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Buying DVD and BD from Japan seems to be a lot more expensive in Japan than
overseas in a country like the US.

It might cost someone in the ballpark (these are just estimates, actual prices
may be more dramatic) of $70 for 2 episodes are in a DVD for a new series in
Japan. While in the US, $45 for 4 episodes for the same series...

Even if we compare Western release to Japanese ones in the same market. The
domestic Japanese version come at a higher price per disc/length than western
releases:

  * The four-disc 146-min [Harry Potter Special Edition](http://www.amazon.co.jp/fnord/dp/B002UHJ9FI), is ¥3500. 
  * Compare it the two-disc 60-min [Madoka Magika Vol. 1 Special Edition](http://www.amazon.co.jp/fnord/dp/B004INGZAE), which is ¥5500.

Why is the cost so high? Although it's nice to see your favorite shows in
1080p with less compression, that alone can't be worth the price tag...


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2013-06-26T05:39:39.747
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question
anime-production merchandise
Why do anime discs cost so much in Japan compared to other countries?


Because it is extremely niche market. Anime in Japan is not that popular as
you might think. Most anime airs way into night, mostly around midnight. That
is why, even if anime is accepted much more in Japan, the number of people who
watch late-night shows and are actually willing to pay is quite low.

Just look at top sales of anime: Bakemonogatari is leading with number around
70k of sold discs, and even 10k sold discs is considered huge success. So
those few fans are willing to pay those ridiculous prices, yet if they halved
the prices it most probably would't sell twice that much.

And let us not forget anime airs normally on TV in Japan. For most people, it
is enough to watch it or record it from there. And BD/DVD doesn't provide
enough added value to actually buy it, no matter the price.

Sources are problematic, because most of them are in japanese, so you need to
depend on 2nd hand translations. Some sourcesSome sources: [It's Blu-ray Sales
That Matter](http://myanimelist.net/forum/?topicid=296000&show=0)


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2013-06-26T15:42:31.910
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answer


From what I could gather from [this ANN
article](http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2012-03-07) (from the "The
High Prices... Explained!" part), the high price is due to rental pricing.
Basically the home video industry was originally "set-up" so that only a few
thousand sales were made for niche releases, and these were made to video
rental shops. The prices were around $89.95 (in America, which also used this
model), but it worked well because with just a few thousand sales one could
make over a million dollars in revenue, and the video shops also benefited
because they had a semi-exclusive item (since it was too expensive for
"normal" people to buy).

> Initially, video industry people didn't think there was much of a market in
> selling to collectors.
>
> But the fans proved them wrong. Otaku of all kinds (not just anime fans)
> started buying the videotapes and laserdiscs, and they bought them at those
> high prices that were intended just for video stores. **There was no reason
> to lower it.** In fact, there were a few experiments to drop the price to a
> more affordable amount, but that usually resulted in a slight increase in
> sales -- not enough to make up for the drop in revenue.

(emphasis by me)

The article goes on to say that since we are talking about a specialty market
(since only the hardcore fans really want to own the products), and not a
mass-market, the prices stayed astronomically high.

Basically, a few thousand fans buying a certain anime are enough to nearly
support the whole budget of a show, and disc sales are basically the only way
in which a show can make profit.  
For these reasons, even as the rest of the home video industry lowered their
prices, the anime industry stayed at the same high prices (they basically had
no reasons no lower them).


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2013-06-28T16:36:54.240
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