Dasaku.net
dannychoo.com
Moetron
Nekobasu: A cat bus stop site
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu official website
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As I was typing this before, I forgot a R1 company is still in the mix.
Bandai Visual USA- The ones who I thought were “THE Stupid Anime Company” are gonna turn out to the most smart. After all of the High prices and R2 Quality(Judging from the GRune disk I got), They are the ones that are looking mightily good at this moment. Especially after they licensed True Tears and Shigofumi,
Now, before everyone goes nuts, These guys are actually brining anime Cheaper than Japan:
R2 for True tears: $37.49
R1 for True Tears: $29.99
R2 for Shigofumi:$48.25
R1 for Shigofumi: $39.99
Even though it is still too expensive for R1, For people who buys R2(I am getting ready to do this If ADV croaks), This is perfect. And, with a name like Bandai Visual, they’ll probably survive the implosion.
Note All prices come from Yesasia.com and the Press release from Bandai Visual
Thanks for bringing up the comparison to the R2 prices, I think everyone’s blowing it out of proportion by comparing it to the current R1 prices instead.
Still, I think that this will only further push the industry the wrong way. I understand that they want to avoid reverse importation, and want to, y’know, make money so the industry stops threatening to explode, but this will probably drive sales down faster than it drives profits up.
True Tears and Shigofumi strike me as already niche series, the kind that hard(er)core anime fans would watch. These people are the ones who know how to use fansubs, so driving a tough bargain like this might alienate even more potential buyers. I know, I like True Tears personally, but can’t afford these prices for it, and will have to wait for a sale.
I think, the thing with this business model, is that it’s kind of like gas in America jumping 50 cents in one day. It will just drive people crazy, even if it is still much cheaper than gas in Europe. Rather, a more gradual increase would be more survivable to potential buyers.
(Unless, of course, the DVDs come with incredibly awesome extras and quality, which would be great and make this argument moot.)