Would you buy anime from Itunes (1 ep = $1.99)?

[bigsocce]

If there is an identical thread to this, I apologize. Please merge.

Many American TV shows are on Itunes for download at $1.99. I don't see why anime companies can't do the same. With Geneon and now ADV in trouble, maybe a new business model is needed.

Let's assume 50,000 buyers for the average anime. 13 episodes = $1.3 mil
26 episodes = $2.6 mil. How much is the license fee for an average 13 episodes anime anyway?

Just want to survey: Would you buy anime from Itunes (1 ep = $1.99)?

Thank.

[Zenemis]

Yes, because it'd be mirrored with my ISP, and wouldn't count against my quota.

And it'd attract those too lazy to buy DVDs, helping further to support the companies behind.

It's not a bad idea, but I'm sure they have their reasons.

[DragoonKain3]

Itunes video resolution is smaller than Standard Definition, right? If so, I really won't buy. Being a big fan of box set arts (I find them pretty to look at ), that's two strikes against it already off the bat.

[Prince of Chronics]

Yeah, same here. I actually prefer to have the case with the packaging and whatnot. I like looking at my shelf full of anime dvds and box-sets. It's kind lame looking at data files only imo (even if there is a thumbnail image of the cover ).

[Tormenk]

I wouldn't mind. Acquiring anime in Singapore is a problematic issue for many. Though quality is a big factor of course.

[Zenemis]

Oh, if the quality was bad, I'd have to pass on it :P

[kucigaromeo]

I would as my obligation to anime Industry, but I'll keep the fansub if the quality is lower than fansub's.

[Ichihara Asako]

I would if they released good HD episodes, sure. But without being DVD quality at least, not a chance. I use raws/fansubs to watch anime as it airs, and buy the DVDs of series I like when they're over. If I dislike a series I drop it, if I complete it, I'll buy it on DVD, as a general rule of thumb.

However $2 an episode would be cheaper than DVDs, which would be nice. Eliminating the physical manufacturing and shipping costs etc should reduce the cost per episode, so it's fair, I think. Especially if they're sub-only, without cost having gone in to dubs (which I never, ever watch anyway.) it'd be great.

But there's no way I'd pay for anything less than DVD quality. I'd just wait for the DVDs.

[Prince of Chronics]

Originally Posted by Ichihara Asako

However $2 an episode would be cheaper than DVDs, which would be nice. Eliminating the physical manufacturing and shipping costs etc should reduce the cost per episode, so it's fair, I think. Especially if they're sub-only, without cost having gone in to dubs (which I never, ever watch anyway.) it'd be great.

I don't mean to derail this discussion.. but... Some of us like watching anime with English dubs. I've got a habit of re-watching my anime in English and let me say that the voice actors have definitely improved are definitely quite good in some cases (Haruhi, Black Lagoon.. to name some recent ones).

If companies do digital distribution, I would imagine that they will include dual audio.. since in North America.. the primary language is English.

[KholdStare]

Yes, definitely. That is better than $30 for the first episode of True Tears.

[Xanas]

I would much rather they make a streaming subscription service for those who "just want to watch" that would be a flat rate (10-20 a month), and stick to the dvd sales for those who want to keep the show. If they want to do the 2$ or x$ an episode thing it really should be done separately.

Also when there is a dub available they need to create a dual audio download similar to the dvd for the fee to be worth it. Of course they don't do this now because the existing proprietary tools don't support it, so they should just use mkv and stop with the DRM nonsense (I tried amazon unbox on the free episodes they were having, that DRM is extremely easy to remove after a simple google search. Why do they even bother, it's pathetic. The annoying thing is I can't play windows media 10 in linux so I had to use virtualbox).

I do buy the dvds, and will continue to do so. But I might be willing to accept a download version if it was in the proper format using good codecs (I do this already myself, I copy all of my dvd media to an external HD after doing quality based x264 encoding).

[Kyomi]

I got that awful collector gene also. I need to physically own my stuff otherwise it's not worth it.
Though I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea. Seems like liscensing companies have their share of trouble right now so I think they might need these kind of solutions.

8$ vs 30$ is still a winning situation (assuming four episodes per DvD) and might actually work for many people, as long as they up the quality.

However, I am materialistic, so unless I can shove the actual thing in other peoples face I won't buy it.

[Saber Cherry]

I'd only buy it if it was high quality, correctly translated, uncensored, and in a standard, DRM-free format. And, of course, if it was released in a reasonable timeframe. I have no interest in paying for low quality DRM'd files. And I hate to say it, but I have no interest in supporting the English anime-dubbing industry, either - in my experience, English licensees often generate an end product substantially worse than that of good-quality fansub groups, which is inexcusable.

$1/episode sounds fair to me for subbed-only TV series (more for OVAs and movies), in which case the money would mostly be going to the Japanese producer rather than the American middleman who adds no value aside from translation. At that rate, a popular series - say, 24 episodes and 100,000 viewers - would net $2.4 million, which is probably way more than Japanese production studios generally get by selling an American distribution license.

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by bigsocce

Let's assume 50,000 buyers for the average anime.

On average you may get 5000 buyers if you are lucky.

How much is the license fee for an average 13 episodes anime anyway?

$30k-50k per episode.

Just want to survey: Would you buy anime from Itunes (1 ep = $1.99)?

Nope. Rather pay for the ~$3/ep DVD.

[Spectacular_Insanity]

No doubt in my mind I would.

[UzumakiW]

Not really. There's a good chance the anime would be dubbed instead of subbed. Besides, I like actually owning the disc and case for it. That, and I usually like watching anime on my tv or computer, not so much on Ipod, unless I've already seen it before, and though you would be able to watch it on your computer, I'm not a fan of Quicktime. It would be easier for me just to buy the actual DVDs or watch them on the internet.

[Nenkitsune]

i dont' think i would. Owning a dvd is just so much more......satisfying. Seeing all those cases side by side on a shelf, smiling at your collection. It's not the same seeing a folder with 50-100GB worth of files. However I don't buy dvds often. I will now since some of the shows i enjoyed are being released. I'm more of a manga collector. It's a bit cheaper. (but it's still like 11 bucks for a half hours worth of enjoyment) I think i'm at 110-120 now.

[Ichihara Asako]

I can kind of understand people wanting to own the physical DVDs, but for me... I already have a massive amount of them, and they take up a lot of room. I'd rather have a few hundred series on a 1Tb HDD than needing an entire wall unit bookshelf to hold them all... but that's just a practicality issue. Also, as I said, only if the episodes are decent quality (I'm happy with most 720 fansubs, so if they can do better with original source instead of TV, brilliant!) of course backups are important, cuz a drive dying and losing that much stuff is a big drag. Only reason DVDs win for me. =p

I also don't see why they can't do cheaper, faster sub-only releases, then have dubbed releases (which will naturally cost more due to the extra production costs) later.

But, it all hinges on the quality of the video. I wouldn't stand for DRM that demands some propitiatory player, either. I don't mind the concept of DRM, but I want to be able to play my videos in MPC, not a bloated player like WMP or something made by the releasing company.

[Diaboso]

I sure would

[Kyuusai]

$1.99 an episode is about the price I'd pay for high quality on a physical medium for a show I was very enthusiastic about.

In other words, it's more than I'd pay for digital distribution.