Max Jenius Posted February 2, 2005 Posted February 2, 2005 Bootlegs kick ass. Maybe if US Anime/Manga Importers didn't gouge everyone this wouldn't be a problem. Though I am unaware of the costs in Asia.... Quote
Fortress_Maximus Posted February 2, 2005 Posted February 2, 2005 The costs for producing these bootlegs especially for anime is relatively low in comparison to the licensed domestic R2 versions. As I mentioned earlier the domestic versions have to go through proper legal work and pay for the licensing and distribution rights, etc. There are quite a few costs involved, the problem is partly due to this and the fact the domestic companies are trying to maximize profits, as such they charge as much as possible while releasing the dvds in a format that will appeal to general audiences, not necessarily the diehard otakus/anime fans. With all these factors involved you need to see that the Asian underground companies/stores simply copy, burn and distribute without any regard to the legal issues involved. Sure consumers win b/c there is a huge demand in Asia alone, but many of these pirated versions are specifically shipped to the USA too. IMO the bootleggers won't stop until the mainland and HK seriously crackdown on IP violations. Doubt it will happen so you will find bootlegs conveniently located in most Chinatowns and/or Asian anime, manga related stores. Quote
Radd Posted February 2, 2005 Posted February 2, 2005 I knwo you're an animation student but aren't you a full time student? I haven't been an animation student since 2000-2001, I've graduated to being an ex-animation student that can't find work. The school I went to wasn't all that worthwhile, either. They wouldn't always give the anime club a television set and VCR for the evening, and several staff members were trying to get the club shut down. Quote
MSW Posted February 2, 2005 Posted February 2, 2005 I wouldn't say domestic companies are out to gouge the customer exactly...they do have to license the property, translate it, write a sub and/or dub script...license packageing images and other properties (like music) that isn't covered by licenseing the product itself (and even then there are lawyer fees in two contries, all the translation required to communicate etc..)...set print and disk authoring/pressing time...tickle the fancy of retailers to stock the disks once released...course if there are dubs involved then you must rent recording studio time, hire voice talent, etc... That adds up quickly...then factor in how popular the release might be...it cost more per disk for small releases then larger ones... Pirates can sell them cheap because they have not made that investment...they only deal with the disk pressing end of things...often the cheapest part of getting a domestic release out the door. This isn't to say that the domestic companies arn't makeing money...and seriously after they make such a huge investment in a release, it doesn't do the industry any good if they arn't makeing money...but they arn't out to rip you off either. Quote
Fortress_Maximus Posted February 3, 2005 Posted February 3, 2005 Perhaps but these domestic companies aren't attempting to reduce their prices either. Instead of getting into dvd price wars which happens for other titles but rarely anime, we have preorders which at best shave off a discount for the early birds. But for the average anime viewer dvds are just too damn pricey. Until this changes, bootleggers will remain laughing all the way to the bank. Quote
MSW Posted February 3, 2005 Posted February 3, 2005 Perhaps but these domestic companies aren't attempting to reduce their prices either. Instead of getting into dvd price wars which happens for other titles but rarely anime, we have preorders which at best shave off a discount for the early birds. But for the average anime viewer dvds are just too damn pricey. Until this changes, bootleggers will remain laughing all the way to the bank. Look, its simple economics...Many, many, MANY more people buy the Spiderman 2 DVD then would buy Cowboy Bebop...as mainstream as anime currently is, it isn't really even remotely as mainstream as big Hollywood flicks...they get into price wars because they can sell a whole hell of a lot more DVDs... Lets say you start your own company and are able to license a recent 30 episode show for 3 million...everything is included (art, music, etc) in that fee...so now you have the domestic release rights...add another million for packageing, disk authoring, sub and new dub tracks...so far this is DIRT cheap...add an additional 2 million for advertiseing your release, nice big eye catching adds in all the right magazines and web sites...so far you have spent six million dollars...and lets say you get the break of a lifetime and the DVD pressing, packageing, and shipping to distribution is FREE...you want this to be super competitive price wise so you target a $30 retail price point for the whole 30 episode box set...now once retail establishments and distributers take thier fair share...you might only make $15 per sale...meaning you must sell 400,000 box sets BEFORE you make any money ... if you consistantly sold 10,000 units per month (thats quite a lot for a domestic anime release) it would take over three years before you broke even...and in the mean time you have employees and bills to pay...not to mention paying for additional advertiseing to keep buyers interested in your release...but if you sold the set at $60 (makeing $45 per unit) you only have to sell some 130,000+ units to make your money back (at the same 10,000 per month rate thats just over a year)...which means you can start shopping around for another anime to license for release that much sooner... Quote
Jolly Rogers Posted February 3, 2005 Posted February 3, 2005 (edited) Beat me to it, and put it much more eloquently... Edited February 3, 2005 by Jolly Rogers Quote
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