What does the global model mean for the UK market?
“You know,” mused a colleague from a different company, “it’s only a matter of time until Japan starts digital distribution of shows subtitled worldwide around the globe.”
People laughed at the Novotel bar at London Expo one evening as he said that, as if it was the most outlandish notion ever. Japan getting its act together? They need us to handle the native audiences. Don’t they?
That exert was from 2005. Now, with Gonzo starting worldwide distribution shortly – it’s becoming a matter of fact. On the tips of many people’s tongues at the moment though is: “What does it mean for the UK distributors? People will still want DVDs won’t they?”
Flash forwards three years almost to the day and you’ve got companies finally putting the pieces together and making their moves on the digital world. Whether its a big surprise or not, the first company to be making ground shaking maneuvers that affect the UK is not a UK company having badgered Japan, but Japan itself.
Digital distribution isn’t the biggest stranger to the UK scene – ADV Films gave it a shot as did MVM in their own ways but it’s Gonzo, as discussed last week, who have announced simultaneous worldwide release of their latest two titles; Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk and Blassreiter.
The big question is though – what does it mean for UK distributors? Sure on a small scale with just one or two titles being treated this way at present, it’s not a big issue. Let’s play hypothetical games here and say that Japan as a whole moves that way though, simultaneous worldwide distribution digitally. Will it be negative for DVD sales? Debatable – but it certainly won’t make more sales like TV would, especially when “download to own” is added to the mix. Why?
Well if you do adopt a legitimate release online and pay X amount online then buy DVDs if you are a less than hardcore fan who just wanted to watch a show once? Add a way to beam it to people’s HD TVs etc and you’re onto a winner there that reduces the need for DVDs very quickly. Admittedly I come into the camp of marketer who has an unerring faith that a segment of the fan community will want to get a solid product they can fondle, covet or otherwise get their paws on.
What this probably means ultimately – is smaller distributors at least in the UK slowing down if not stopping releases while the bigger ones partnered up to Japanese companies or who are smaller parts of a big Japanese group will survive. By survive they will help push new titles in their respective regions and handle the production of sets after the digital run is complete or such. Basically coming down to outsourcing the work and arranging dubs, handling DVD distribution etc as need be.
Companies that survive will have something Japan needs. It may be elaborate dubbing studios and access to experienced voice actors and actresses from the anime scene, perhaps they have exceptionally strong ties to retailers in their region, or even just they are part of a bigger corporation who knows the lay of the land very well and can guide their parent group into what to do etc. The point stands – it may well become a case of not purely how many units of DVDs you were able to shift for the past few years to fans, but what shiny extras you can offer the licensers from now on.
Just like the anecdote earlier, this isn’t new news either, out-with the comments in 2005, the gist has been predicted further back than that in the unusual form of someone who managed to predict the future of anime in digital form but didn’t really take DVD into account at the time of writing!
With the initial overtures underway it won’t take long to see how it truly affects the UK scene though. Will we see smaller independents bow out or perhaps hang in there by releasing titles not coming out as a part of a worldwide digital scheme?
There’s a lot of small questions there, all of which may well be answered sooner than people would like to believe perhaps…
Tower of Druaga image (c)NGBI/Izumi Project
