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Ken Iyadomi on Bandai's Downsizing


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Clyde_Cash



Joined: 03 Dec 2011
Posts: 376
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:39 am Reply with quote
GWOtaku wrote:
Wow. It's that damned mindset that gave us Bandai Visual USA that killed the company, pretty much.

VORTIA wrote:
Once again, the typical disconnect between Japanese corporate expectations and American market reality.


Yep.

Why can't Japan open their eyes and do things the correct and infinitely superior American way? Stop selling single discs and switch to box sets! What do they think is going to happen? How can their culture even accept a dead business model and refuse to adapt to the times?
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here-and-faraway



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1528
Location: Sunny California
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:45 am Reply with quote
Does anyone know if their disc replacement program is still valid? I have a dud DVD that I know (used to) qualify.
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 3863
Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:48 am Reply with quote
Clyde_Cash wrote:
GWOtaku wrote:
Wow. It's that damned mindset that gave us Bandai Visual USA that killed the company, pretty much.

VORTIA wrote:
Once again, the typical disconnect between Japanese corporate expectations and American market reality.


Yep.

Why can't Japan open their eyes and do things the correct and infinitely superior American way? Stop selling single discs and switch to box sets! What do they think is going to happen? How can their culture even accept a dead business model and refuse to adapt to the times?


The business model worked for them in Japan hence why they have committed to it for so long and tried to stick it on the American market. However with changing trends and expectations here in America for pricing and the type of video releases we want, that is something the companies couldn't accept and they are now running off with their ball, especially with the deteriorating anime market dragging on here in the states.


Last edited by Ggultra2764 on Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:49 am; edited 1 time in total
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wAnder481



Joined: 11 Jan 2010
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:48 am Reply with quote
here-and-faraway wrote:
Does anyone know if their disc replacement program is still valid? I have a dud DVD that I know (used to) qualify.


I have a few copies of bandai dvd's that are sitting on my backlog and unopened. I need to figure out what titles had issues so I can determine if I need to replace them as well. If I recall, the majority of them were releases at the end of 2007 and early 2008?
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Takeyo



Joined: 25 Mar 2008
Posts: 736
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:54 am Reply with quote
Jeid wrote:
I hope Bandai Visual Japan wasn't taking Gundam Unicorn's sales *too* seriously.

I'm sure I'm not alone in that I was ok with paying $50/episode for that specific series with its dub and amazing production values (and, importantly, only 6 episode run), but there isn't much else I would commit that kind of cash for,

Let's hope Funimation's pricing scheme keeps going strong. I really don't want the Aniplex/Bandai Visual model to become the standard.

But this is the exact business model that some of these companies appear to be implementing. Most of us can't afford or justify the price point for the Japanese Gundam UC releases, but you and some other fans really want it, so you find a way to buy it. When Title X rolls around a little while later, you can't justify paying the same amount. Unfortunately, a couple dozen super-hardcore Title X fans are will to pay whatever is being asked, so you are out of luck.

Bandai Visual heard you loud and clear.

Edit for typo


Last edited by Takeyo on Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:57 am; edited 1 time in total
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
Posts: 4210
Location: Towson, Maryland
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:56 am Reply with quote
The big thing is that Anime companies don't NEED America or any other foreign country. They are just gravy.

So why bother spending all this time and money on focused foreign releases, when they can make similar money just doing english subtitles? For every person who buys the 400 dollar set, you'd need to find 10 people who'd buy the 40 dollar set to break even. Even if they don't sell 1/10th of the copies they would here, theres still more money to be made since they don't have to deal with a middleman.

Yeah, its a big middlefinger to the American fanbase, but lets be honest: They don't care about us. We're a tiny market that barely effects their overall profits.


Last edited by RyanSaotome on Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:02 pm; edited 2 times in total
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CorbeauKarasu



Joined: 17 Feb 2007
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:59 am Reply with quote
The article mentioned both January and February as cutoffs for DVD releases, so I'm a bit confused. What does this mean for the legends collection boxsets of Gundam 00, slated for February?
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Daimao Raki



Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 593
Location: Dark Side of the Moon
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:02 pm Reply with quote
Well getting Gundam Unicorn just shot up to the top of my list.
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:05 pm Reply with quote
GATSU wrote:
If they were so good, they wouldn't be re-releasing Gundam UC on DVD...


Uh... they released Unicorn on DVD because it's a Gundam title, and they know full well that not all Gundam fans have BD players and that they could still make money by releasing it on DVD.
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Panon



Joined: 07 Sep 2004
Posts: 242
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:08 pm Reply with quote
Clyde_Cash wrote:
Why can't Japan open their eyes and do things the correct and infinitely superior American way? Stop selling single discs and switch to box sets! What do they think is going to happen? How can their culture even accept a dead business model and refuse to adapt to the times?


...seriously?
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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:09 pm Reply with quote
Takeyo wrote:
Jeid wrote:
I hope Bandai Visual Japan wasn't taking Gundam Unicorn's sales *too* seriously.

I'm sure I'm not alone in that I was ok with paying $50/episode for that specific series with its dub and amazing production values (and, importantly, only 6 episode run), but there isn't much else I would commit that kind of cash for,

Let's hope Funimation's pricing scheme keeps going strong. I really don't want the Aniplex/Bandai Visual model to become the standard.

But this is the exact business model that some of these companies appear to be implementing. Most of us can afford or justify the price point for the Japanese Gundam UC releases, but you and some other fans really want it, so you find a way to buy it. When Title X rolls around a little while later, you can't justify paying the same amount. Unfortunately, a couple dozen super-hardcore Title X fans are will to pay whatever is being asked, so you are out of luck.

Bandai Visual heard you loud and clear.


It's a dead-end street.

Eventually there's a point where even the super-hardcore fanbase begins to erode.

Likely to take a while, might be because of online streaming - legit or not, might be because of a bad run of disks - small lots and high prices leave you really vulnerable to QC problems or maybe the economy here or in Japan takes another nosedive.

I've seen this high price / small run approach taken in one of my other hobbies, it's much further along there and it is driving people - like me - away.

Hopefully it won't be able to take hold in the Anime industry.

Mark Gosdin
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 3863
Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:10 pm Reply with quote
CorbeauKarasu wrote:
The article mentioned both January and February as cutoffs for DVD releases, so I'm a bit confused. What does this mean for the legends collection boxsets of Gundam 00, slated for February?


Any video releases scheduled for this month and February from Bandai will still happen thus the Gundam 00 Anime Legends sets should be unaffected and be released next month.
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Megiddo



Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 8360
Location: IL
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:11 pm Reply with quote
RyanSaotome wrote:
The big thing is that Anime companies don't NEED America or any other foreign country. They are just gravy.

So why bother spending all this time and money on focused foreign releases, when they can make similar money just doing english subtitles? For every person who buys the 400 dollar set, you'd need to find 10 people who'd buy the 40 dollar set to break even. Even if they don't sell 1/10th of the copies they would here, theres still more money to be made since they don't have to deal with a middleman.

Yeah, its a big middlefinger to the American fanbase, but lets be honest: They don't care about us. We're a tiny market that barely effects their overall profits.

Bingo. In the early to mid 2000's, it can be said that North America most likely had some sort of influence, but by now what small bit we had has dissipated. Japan doesn't need us. That's basically the message I have been getting for quite awhile now.

So I'd expect a lot more Fate/Zero-esque imports (for the smash hit shows) and maybe something like the NISA and Aniplex DVD boxes for the slightly lesser shows.

In terms of active-licensing R1 companies, it's basically FUNi, Sentai, and... Media Blasters(?) that remain now
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firedragon54738



Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 3113
Location: wisconsin
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:16 pm Reply with quote
This sucks no more new releases and just of how long will they release stuff the hope for a retooling is becoming less and less
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Clyde_Cash



Joined: 03 Dec 2011
Posts: 376
PostPosted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:19 pm Reply with quote
Ggultra2764 wrote:
The business model worked for them in Japan hence why they have committed to it for so long and tried to stick it on the American market. However with changing trends and expectations here in America for pricing and the type of video releases we want, that is something the companies couldn't accept and they are now running off with their ball, especially with the deteriorating anime market dragging on here in the states.

Why does it work over there? It's gouging! We anime fans are not the top 1%! There's no valid reason to make anyone pay so much for a single disc of any TV show!

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