According to Nihon Keizai Shinbun, starting in the fall, Bandai Visual (subsidiary of Bandai Namco) will release Japanese animation feature movies simultaneously around the world in Blu-Ray format.
The most interesting aspect of the story is that the titles will be priced similarly throughout the world as well. This includes areas such as Japan, the United States, Europe, and Asia. The Asia release is especially noteworthy because prices for animation movie titles have traditionally been lower than Japanese or even American releases.
The chart below is a quick comparison I made of retail prices of a couple of animation titles. CCA stands for Mobile Suit Gundam - Char's Counterattack, while APS stands for Appleseed. The price differences between these two regions alone are steep enough -- I wonder how a worldwide one-price scheme will be skewed.
The reasons for this decision probably have to do with Bandai Namco realizing that there are plenty of holes where opportunistic fans can exploit to download movies through the internet. Anime DVDs in Japan were traditionally sold at a premium because the companies could collect more revenue from die-hard fans willing to pay extra to watch certain movies at home. Once the revenue from these guys was captured, DVDs could be sold abroad at a discount.
The fact that this business model has been dumped hints at a price that will be slightly lower for Japanese consumers and slightly higher for consumers everywhere else. Right now people seem to be willing to pay a premium for Blu-Ray media -- and prices for Blu-Ray titles have increased somewhat since Toshiba dropped the HD-DVD format.
Source:
人気アニメ作品、全世界同時発売・バンダイビジュアル（日経ネット）
The most interesting aspect of the story is that the titles will be priced similarly throughout the world as well. This includes areas such as Japan, the United States, Europe, and Asia. The Asia release is especially noteworthy because prices for animation movie titles have traditionally been lower than Japanese or even American releases.
The chart below is a quick comparison I made of retail prices of a couple of animation titles. CCA stands for Mobile Suit Gundam - Char's Counterattack, while APS stands for Appleseed. The price differences between these two regions alone are steep enough -- I wonder how a worldwide one-price scheme will be skewed.
DVD & Blu-Ray Prices for Anime Movies
Source: Amazon.com (US and Japan)
Source: Amazon.com (US and Japan)
The reasons for this decision probably have to do with Bandai Namco realizing that there are plenty of holes where opportunistic fans can exploit to download movies through the internet. Anime DVDs in Japan were traditionally sold at a premium because the companies could collect more revenue from die-hard fans willing to pay extra to watch certain movies at home. Once the revenue from these guys was captured, DVDs could be sold abroad at a discount.
The fact that this business model has been dumped hints at a price that will be slightly lower for Japanese consumers and slightly higher for consumers everywhere else. Right now people seem to be willing to pay a premium for Blu-Ray media -- and prices for Blu-Ray titles have increased somewhat since Toshiba dropped the HD-DVD format.
Source:
人気アニメ作品、全世界同時発売・バンダイビジュアル（日経ネット）
