Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone
The only people willing to buy DVDs are collectors (not casual viewers), and the best way to exploit this is to charge huge prices, because Collectors are willing to pay them.
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Yup, basically this; charge high prices for limited edition collector's goods that people will the money will be willing to buy. For people who just want to watch a show, rental is still a practical option in most parts of Japan (which it isn't in many other places of the world, particularly for anime). And otherwise, there are occasional re-runs on TV, legal online streaming... and yes, piracy. Plus, there are lots of other cheaper products people can buy, like manga, novels, or trinkets. The only people who would basically ever blind-buy Japanese anime releases are either hardcore fans of the franchise, or long-established anime collectors.
In the rest of the world this is harder because, until recently, there wasn't always a good way to watch before you buy. The American market basically treated almost every release -- even TV series -- as if it was an OVA. (And even most OVAs in Japan now air on TV first (even if it's limited).) So in the rest of the world, they actually are trying to market to the casual, first-time viewers, whereas the Japanese market has no such intention.
The good news on this front is that it is actually very clear: the people who don't want to collect aren't going to buy because they're not your customers for that product anyway. The best thing you can do is try to sell them other products that they may be willing to buy instead. So on this front, I actually think the Japanese anime industry is probably doing it right.