The News Thread (for news that does not need a thread)

I'll be waiting to find out more about the Gundam release before I put a pre-order in (but I generally never pre-order anything but limited editions anyway). If it has extras or a nice thick booklet, I'd probably get it at that price. I watched the Manchester panel and there was a straw poll of who in the room would like an Ultimate Edition release (though the results weren't visible on camera - anyone know?), which implies that there may be something more substantial down the line if we wait...

Also, is that date for the Shinkai release accurate?
 
Animax have a survey running.

https://www.animaxtv.co.uk/special/animax-uk-survey or
Competition for a Limited Edition Natsu Figurine for subscribers (and past subscribers it seems).

http://www.animaxtv.co.uk/special/3-mon ... offer-july
For anyone who decides they want to subscribe - they're offering a promo code for 3 months for £9.

Questions involve asking what types of movies and tv shows you watch, what streaming services you use if you own a ps3 or ps4 (this is also mandatory for non-ps owners), which devices you use and what you'll like to see more of (shows, movies and simulcasts).
 
I've done a few Amazon pre-orders, will decide later which ones I actually want to get.

When I was going to order Full Metal Panic I noticed that it didn't list the pre-order price guarantee on the checkout page (possibly because it's not currently set up as a pre-order), so I'd be wary of that if you've made an order. I suppose you could just leave it for now and cancel then re-order when the price goes down to be safe (which would also get the lowest price listed on your order right away).

I'd probably be okay with around £35-40 for each half of Mobile Suit Gundam. If you're paying around £20 for a 12 episode series it's about the same "per episode" rate (well, maybe more like 10 episodes for £20 since MSG isn't quite that long). I don't really tend to take the age of shows into account since I like to get old shows and wouldn't want to discourage those releases by insisting on paying less (plus, there's every chance they'll take as much effort to release as a new show and maybe even more in some cases). I can't promise I wouldn't regret paying that much though since I haven't actually watched any Gundam.

The good thing about Anime Limited releases is that they do often seem to end up on sale after a while so I think there'll be opportunity for people who'd prefer a lower price to still pick the set up a bit later (though it still might be worth a speculative pre-order to see how low the price goes).

I'll probably have to give strong consideration to what I'm getting over the next few months because I'm not going to have as much to spend for a while (due to, y'know, having spent it already). That said, I'm bad at making decisions and easily enticed by shiny anime releases.

reborn said:
Animax have a survey running.
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I was looking at the list of apps on the PS4 today and the Animax app isn't listed in the "all apps" section. It still exists and you can get it if you search but it seems odd that Sony are almost hiding the thing at this point but still don't have the Crunchyroll app on the European store.
 
Smeelia said:
I'd probably be okay with around £35-40 for each half of Mobile Suit Gundam. If you're paying around £20 for a 12 episode series it's about the same "per episode" rate (well, maybe more like 10 episodes for £20 since MSG isn't quite that long). I don't really tend to take the age of shows into account since I like to get old shows and wouldn't want to discourage those releases by insisting on paying less (plus, there's every chance they'll take as much effort to release as a new show and maybe even more in some cases). I can't promise I wouldn't regret paying that much though since I haven't actually watched any Gundam.
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Good perspective.

It's a bit harder for me to take this view, though, simply because - as fun as the show is - I can see folks buying the sets and thinking 'I paid £xx for THIS?' I think I mentioned before one ANN poster's snarky comment of 'in glorious 1080p!' accompanied by an especially shoddy frame from the show. It really is, in comparison to the later shows, pretty rough around the edges. So I'm sincerely interested to see how folks react to it. I'd HOPE that most people laying money down for the show know exactly what they're getting into, though.

Worth sharing some interesting stuff I spotted on Anime Limited's Facebook page at this point. There's confirmation that MSG is Blu Ray only, so it's these prices for the UK or nothing. And it could now be inferred from Jeremy's comments to one Facebooker that Turn A isn't necessarily the assured prospect we might have thought.

At this point, I have to admit that my enthusiasm's been somewhat dampened. But we still have another convention's worth of announcements to come, don't we? It'll be interesting to see if any more news comes from that. And G-Reco in full for £40-ish is perfectly reasonable if that eventuality does indeed come to pass.

All speculation, though. It'll be interesting to se what the official word is on these releases.
 
I really don't see what is accomplished by putting out all of MSG that can't be done with the three movies. Zeta has an excuse in that the complation movies a) Had additional digipaint work and b) end the trillogy early by removing ZZ and CC out of cannon.
 
I'd always be willing to pay far more for an older title than a newer one. Putting a recent digital master on a disc shouldn't take the effort that it does to go back, scan and restore the original film materials. That's surely worth paying more for.
 
I dunno how I feel about that.

I mean, I see the point you're making. But I still feel that the asking price (at present) is disproportionate to what I think I'd get back in return as a consumer. You might pay for a quality remaster of older materials, but you can't remaster 1970s era writing or magically make the show look more aesthetically appealing. You could alter or replace the oppressively nasty music, but then fans would be up in arms.

I dunno. I'd really be interested to see how this release pans out and how first-timers get on with it.
 
Not by any means definitive. (summary of various concepts I've read - or think I've read over the years.)

Digitising film stock is something that should be happening regardless of whether or not a new HD release is made.

Old film stock is volatile - it degrades. And the number of copies is usually limited. Storing old film stock is also not cheap. There's the physical space but also the fact that it needs to be specially cared for in climate controlled storage. In many cases it can actually be cheaper to digitize some film than to go on storing it with the amount of care (and associated costs) it needs. Once it's digitized then by all means carry on looking after the old film stock but you don't need to worry about it anywhere near as much so can spend less on looking after it.

Once it's digitized - you've already overcome one of the main barriers to releasing the show in HD... Of course some work will likely be required to clean it up. but the point is that you've overcome that barrier whilst saving money...

I may have imagined I read the above... But seems to make sense.
 
Properly fascinating. I may have to read up on that myself. I knew old style film stock had to be carefully stored, but the idea of it being cheaper to digitise than simply look after is something I'd never really considered.

My biggest beef with older material being released at a high price is simply that I can't get past the nagging feeling that the money has already been made on that work, and it could stand to be put out for a little less. Sure, the originators should still make money from it if there's an option to do so, and the distributors have to as well to make it even viable for them as a business proposition. I fully acknowledge that. That's right and proper. But an RRP of £120 over 2 releases for a show that's almost as old as I am? And represents the ground level entry in a long running franchise? For perspective: Discotek aren't asking this kind of money for their releases of long running retro shows over as many volumes (although, admittedly, they ARE DVD only.)

I'm tempted to speculate here as to what factors could be said to legitimise the £60 price tag per set, but I won't. I'd rather wait to see what information comes to light about these. Who knows, a cheaper edition later on might be part of the plan? Some detail might arise that makes them look like genuinely great value for money.

Sorry to harp on about the cost of anime again, folks (especially to you long suffering distributor types - I know this stuff can't be fun to read) but it just strikes me as odd in this case. If Sunrise want to release 'as much Gundam as possible' in the West and capitalise on it as a franchise - which is something I WANT to see happen as a fan - then I'd suggest that pricing needs to be maybe just a *little bit* keener. The greatest demand for this particular show seems to come from Gundam newbies, so I'd have thought more affordable price = greater accessibility and maybe more sales of other Gundam shows later on?

The thing is, I don't think the Anime Limited gang are sitting back in their executive chairs thinking to themselves 'How much money can we twist out of the fans' - I think a lot of pricing issues are dictated to by things like license fees and production costs. I'd be REALLY interested to find out how these shows are licensed in the deal with Sunrise - although I'm fully aware it's not my business.

I said from day one that any attempt to popularise Gundam in the West needs to play that angle carefully. Even allowing for the inevitable online discounts, the prospect of paying that much for 1979 Gundam is a bit is a bit tough to take.

I want to support these releases. But I guess I'll have to just wait and see how things pan out.
 
In my Amazon pre-orders the Gundam sets are flagged as parts 1 of 2 and 2 of 2 - 43 episodes spread over a couple of sets (42 with Ep 15 omitted?) - I would imagine that come release they will have come down to about £40 each.

£40 for 21 episodes of classic anime, I can live with. Plus, it's AL, I doubt that they'll just be whacking it in an amaray and job done. Even if it's not a proper collectors edition then I'd imagine that the packaging will be 'nice'.

Also worth noting that the licensing costs were probably higher given that the Japanese BDs of the original series are relatively new (last year?) - quite a gamble by AL as there were probably easier, lower risk options to take - they could have followed RS's lead and opened up with a DVD-only release of Turn A - personally I'm glad that they've gone the way that they have. It IS a risk - no doubt fans of the franchise will be all over this, and probably would pay higher than usual, but it'll be interesting to see what newer fans to the franchise think of it.
 
HdE said:
I mean, I see the point you're making. But I still feel that the asking price (at present) is disproportionate to what I think I'd get back in return as a consumer. You might pay for a quality remaster of older materials, but you can't remaster 1970s era writing or magically make the show look more aesthetically appealing. You could alter or replace the oppressively nasty music, but then fans would be up in arms.

I dunno. I'd really be interested to see how this release pans out and how first-timers get on with it.
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Is this "old stuff isn't worth it" only relating to anime or does it relate to animated films from say Disney too or old live action films too? Should everything old br cheaper?
 
A lot more preorders for me but I'll cancel them before they're released if they don't hit the price point I want.

Gundam looks very expensive and, as someone who's never seen it, the price really puts me off and has always been one of the key reasons I have avoided the franchise thus far. The price needs to drop about 50% or it's getting cancelled because I can't justify wasting that kind of money on a show that I haven't seen, even if it is popular. I wish there wasn't such a painfully long period between LE & standard editions, it really annoys me sometimes (damn you Space Dandy).

£30-£35 is usually the sweet spot for me for around 26 episodes on bluray and anything too pricey or with playback issues gets picked up down the line, probably 2nd hand. There's enough anime out there that I don't care about missing a few top notch shows.
 
I kind of figured people would be used to these prices by now...? I mean, we all paid nearly £40 quid for only 9 or so episodes of Kill La Kill, right? Gundam is practically a steal at what will probably end up being nearly the same price for double the number of episodes. I can understand the frustration if there's no other legal means to obtain it, like if it's on Netflix or something, but the long and short of it for quite some time is that anime is expensive (and this is just talking UK releases, if we touch on US/JP stuff then it's probably even more expensive).
 
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