Bandai Visual USA to be absorbed into Bandai Ent

[gundamseed]

http://www.bandainamco.co.jp/release...es/3/44660.pdf

Bandai Namco Holdings has announced today that Bandai Visual USA will be wholely absorbed into Bandai Entertainment Inc. This change-over is the parent company's response to changing market climate and the need to evolve to meet the changes as well as the emerging next-generation format market.

Bandai Entertainment Inc will take over all licensing duties, marketing, and planning and distribution of packaged products in the North America region. The company will continue to pursue simultanous releases between Japan and America for relevant titles in the form of packaging production being handled in Japan and so forth. To this end, all share values in Bandai Visual USA will be transferred to Bandai Entertainment Inc.


http://www.bandaivisual.co.jp/pdf/2008/pr080523.pdf

Bandai Visual Japan announces that starting from 1st July 2008, Bandai Visual USA will cease operations. The Honneamise label in the US will continue to be used by Bandai Entertainment Inc, and they will continue to strive for worldwide simultanous releases to maximize product value around the world.

Thanks to duckroll on GAF think's he here sometimes also. lol

[Legion]

[Sid] This is either really good, or really bad. [/Sid]

[GrateSaiyaman]

If this is the case . . . . hummmmmmm . . . .

Now if the Bandai Visual releases will take on the Bandai Ent. pricing, this could be really great . . . .

With my luck it will swing the other way

[Sugei]

Sweet! Now maybe I can afford to buy BV (Now BE) stuff. Hopefully this also means that we will see WoH released on DVD by itself.

[Senku]

Bandai Entertainment Inc will take over all licensing duties, marketing, and planning and distribution of packaged products in the North America region.

Does that mean BEI is getting BVUSA's licenses? Or does it just mean Business as usual?

[something]

Ah a few more details in this thread.

As I said in the initial thread, this is, most likely, the best anime news I've heard since...


....


Well, a really fucking long time. Every time I read about Bandai Visual disappearing, it's just infinitely wonderful.

I will remain ever so slightly cautious, as there's not a 110% guarantee that we won't still see old BV USA pricing schemes for some titles, but I have a hard time seeing Bandai Ent go along with that if they're calling the shots on packaging, distro, production, licensing, etc. It's utterly incongruous with where they've been moving as the company in the past month or two.

So odds are extremely good for this being a very, very welcome thing. And thank god, I've been praying for BV USA to go under for a long time now. It took longer than I expected, but if you consider how long they've been dormant now, they indeed seem to have failed pretty quickly. (Shock! Gasp! You mean $25 an ep discs don't work in this market?)

Thank god. Bandai Ent, please make this everything I hope it is (a reasonably priced sola release would be fine too <3 )

[Pyocola]

Hells yes! Please Bandai, get those BDs out to the regular stores with regular pricing!

[Fudce]

I see this is a slightly positive move in the marketplace, but I'm not 100% convinced yet. This bit worried me about the previous Bandai Visual stuff, and future stuff licenced in this way:

Bandai Entertainment Inc will take over all licensing duties, marketing, and planning and distribution of packaged products in the North America region. The company will continue to pursue simultanous releases between Japan and America for relevant titles in the form of packaging production being handled in Japan and so forth. To this end, all share values in Bandai Visual USA will be transferred to Bandai Entertainment Inc.

[Whoomp]

As long as it doesn't change BEIs pricing-scheme it really doesn't make any difference to me. Hopefully we will now se a release of Sola, Gunbusters and True Tears at an affordable price (collections?).

[Funkatron]

I hope BEI isn't forced by their parent company to price the titles at the same ridiculous pricing. I'm assuming BVUSA is being liquidated because of the lack of sales, so I'm hoping BVJ sees that its because they didn't know what otaku want like they thought

At least GL's sub only release makes sense now: probably to show their parent company they can make money when a sub-only DVD is decently priced. The question is: how many licenses did BVUSA have? And is it the same amount of counters that were on the page yesterday?