Shopping Guide
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, the newest movie in the Gundam series, which created the world of Universal Century, will be released on Feb. 28, 2015. The first of the 4-part Char & Sayla compilation will air during 13 theater premiere events within the country. Blu-ray discs will be out at these theaters for an early bird sale, and the movie will also be available for paid online viewing at the same time. From April 24, the Blu-ray disc and DVD will go on sale for everyone.
This is the same scheme as the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series which ended in 2014. Providing fans with products that meet their needs in a wide range of places was the secret behind the success of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.
For The Origin, a similar strategy will take place, but on a global scale. Bandai Namco Group has announced that along with the movie premieres, paid online viewing will be available for all countries around the world except China.
International paid streaming will be available from Feb. 28 through Daisuki, a company operated by Anime Consortium Japan, and other game console and smartphone content distribution companies. Gundam fans around the world will be able to enjoy The Origin without the issue of different time zones.
One thing that stands out this time is the fact that Daisuki is almost completely monopolizing the online distribution of the movie. An online Japanese anime distribution platform funded by Bandai Namco Group, Daisuki received a large amount of investment at the end of 2014 for a fresh new start. It looks like the big release of this new Gundam movie will be used to help pull Daisuki ahead of its competition.
Game console content distributors that are well established abroad and smartphone content distributors that don’t overlap with Daisuki are also being used proactively at the same time. The Gundam series is often used as the flagship business for Bandai Namco Group. It appears to be the same case this time.
Aside from online content distribution, DVDs will also be made available to domestic and international audiences at the same time. On April 24 when the products will go on sale, they will also be available to customers around the world.
Simultaneously releasing DVDs of anime has been difficult up to now because of licensing issues and multilingual options. This time, the collector’s edition Blu-ray disc which will be sold domestically will already include seven different subtitles (Japanese, English, French, Korean, Chinese (Traditional (Hong Kong, Taiwan), Simplified)) and 2 languages (Japanese, English). Providing the same product everywhere makes this simultaneous release possible.
In addition to selling the product on the e-commerce site that Anime Consortium Japan operates, the DVD will also be sold through local merchandisers in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan. This will disrupt the usual system of selling licenses to each country and having a local company in the country produce its own version.
By using a big brand and a bold business model, this move is bound to draw attention from domestic and international anime-related businesses and people.
■ International Paid Online Viewing
Distribution Start Date: Feb. 28, 2015 (Sat.)
Distribution Area: Japan and all countries around the world (except China)
Distribution Provider: Daisuki (Anime Consortium Japan), game console/smartphone content distribution companies
Price: Depends on area and content distribution method
■ International Product Information
*Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin* Blu-ray Disc Collector’s Edition
Release Date: April 24, 2015 (Fri.)
Specifications: color / DTS-HD master audio (5.1ch), linear PCM (stereo), DTS (stereo) / AVC / BD50G
Resolution: 16:9 <1080p High Definition>
Languages: Japanese, English
Subtitles: Japanese, English, French, Korean, Traditional Chinese (HK, Taiwan), Simplified Chinese (On/Off feature available)
Source: animeanime
Source article written by Tadashi Sudo
