contradictory to operate both companies independently of each other. Just consider the difference between the two in prices for physical releases. Unless Sony decided that Aniplex was the "premium" line and Funimation was the "standard" line, it seems odd to "organically connect" two business that take different approaches to the same market. It seems like something has to give, and I'm concerned that Sony will choose the option that is more expensive for customers.

I do hope that maybe the whole organic connection thing just means finding a way to make all these different things available for easier streaming, or something like that.


It's also a possibility that someone from Sony still has no idea what their doing and spat out contradicting nonsense that they didn't know made little sense.
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CatSword



Joined: 01 Jul 2014
Posts: 1489
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:49 pm Reply with quote
They went out of their way to neither confirm nor deny including Funimation content on Crackle or PlayStation Vue. While I think Crackle is on death's door, I still think a revived Funimation Channel/Animax would be good to have on PlayStation Vue.
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DeTroyes



Joined: 30 May 2016
Posts: 520
PostPosted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:20 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Funimation noted in its FAQ that its deal with Sony "does not involve Aniplex."


Yet.

Between this and the recent announcements for Daisuke and AnimeNetwork, it appears the long-suspected thinning of the herd consolidation of services has begun. It was probably only a matter of time, considering how big-money players like Amazon and Netflix have entered the anime ring. Which also makes me wonder if Crunchyroll (more or less a subsidiary of AT&T) now has a big acquisition target on it. HiDive certainly does, and will probably be gobbled up by someone bigger just for its catalogue.


Last edited by DeTroyes on Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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