NicoNico update

[WTK]

via NicoNico

Niconico - English version set for 10/17!

October 1, 2012 2:48 AM

Thank you so much for using niconico.com!

We're happy to announce the release of our latest addition to niconico, a fully functional English version of our main site, http://nicovideo.jp!

This service will be released on October 17. Niconico.com will be active until the end of 2012.

While our users are finding their new home on http://nicovideo.jp, I'd like to address what will happen to your data on niconico.com during this transition.


Translation Data

All user translation data added until the 9th of October will be moved to nicovideo.jp on the 17th. However, translations added after 10/9 will not be transferred. You'll be able to translate your heart out on http://nicovideo.jp after the 17th. Sorry for the wait!


Comments, Tags, and My Faves

Unfortunately, we will not be able to transfer your comments, tags, and my faves. They will all be removed when we wrap-up our niconico.com service at the end of 2012, so please start commenting, tagging, and adding videos to your My Lists on http://nicovideo.jp from the 17th.


New Clubs

From October 9th, beta members will no longer be able to make new clubs. For more information, please see this explanation on our blog.

We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience for all our niconico.com users, but we're sure you'll love our new English version of nicovideo.jp!


Hope to see you at nicovideo.jp on October 17th!


Sincerely,
niconico.com
Customer Support Team

via NicoNico

Niconico - Users will be unable to create new clubs from 10/9

October 1, 2012 2:54 AM

Thank you so much for using niconico.com!

In accordance with the retirement of our niconico.com service, users will be unable to create new clubs after October 9th. If you want to do a live broadcast and aren't already in a club, you'll need to make a new one by October 9th.

You may also join or make a community on http://com.nicovideo.jp/, though the English version won't go live until October 17th.


We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience for all our niconico.com users, but we're sure you'll love our new English version of nicovideo.jp!


Sincerely,
niconico.com
Customer Support Team

[FUNiOP]

Not sure what this new version is going to entail, but I hope no more simulcast attempts are made.

[WTK]

via NicoNico

Niconico - English version set for 10/17!

Thank you so much for using Niconico!

We are very happy to announce the latest development here at Niconico, the release of a feature-packed FULL English version of Niconico!!

This means the end of our beta services. We'd like to first thank all of you who participated in our beta site and helped make it a great place to share videos and live broadcasts.

Our full English service will be released on October 17. You will still be able to log in with your beta account login and password, though not all of your data will make it over. Allow me to elaborate:

Account Details and Uploaded Videos

As mentioned before, your account will still be usable after our live release. All of your uploaded videos will also be right where you left them, however...


Comments, Tags, and My Faves

Your comments, tags, and My Faves will not make the move, so look forward to choosing from a much larger amount of content to comment on, tag, and add to your My Lists after the 17th!


Translation Data

All translation data added to our beta site by the 9th of October will also be transferred and made available on the 17th. However, translations added after the 9th won't make the upgrade, so hold on tight while we finalize this release!


New Clubs

From October 9th, beta members will no longer be able to make new clubs. If you'd like to do a live broadcast between the 9th and the 17th, you'll have to make the necessary preparations beforehand by making a new club or joining an existing one. Or just wait until the 17th and broadcast your heart out on our full release!



Hope to see all of you on October 17th!


Sincerely,
niconico.com
Customer Support Team

via NicoNico Facebook page

We're currently looking at keeping the same rate for premium services for all users regardless of their location, 525 Japanese Yen.

[WTK]

via NicoNico | How do I change back to the Japanese version?

This Niconico is armed and fully operational (in English)!

October 17, 2012 5:00 PM

Thank you so much for using Niconico!

I'm happy to announce that our full English version of Niconico launched without issue.
We have also implemented new user translation tools as well as a brand new video player.
Now users all around the world can enjoy Nico-ing.

Check out our new player here -> http://www.nicovideo.jp/q
More info for translators -> http://ex.nicovideo.jp/translator_info

And now for more details on the transition from our beta version!

What will happen to my 25-cent service?
I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your 25-cent Niconico.com beta version service!
Now that we are wrapping up our beta service, users are no longer able to purchase this package.

For those of you that have already purchased our 25-cent service, don't worry! Niconico.com will be open until the middle of November. All the functions and services that you've enjoyed until now will remain unchanged until this time.

What will happen to my Niconico.com 25-cent account?
As the 25-cent deal only pertains to the beta version, all 25-cent accounts will enter "free member" status on our fully loaded Niconico.

There are many benefits to Niconico Premium Membership (similar to Niconico.com), such as being able to create communities and do live broadcasts.
If you want access to these services, you will need to become a Premium Member.
Curious about our Premium Membership? Details, details!

More on Clubs and Communities
As noted in our last update, users are no longer able to make new clubs on Niconico.com.
However, all clubs will be moved over as they were on 10/9, so if you were in a club by then, jump right over. And just to note, clubs are now called communities!

If you were NOT in a club on Niconico.com and want to start live broadcasts, you will need to become a premium member.

Just to reiterate - our beta service Niconico.com will finish at the end of October, so please start finding your new home over at http://www.nicovideo.jp/ !

We're looking forward to your Nico's!
Niconico Customer Support

[Damius]

Originally Posted by FUNiOP

Not sure what this new version is going to entail, but I hope no more simulcast attempts are made.

I do hope the same. 100% CR Please. FUNi should have made the deal with CR instead, it would still continue today if they did.

[agila61]

Originally Posted by Damius

I do hope the same. 100% CR Please. FUNi should have made the deal with CR instead, it would still continue today if they did.

Quite. And Crunchyroll could have offered them a top-up to pick up broader simulcast streaming rights.

[Buckeye]

Originally Posted by Damius

I do hope the same. 100% CR Please. FUNi should have made the deal with CR instead, it would still continue today if they did.

And here they thought they would leave CR in the dust, but they approached their relationship with N2 wrong. I don't know what to think about the new English site from N2 given that things are so hard to find.

[agila61]

Originally Posted by Buckeye

And here they thought they would leave CR in the dust, but they approached their relationship with N2 wrong. I don't know what to think about the new English site from N2 given that things are so hard to find.

Was Funimation looking to leave Crunchyroll in the dust with the funico deal? Or was that the interpretation of a variety of anime fan looking at the development of the streaming market through the filter of shonen fighting stories?

[Damius]

Originally Posted by agila61

Was Funimation looking to leave Crunchyroll in the dust with the funico deal? Or was that the interpretation of a variety of anime fan looking at the development of the streaming market through the filter of shonen fighting stories?

I remember I read an article on ANN I believe saying that it would be more difficult for CR because of that deal. The point was that Funimation could get home video rights as well. It's a really good thing it never happened... The deal with Sentai is fine (well if only we could get everything Sentai gets...) since CR do their own subs.

[agila61]

Originally Posted by Damius

I remember I read an article on ANN I believe saying that it would be more difficult for CR because of that deal. The point was that Funimation could get home video rights as well. It's a really good thing it never happened... The deal with Sentai is fine (well if only we could get everything Sentai gets...) since CR do their own subs.

Yes, but that was just not reporting, it was speculation by Chistopher MacDonald.

I wouldn't want to be the competition right now though, especially Crunchyroll. With this deal, there's very little reason for any licensor to let a title go to Crunchyroll if NicoNico wants it, even if Crunchyroll offers more money. This is a prediction, but I fully expect Funico to tell licensors “We're very unlikely to license a title for video if it streams on Crunchyroll.” By no means will it be impossible for Crunchyroll to license simulcasts, however the number of titles available to them will probably decrease, and the MG (upfront minimum guarantee, or the minimum amount of money per episode they're willing to pay for the right to stream the show) they need to pay for each license may increase again (they were ridiculously high for a while but have now stabilized at “reasonable” levels). Crunchyroll's only attractive option may be to find a home video licensee to align itself with.

But that was based on a particular vision of how Funico would have worked out, if it had worked out. And that particular vision didn't seem the most likely outcome at the time. The benefit to Funimation is that Funimation will sometimes see some titles they want to license right off the bat, and a set of other titles that they will be seriously considering, depending on how the popular they end up being.

But being committed to the strategy of dubbing everything they license, that will never be a a majority of titles in a season. So the titles that would have been licensed by Funico as such would never have been the majority of the broadcast season.

So if Funico had worked out, it seems like that the total number of series licensed under Funico would have been about the same as the six series that Funimation has picked up for seasonal streaming this season. A bigger range of anime than that for niconico would have required niconico to land those additional titles on their own. And the challenges that niconico faced in landing additional titles on their own was something that Christopher MacDonald passed over without consideration.

For that, unless their Japanese parent company had been willing to use a big bigger chunk of their Japanese revenues to subsidise US streaming licenses, they were behind the eight ball in trying to license on terms competitive with Crunchyroll without foundation of subscriber revenue to back it up.

What niconico brought to the table for simulcasts in Japan was its already established user base, which also implies a user base willing to tolerate its player. But North American simulcast viewers were used to a better streaming experience than niconico could provide, and between the limited selection and the shonky player, they were never able to get any momentum going on their US focused site.