Forum - View topicNEWS: Navarre Reports that Funimation Exceeds Q1 Expectations
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GATSU
Posts: 15313 |
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Nebs: I'm still technically right, since it wasn't the top-selling anime of the year. As for the Ghibli stuff, it probably ranks higher, if they categorize it under "highest selling dvd", and not just anime dvd.
Anyway, FUNimation's really taking a big risk with this many license-rescues, since they're hoping they have a bigger consumer base than ADV and Geneon combined, and/or that most of the potentially interested fans didn't purchase those dvds the first time around. |
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ConanSan
Posts: 1818 |
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Yes, he knows that you have to release crap to make money. |
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hikaru004
 Posts: 2306 |
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As soon as the internet sites have the FUNi sales, it won't make a difference because people will buy them. Besides, not all the Geneon properties made it over to FUNi just the recent popular ones.
But...Dragon Ball Z beat out everybody in the anime category. FUNi also had Afro Samurai which also beat out Howl's Moving Castle, the only Ghibli property in the top 10 for 2007. Now if they would repackage Welcome to NHK and give us the R2 covers instead for the collection which were magazine parodies that would be great. |
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Kireek
Posts: 274 |
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I too also thoght what the hell are funi doing realeasing a load of titles it never worked for geneon and ADV............But now that there the only company around with a bit of competition from Bandai I can see why they have done it.
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Richard J.
 Posts: 3367 Location: Sic Semper Tyrannis. |
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The thing everyone seems to ignore in these discussions is that there are fundamental differences in the way each of the R1 companies does things. Funimation has the business model that works best apparently while others are having increasing problems. I think a big part of what's making them successful is that they actually market their titles.
I've actually seen ads for their anime in places that weren't 100% anime focused. They're actually trying to keep their website current too. And while I know some people hate English dubs with a passion that burns brains to ash, they have decent trailers showcasing both the show and the dub for it. The occasional free online episodes to preview don't hurt and I doubt having, what is it, five or six trailers on a disc is a sales killer. Their biggest problem in my mind is that lack of major mainstream penetration but that has a lot to do with with fans as well as getting the TV people to accept that cartoons can be cool. I think they focus on the product. While some would disagree big time (oh the videophiles like the lamented porcupine would very much disagree) they put out anime in ever more affordable ways. Singles gave way to premium boxsets, PBs to cheap sets. And even then some of the cheap sets gave way to even cheaper sets down the road. And they don't make a habit of tossing out disc content like ADV and they apparently don't over-estimate the profitability of titles like Geneon. (I'm sure Fighting Spirit is an awesome show but way over budgeted. And it wasn't the only one.) Anyway, personally I predict even rosier numbers in the future for them. (Though if things don't change, Navarre might have some problems due to some of their other parts.) |
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belisarius
Posts: 203 Location: Concord, NC |
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Re-read what I wrote. I understand that Funi didn't buy licenses directly from ADV, I'm saying that the titles they picked up, from whoever (be it Sojitz, etc...) they probably got for FAR LESS than ADV paid for them. Why? Because ADV proved they were over paying for licenses. I would be very, very surprised if the Japanese license holders got the same prices out of Funi that they did out of ADV. With Funimation the only big name in town right now, they (the Japanese) have to have realized they didn't have a lot of alternatives outside of releasing these titles themselves. So, for them, I imagine the situation came down to a question of Do we want to make somewhat less money in America or no money at all? (At least on those particular licenses) I concede 100% that I could be over-estimating Funimations bargaining power, but it appears as though they're the only R1 company capable of taking on such a broad set of projects.
You're absolutely correct. However, my opinion is that Marginal Titles only cannibalize each others' sales, not those of Mainstream titles. First of all, the market's probably a little different in that Mainstream titles can be purchased by non-enthusiasts who'd never even consider more obscure shows. Secondly, serious anime fans who still buy DVDs (there aren't that many of us, unfortunately) are going to prioritize those big titles in any event. If anything, the big Mainstream titles are going to dent Marginal titles sales. Obviously, your goal as a business is to sell as much of your most profitable goods and services as possible, but neglecting niche markets in which you can still earn some money (albeit less than your big sellers) is still a mistake. To what extent this occurs, it's hard to say, but my guess is Funimation's going to find out. |
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leftbehindxp
 Posts: 142 |
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Funimation is going to get a lot of my money in the near future. Hopefully they will release more boxsets from the ADV and Geneon Collections for a cheaper price.
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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Mostly replying to GATSU here: "Although Funimation's sales numbers for the quarter were lower than last year's, Navarre explains this by the fact that May of 2007 saw the launch of Afro Samurai, which went on to become the top-selling anime DVD of the entire year." I would like to point out the following: (from the linked ICv2 list) ICv2 Top Ten Anime Properties for 2007: 1. Dragon Ball Z 2. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children 3. Pokemon 4. Naruto 5. Afro Samurai Note PLURAL vs. SINGULAR. If you want to say Ghibli collectively did better than Afro Samurai by itself, I'd expect you are correct. Likewise, if you want to say Afro Samurai sold more than any given single DVD for DBZ or Naruto in 2007, I'd ASSUME you're correct. (I have no idea what the explanation surrounding Advent Children is) Apparently, Afro Samurai is the top selling SINGLE anime DVD of 2007, that thought plus FFVII:AC being the number 2 "property" sickens me, but there it is. (also, for the record, on the ICv2 list there are 2 Ghibli titles, Howls is #6 and Totoro is #9, altho I gotta say good for Robotech on breaking the top 10 in 2007) |
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Beruda
Posts: 114 |
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Hard to believe Afro Samurai was the top selling dvd.
B. |
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MokonaModoki
 Posts: 437 Location: Austin, Texas |
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Same story as DBZ, Pokemon, and Naruto: multiple releases (2). The 2006 release continued to sell into 2007, and the double dipping from collector's edition (with an MSRP of $49.95) couldn't have hurt its profitability. Afro Samurai had 2 releases too, but I doubt the edited release was a major factor vs the uncut. In any case, we can all agree that GATSU is wrong.
That's because you are thinking about it from the perspective of an anime fan, and seeing it as the mediocre property that it is. A lot of people liked Afro Samurai who aren't anime fans at all. It's just a big crossover title, just like Advent Children was. It's also stupid cheap compared to most anime. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15313 |
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Mokona: If I'm wrong, then Heero wouldn't somewhat agree with my points. While I don't doubt it did well enough with SLJ's name attached to it, an R-rated dvd of a show which bombed on cable can only go so far. [Ghibli titles, on the other hand, also sell to consumers who aren't necessarily anime fans; and they're more accessible, due to their PG ratings.] But maybe the argument against FF7: AC is whether or not you can consider it "anime". If you don't, then you could easily argue that it's the "best"-selling title in that genre. Though some have argued that Ghibli doesn't qualify as "anime", either, since it's not trying to fit a particular genre. Though that argument would pretty much cancel out stuff like Honneamise and Mindgame, if that were the case. So I'm still sticking with my claim that Totoro was bigger, especially since it has a pre-established fanbase built up out of those FOX dvds and tapes.
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