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JB Hi-Fi is having a 50% off sale on all its anime titles except studio ghibli titles and april and may new releases - naturally I bought as much as I could afford, and then some. I should be able to pay it all back before I get any interest on my credit card... but that's not really what I'm worried about. Madman (madman is the biggest producer of anime in AU, virtually the only one stocked in stores) didn't make the decision to have their stuff reduced in price, it's not a madman sale. It's a JB exclusive sale. And why would they reduce the price like that if they aren't trying to get rid of it? I tried asking employees if it were something for stock-take and the end of the financial year, or if they're overstocked, but the replies were all either 'I dunno' or 'well, we weren't really selling much of it so I guess we're trying to downsize the anime section'. What do they mean by downsize? It's a TWO WEEK sale, and within the first 4 days enough anime was bought to move all the excess stock onto the shelves in the stores with big anime sections. Now it's been a full week and there's gaps on the shelves with nothing in them. Another week and there wont be anything left at all except those new releases and studio ghibli stuff... and some of the stores with smaller anime sections are already empty. As one of the very few stores around here that stock legit anime discs, the one with the best prices and biggest range, that means what? For one thing we're going to be forced to buy from the internet or from excessively expensive comic book stores, where it used to cost a steep $27 for an anime disc at JB it's going to be a horribly steep $35+ virtually anywhere else... but really it means that anime was too expensive to begin with. Nearly everyone I know who likes anime is a student or young person working a minimum wage job... or even just a kid with no money of their own. These people simply can't afford it. When an anime disc costs almost $30, and you can buy a regular movie for $10-$15 ($30 for a new release, then they generally go down in price over time), when both will probably offer equal enjoyment the only thing that will sway a buyer towards the anime is excessive fanboyism. Whoever it was working in the madman market research devision is a total moron to not realise that. Plus, there's the box-set thing, (referencing a standard 6 disc collection) who's going to buy anime discs alone when they can wait around 2 YEARS from the release of the fist disc and instead of paying $180 for discs that never go down in price ever, no matter how long they've been sitting on the shelf, they can save $80-$110 by getting the box set at $70 - $100. But who will feel okay spending $100 on a single item all at once? sure it may be the complete collection or whatever, but it kind of hurts to spend a lot at once. Especially seeing as, y'know, you could get 6 regular movies for $60 to $90 if you get them at the right times. That puts off buyers too. Especially the kinds of buyers who find it tough to save, and are too impatient to wait the stupidly long 2 year wait. Once again, anime fans usually fit neatly into that category. I honestly haven't bought much/any anime for around 3 years (until this sale). Last thing I bought was Guyver vol. 2, and that was only because I'm a huge Guyver fan. I even named one of my pets 'Gaiba' after what it sounds like sho is saying in the japanese track on the original series. I just kind of gave up buying it, fell out of the loop with new releases, and ignored it all because it hurts to want something and just not be able to afford it, better to not know what you want exists than to know about it and not be able to get your hands on it. I think that there's probably quite a few people who feel the same way too. It's probably why anime is failing. Due to a combination of poor market research and piracy (if you haven't seen the figures for the naruto fansub downloads you may want to check them out) anime is dying in australia. What will become of it? There sure aren't any less fans than there used to be, the number of fans actually appears to be increasing if you check the number of attendees to things like manifest - so demand exists, but nobody is sufficiently meeting it. If madman crumbles because JB is drasticly reducing (if not completely ridding themselves of) anime then who will take up the task of releasing it? Other businesses will be put off by madman's failure, like with the comic books industry - it crashed, and hard, some years ago, and even though it's making a good comeback with movies and merchandise, toy stores and newsagents refuse to stock comics because they're put off by the idea that the market will crash agin. I think that if madman doesn't pull through and change it's sales tactics there's not going to be any anime for AU for a good long while.

Actually, the problem isn't 'if I can get if for free...' because if that was the only thing they thought they would be using freeware, and only watching tv/listening to the radio, not committing crimes (except in the case of ignorance, which is NOT part of this argument, and the way to solve that is via education on the behalf of the companies envolved and the government, obviously your government doesn't care or there would be more laws and they would be enforced) The problem is that people think in childish terms when it comes to moral choices. They think 'if I can do it and get away with it, then I don't see why I shouldn't do it', and that's an even stronger thought if the person can commit the crime with ease. The people I'm arguing against are people who know it's wrong and do it anyway, because it's easy and they don't think they will get caught. If they are caught very few of them will actually think of themselves as the bad person either - even though they committed the crime, not the judge/jury/etc. They will selfishly ignore all around them to preserve their own personal self image. In their mind they will be the victim. Not the hundreds of people they helped put out of work. This is why piracy is such a tough topic for many people to face, because it forces them to think of themself as a criminal. This is why people are reacting to my post with emotion rather than logic. People don't like to think of themself as the bad guy, only as the hero(ine).

Uh, actually amyltrer, that either means the film was released for free, under something like a creative commons license, or the person who uploaded it was uploading it illegally as a breach of youtube's anti-piracy policy, and the video will be deleted and the user banned once youtube's mods get around to it. Exploiting the 30 day trial thing is also not legal, you get a free 30 day trial, not a 60 or 90 day trial. It's only free for 30 days, further than that and if the company discovers what you're doing they can take you to court. If a company is selling defective products it is a legal requirement that they replace the product or refund your money. If you buy a product that isn't compatible with your system/whatever by accident, it's up to their good will, but if it actually says that the product should be compatible, then they are required to refund or replace the item. I don't get why I'm a bad person for saying crime is bad. I don't get why people would defend it. If you don't think a product is worth the money the company is asking for it, why don't you buy a cheaper and legal product from someone else instead of becoming a criminal? Edit 1; spelling errors Edit 2; Also, the youtube thing you mentioned makes me unsure that you understand piracy - you can release movies and music for free. Same with games and whatever. For free distribution. Free. Legally free. If it's on youtube it doesn't mean it's legal, but if it is legally on youtube, no, watching it doesn't make you a pirate, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with this argument. The argument is about illegally copying products whether to sell or distribute for free. So illegal torrents, illegal downloads, bootleg copies of movies and CDs, whatever. This is not about paying for things if you can legally get them for free. This is not about being forced to pay for freeware, or things released under creative commons or whatever. If it's legal, then I don't see how it has anything to do with piracy, or anything to do with this argument.

[quote][i]Originally posted by Askura[/i] [color=red] Seriously - I'ld go to the toilet, sit down, and half a second later he'ld be nestling in it. Caught him taking it from the laundry basket a few times, too. [/color][/quote] ROFL - Your kitten steals your undies? I thought mine was strange for stealing my figurines and keys, but that takes the cake!

Have you heard that they're making two hobbit movies now? But apparently Jackson isn't going to direct them. I wonder how they're going to turn out?