2.2% of Consumers Purchase 81% of Blu-ray in Japan

[Asf]

First, it's important to remember that there are two different anime markets in Japan: children and adults. A lot of what people consider to be classics (Eva, Gundam, most mecha shows in general, Fist of the North Star, Sailor Moon, etc.) were primarily children's shows. The children's market makes money from advertising and toy sales and is not in danger of going away any time soon (negative birthrate aside).

It's only the adult-targeted (i.e. OVA & late-night TV) market that relies on video sales, and that's because the audience for non-comedy, adult-targeted cartoons is so small that it's not worth anything to advertisers (though Noitamina is trying), and video discs are high-profit items compared to pretty much all other merchandise (except maybe 10,000 yen pillowcases).

But this is how it's always been since OVAs first came about in the 80s. It was a miracle that enough people with enough money willing to pay for this stuff got this sub-culture niche market going at all. No other location on earth has even managed that much.

It certainly could die if enough of them get tired of it or too few new people become anime otaku, but short of a radical cultural shift in which average adults suddenly start watching cartoons other than sitcoms, most fan's ideas of "mainstream" anime are delusional--adults just aren't interested in taking cartoons seriously.

Restoring a little more variety to the otaku market might be possible though.
They could bring back gorefest OVAs!

[Decagon]

From the source article it seems that rental rates have gone down as well. I think it's more a sign of digital media (VOD, streaming, or pirated) just being more pervasive. And concerning blu-rays, I thought that the anime industry produced a disproportionately large amount of blu-rays compared to other sectors like live-action or film? You know, the sectors that actually take advantage of the large space on those discs and fit more than 1-2 20 minute episodes on each...　not to mention common people programming that hasn't migrated to blu-rays either.

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Thanks for the info. So you're right about mecha anime shows produced under Namco Bandai at the very least.

But what about figurines for non-mecha shows, and in which you have partnerships between animation companies and a figurine manufacturing/marketing company like Good Smile Company? Who gets the biggest cut of the profits for those figurines?

Honest question, by the way. I'd love to know, as I'm curious myself. Not exactly sure how best to research this, though, as I'm not fluent in Japanese.

I'd recommend you go to dannychoo.com. He's got some great articles as a sort of industry insider type blogger, and has really close ties with GSC/Max Factory among others. Try starting on this article.

[ahelo]

No matter how much people bash otakus, in the end they're the ones who are supporting the industry. This is also why stuff like K-ON sells more than let's say. . . Tatami Galaxy. I'm not saying Tatami Galaxy is bad or K-ON is any good but it shows which fans the industry want.

Unless people who like shows with substance start buying them, this would be the reason why the industry is pandering moe. Otakus actually buy their products while elitists just keep talking and talking in the internet on how moe is ruining the industry.

Well I guess I'm not one to talk to since I'm quite a leecher myself. Though I am very tempted to buy the blurays of Madoka which costs way too much.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by ahelo

No matter how much people bash otakus, in the end they're the ones who are supporting the industry. This is also why stuff like K-ON sells more than let's say. . . Tatami Galaxy. I'm not saying Tatami Galaxy is bad or K-ON is any good but it shows which fans the industry want.

Unless people who like shows with substance start buying them, this would be the reason why the industry is pandering moe. Otakus actually buy their products while elitists just keep talking and talking in the internet on how moe is ruining the industry.

Well I guess I'm not one to talk to since I'm quite a leecher myself. Though I am very tempted to buy the blurays of Madoka which costs way too much.

Tatami Galaxy probably isn't the best example... it didn't sell anywhere near K-On! or the other huge sellers among otaku, but averaging 5665 per volume is actually quite good by anime industry standards and better than quite a few otaku franchises.

But to be honest, I don't think non-otaku anime was ever a bit seller on home video, so I don't think they were ever really competing with moe anime in the first place. Falling broadcast revenues are likely a much bigger problem for such shows. This would also put the business model for non-otaku shows more in line with the one used for most western shows - remember, if DVD/Bluray sales actually mattered that much, we would have many seasons of Firefly by now.

[ahelo]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

, if DVD/Bluray sales actually mattered that much, we would have many seasons of Firefly by now.

Oh I'm pretty sure it matters a lot for late night Anime. TV ratings don't really matter at all if it airs after 12 in the evening. And most anime we watch are after 12. Not all but a lot.

[synaesthetic]

I'm pretty sure that blu-ray adoption in the States is not too much higher.

Not everyone has a 1080p HDTV, and without one, what's the point of spending the extra money on blu-ray? Most people I've dealt with can't tell the difference between a 720p HDTV broadcast, a 720p BD stream and an upscaled DVD.

And to be honest, most of the time I can't tell either--unless I'm watching the video at my PC, where I'm less than two feet away from the screen and my eyes can resolve individual pixels on my display.

I think it's safe to say that in America, most of the BDs purchased are by obsessive home theater enthusiasts.

[Akito Kinomoto]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

And to be honest, most of the time I can't tell either--unless I'm watching the video at my PC, where I'm less than two feet away from the screen and my eyes can resolve individual pixels on my display.

I think it's safe to say that in America, most of the BDs purchased are by obsessive home theater enthusiasts.

Perhaps, but I get the feeling DVDs will eventually go the way of the VHS. It's only my own experience, but the BDs are slowly pushing out the DVDs in like, every shopping mall I go to. That said, I really can't understand this push for BDs myself since I find that there's nothing they can do that DVDs already can't: mainly, the neat little menus for every movie or whatever, with whole scene skipping as well. You can also only go so far with presentation that the only real difference I would find is noticing a pimple on an actor's face.

I don't own many BDs though, so someone please tell me if they have anything worth investing in that isn't already taken by its predecessor or just plain redundant.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

I'm pretty sure that blu-ray adoption in the States is not too much higher.

Well, it took me all of a minute to find these results from an April, 2010, NPD survey. From their report, 64% of US households had a "flat-panel" TV last year, and 11% had a Blu-ray player. That figure excludes PS3s, I believe. Including them raises the ownership rate to 17%.

Figures for Japan are harder to come by since they only seem to appear in expensive industry reports. However one source reports Japan, like the US, has already reached the 50-60% "penetration" rates where growth in ownership slows. BD player figures are even harder to come by, but Japan is reportedly the fastest-growing market for BD players that also contain a hard drive.

Sales of BD players have proceeded on a faster pace than did DVD players at the same point in the adoption cycle. Overall I'd say these results are pretty remarkable considering that Blu-ray appeared during the worst world-wide recession in over half a century.

This source claims that 93% of all Blu-ray blank disc sales worldwide occurred in Japan! I'd take this report with at least a shaker-full of salt, though, since the report was sponsored by the Japan Recording-Media Industries Association. On the other hand, Sony alone probably accounts for a good chunk of those blanks for both its movie and gaming divisions.

I'm a lot more sanguine about Blu-ray's prospects in the marketplace than I am about the prospects for 3D.

[synaesthetic]

The cheaper it gets, the more widespread it gets, but like any enthusiast market, a small percentage pays for the largest percentage. Film buffs are just as crazy as anime fans, except they buy movies instead of anime.

Seriously though, no point in bothering with Blu-ray unless you've got a 1080p HDTV. "Flat panel" doesn't mean much, because most HDTVs are cheaper 1366x768 panels.