MACROSS PLUS!

[bandit29]

If Manga is distributing to HG's store wouldn't Manga have to get permission from the original liscense holder, BW? BW could always pull the liscense from Manga.

If something comes out of this so be it.  The Macross franchise isn't big enough to have several companies fighting over it.

No, Manga wouldn't have to get permission.

Being the distributor, they can distribute to whomever they please as long as the company they distribute to can legally sell retail products.

Well I understand that but I'm just curious if BW would get pissed and pull the Macross Plus license from Manga. Japanese companies have pulled the US liscense before from US companies. Most recently, Toei pulling Sailor Moon from ADV.

[Keith]

Here's some wild speculation. Maybe with Manga in theier current state of turmoil have been bought by HG! Think about it, barely any new releases, living off their back catalog...

[bandit29]

Here's some wild speculation. Maybe with Manga in theier current state of turmoil have been bought by HG! Think about it, barely any new releases, living off their back catalog...

I thought Sony or Palm Pictures owned Manga? How much would it cost to buy Manga anyway 1.25 US? Manga's doing the distribution(Bandai's doing everything else) for Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex. I think they are involved with GITS 2 movie 2 too. They are alive but just barley it seems. Are the Macross Plus OVA DVDs out of print? I haven't seen those in the stores in ages.

[Ali Sama]

If Manga is distributing to HG's store wouldn't Manga have to get permission from the original liscense holder, BW? BW could always pull the liscense from Manga.

If something comes out of this so be it.  The Macross franchise isn't big enough to have several companies fighting over it.

No, Manga wouldn't have to get permission.

Being the distributor, they can distribute to whomever they please as long as the company they distribute to can legally sell retail products.

Well I understand that but I'm just curious if BW would get pissed and pull the Macross Plus license from Manga. Japanese companies have pulled the US liscense before from US companies. Most recently, Toei pulling Sailor Moon from ADV.

why woudl they.

[Myersjessee]

isn't this one of the 7 signs of the apocolypse???

"...and low, the coming of the third seal shall be the breaking open of the torment known as Hormoney, and their distribution of what they hate most..."

Edited March 12, 2004 by Myersjessee

[Agent ONE]

CROM laughs at your unsubstantiated accusing!

[JELEINEN]

I thought Sony or Palm Pictures owned Manga? How much would it cost to buy Manga anyway 1.25 US? Manga's doing the distribution(Bandai's doing everything else) for Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex. I think they are involved with GITS 2 movie 2 too. They are alive but just barley it seems. Are the Macross Plus OVA DVDs out of print? I haven't seen those in the stores in ages.

Palm sold Manga off to an unnamed group early last Summer.

[Chewie]

It's just an odd turn for them to actively push more non-RT stuff through their site.

I think that is the main point here. Not just the dvd itself, but the non-RT (but still Macross) items they are selling. Pretty much falls under "you can't sell it here because we'll sue you, but we'll sell it here and sue you if you bitch"

[Myriad]

They can sell anything they want at there store.

At least they are not boots like so many other stores sell.

[bob joe mac]

*Hopes that this is good news not just crap*

Really if HG and BW decide to work together I have no problems I mean as long I as I get my macross and the money goes to the right people its all good.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

What if BW had sold the M+ licence to HG eh? Then Toynami can get around to ripping off the Yamato/Bandai molds for their MPC YF-19.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

a banda dx 1/65 based YF19 MPC sculpt? Hell no man that would look ugly as sin.

[Mechafan]

This DVD is years old. Check out link.

http://www.suncoast.com/Movies/Movie.aspx?v_id=V+++208592

Bestbuy also has is in stock. So it looks like the just pick them up from a distributor. No deal had to be make between BW and HG. They could have done this years ago.

[Ali Sama]

What if BW had sold the M+ licence to HG eh? Then Toynami can get around to ripping off the Yamato/Bandai molds for their MPC YF-19.

stop writing fiction.

[the white drew carey]

What if BW had sold the M+ licence to HG eh? Then Toynami can get around to ripping off the Yamato/Bandai molds for their MPC YF-19.

Actually, Toynami couldn't do that because now they'd be accountable to the very company who provides the license to them. And I don't think BigWest would be happy if Toynami was ganking Yamato's molds without dishing out some cash to Yamato as well.

[ewilen]

Mechafan:

This DVD is years old.

Correct. The question is whether HG was able to just go to a distributor middleman or if they have to work directly with Manga. The answer is: "Distribution of Manga videos and DVDs throughout the U.S. is handled through WEA." (WEA is Warner/Elektra/Atlantic Corporation.) So that should settle that.

However, it's worth emphasizing that one of HG's main arguments against non-HG "Macross" stuff is that it infringes on their brand name (which they've now trademarked). By acting as a retailer of Macross Plus, they are essentially admitting that the title doesn't infringe on or "dilute" their "Macross" trademark. I'm not a lawyer, but that seems likely to weaken if not entirely destroy any case they might have against the release of Macross Zero. It might also weaken their case against the release of toys under the various Macross labels--though perhaps not as severely.

Because of this, I think we're approaching closure. What I suspect is that some kind of understanding has been reached--as evidenced by the DYRL superposables announcement. Therefore, HG feels that it has nothing to lose on the intellectual property rights front by retailing a product they know will appeal to RT fans.

It's another question whether promoting the non-Robotech sequels to Macross is good marketing. A lot depends on the terms of the deal. Personally, I doubt that anyone is going to get hooked on Macross Plus and then move on to Robotech. More likely the other way around--people who discover Macross Plus are going to seek out more "pure Macross" stuff, which will compete with RT for their entertainment dollars. So in my opinion HG would only be wise to promote M+ if either (1) they've gotten a slice of the other Macross properties, (2) they feel they've milked RT for all it's worth, or (3) they have no choice and Bandai/BW are coming into the US Macross market whether HG likes it or not.

[Keith]

Considering that HG gets a slice of the Macross TV sales, selling Plus only stands to help them. Besides, with the apparent flop that "robotech remastered" has been, and the fact that they've been trying to make a new robotech show for 4 years now, HG may finally realize just how dry the robotech cow is.

[Effect]

If this means a deal has been worked out between HG and BW great but do notice that this was put up Thursday or at least talk about this began Thursday and there is no mention of it on the main page of Robotech.com in a form of an article. When they put up Casshan: Robot Hunter in the store it got a new article and there were quite a few promting Mari Iijima over the past few years.

Like said since they are selling it, with Manga's logo still on the box and most likely BW(is there logo on the front or back), it makes it clear that they don't have the rights to it. The price sucks thouhg, oh well I already have a copy.

I hope they have finally realized that down playing Macross will only hurt them. Since they selling Macross Plus it should throw out the excuse that it would confuse fans. They can't claim its infringing on their product. I hope something like this opens the doors for Yamato to sell valks here in the states a much lower price and maybe someone might try to release Macross 7(song undubbed no matter what). To much to hope for, maybe but SDF Macross was remastered, I have a feeling that Mac7 might do well if given the proper treatment and advertising.

Anyway the price they are selling the DVD is insane. Isn't Macross Plus the movie dvd just a dump of the VHS version with the subtitles imprinted intot he film itself with no way of taking them off? Not to mention the dvd is over 2 years old. No way they should be selling it for full price or anywhere near it.

Edited March 13, 2004 by Effect

[The Shade]

[dumbanswer/wishful thinking response]Maybe Manga just wants to exhaust their stock of M+ Movie, and struck a deal with HG to help sell off their stock. They would then do a proper release of M+[/dumbanswer/wishful thinking response]

Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!

P.S. I did wake up too early this morning.

Edited March 13, 2004 by The Shade

[Jawjaw]

It appears to me that some of you don't undestand that HG, robotech.com, and Toynami are actually 3 separate entities and not one. Mac+ videos have been sold in the US for years and rt.com is on online store so I don't see what the big shocker is.

[McKlown]

Maybe Steve just got tired of all the newbies asking what the heck Macross Plus is in their forums?

[Pat Payne]

It appears to me that some of you don't undestand that HG, robotech.com, and Toynami are actually 3 separate entities and not one. Mac+ videos have been sold in the US for years and rt.com is on online store so I don't see what the big shocker is.

The thing is though, JawJaw: You're right about HG and Toynami being two seperate entities. HG gave Toynami a license to do RT toys, but Toynami also has other lines that have nothing to do with Harmony Gold. On the other hand, RT.com is an official website of HG. It is written and posted by HG staffers and anything that's put up there is with HG's blessing and permission. It's not the RT version of Macross World.

That's what the shocker is. For years (and at least 500 or more thread pages on both the old and new servers) the discussion was that HG had no desire to sell Mac+ (in fact, had they not been mercilessly headhunted by Haim Saban in the early '90s -- at least according to Allan Letz -- they would have gone vigorously after Manga) and that BW would have pitched a fit if they tried after the (five-second delay) they pulled with their assertion that they own all of the Macross license.

[ewilen]

About Robotech.com

The whole "About US" section is about HG and its employees. And the bottom of every page on the size says "©1985-2004 Harmony Gold USA, Inc. All rights reserved".

http://www.harmonygold.com/ says at the top right "Powered by Robotech.com". Both sites have the same IP address. According to WHOIS, both domain names are registered to Harmony Gold, USA.

Edited March 14, 2004 by ewilen

[Chronocidal]

K, I don't know if anyone else noticed this, or thinks that it's odd.. but when did HG start selling the original Japanese SDF Macross series?

MACROSS DVD Complete Set

Maybe I'm out of the loop, but why would HG be selling the AnimEigo dvd set?

And besides that, what's up with them selling Mari Iijima's "Right Now" album??

Sorry if I missed something here, but this makes it seem to me that suddenly they're doing a whole lot to promote the original Macross, rather than Robotech...

[Cyclone]

K, I don't know if anyone else noticed this, or thinks that it's odd.. but when did HG start selling the original Japanese SDF Macross series?

MACROSS DVD Complete Set

Maybe I'm out of the loop, but why would HG be selling the AnimEigo dvd set?

And besides that, what's up with them selling Mari Iijima's "Right Now" album??

Sorry if I missed something here, but this makes it seem to me that suddenly they're doing a whole lot to promote the original Macross, rather than Robotech...

HG offered the macross set(actually three box version) when Animegio offered it to retailers, which was yonks ago.

At any rate, Animeigo's rights to Macross come from HG, and the original masters Animeigo remastered came from HG, so it's slightly more clear for them to be offering that unlike the Macross Plus set.

Cyc

[areaseven]

As for HG selling Mari Iijima's CD, no one really knows why this happened. Especially since Mari-chan has absolutely nothing to do with Robotech.

[Chronocidal]

Ahhh, k, thanks for clearing that up.

[1st Border Red Devil]

As for HG selling Mari Iijima's CD, no one really knows why this happened.

I think it had to do with a number of the people there being fans of her work.

::shrugs::

[Effect]

Doubt that since by the time it was released on the site the official versions of SDF Macross weren't released and the only way before then to see the original series would have been fansubs or HK boots. Doubt the number of RT fans out there would have been that high that they picked those up. I doubt there could have been enough demand for her music when people would have rarely heard it. Not like her songs are in Macross II or Plus.

[ewilen]

What Cyc said. Also, newbies may not be aware of the fact that HG also produced a set of Macross TV Superposables--pretty much (or entirely?) the same as the Robotech SP's, but with different boxes using Macross-styled art and the Macross names of the characters. Nobody saw anything wrong with that, because everyone knows that HG has the Macross TV (SDF Macross) license. In contrast, the recent announcement of DYRL-based superposables set off a firestorm of speculation.

Edited March 15, 2004 by ewilen

[Wabbit]

This DVD is years old. Check out link.

http://www.suncoast.com/Movies/Movie.aspx?v_id=V+++208592

Bestbuy also has is in stock. So it looks like the just pick them up from a distributor. No deal had to be make between BW and HG. They could have done this years ago.

And is there a differende between recent DVD's and that one of Macross Plus?

[Skull Leader]

What Cyc said. Also, newbies may not be aware of the fact that HG also produced a set of Macross TV Superposables--pretty much (or entirely?) the same as the Robotech SP's, but with different boxes using Macross-styled art and the Macross names of the characters. Nobody saw anything wrong with that, because everyone knows that HG has the Macross TV (SDF Macross) license. In contrast, the recent announcement of DYRL-based superposables set off a firestorm of speculation.

The firestorm of speculation comes because no one was for certain (and many hoped it did not) if HG's license extended to DYRL or not.

Plus, when HG released the original Macross superposables, other than the box they were shipped in, there was no difference at all, yet they were sold at something like four times the cost of the R-tech superposables when they first came out.

[ewilen]

What Cyc said. Also, newbies may not be aware of the fact that HG also produced a set of Macross TV Superposables--pretty much (or entirely?) the same as the Robotech SP's, but with different boxes using Macross-styled art and the Macross names of the characters. Nobody saw anything wrong with that, because everyone knows that HG has the Macross TV (SDF Macross) license. In contrast, the recent announcement of DYRL-based superposables set off a firestorm of speculation.

The firestorm of speculation comes because no one was for certain (and many hoped it did not) if HG's license extended to DYRL or not.

Exactly. There's little doubt that HG was simply using the license obtained from Tatsunoko when they made the Macross TV superposables, just as there was no doubt as to HG's right have Animeigo do the Macross TV DVD's.

On the other hand, both the M+ promotion and the DYRL superposable announcement are interesting because they pertain to properties that HG doesn't seem to own--at least not through Tatsunoko, and not until recently. ("[W]e finally got around to properly getting the license" --Tommy Yune February 20, 2004.)

[Jasonc]

The truth is that Macross Plus was a U.S. release, and it wasn't in the original contracts for back in the day. They probably chose to sell it not to make much of a profit, but because even though Robotech and Macross branched out in far different universes, there still is a connection there. I wouldn't read too far into this. HG most likely wanted to make more available for unknowing fans.

There's no licensing debate here or questions if they can do it or not. It's being distributed here in the states, and that gives any retail business the right to sell it.

[Duke Togo]

I think everyone is missing the point here...

RT.com is advertising the sale of Macross Plus with the Big West copyright on it, when they stopped the sale of the toys from upon Plus a few years ago. This is a complete turn around from their prior position. The question is, what changed?