US Anime Sales Decline Slows
ICv2 reports that domestic anime sales for first quarter 2009 were down 2% compared to first quarter 2008. First quarter 2008 sales were 11% lower than Q1 2007. And 2007’s $275-300 million in sales was 20% lower than 2006’s $400 million in total sales.
CEPro reports that domestic DVD sales across all genres during first quarter 2009 dropped 14% compared to the same period last year. Combined DVD, Blu-ray and digital distribution sales dropped 5% from first quarter 2008. Year-to-date digital distribution revenue alone, however, increased by 19% over 2008.
So this year’s declines in anime DVD sales aren’t as great as the average domestic sales decline, but that may be because anime DVD sales have already droped so precipitously in previous years. This suggests that either domestic anime sales declines are slowing, or that domestic anime sales have nearly reached bottom.
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If they don’t start releasing new titles pretty soon, it’ll start declining again. The industry cannot survive on an exclusive diet of reissues.
Steven: Unfortunately, that probably is not going to happen.
Take a look at the top sellers list, and you see very few new series titles actually penetrating deep into the consciousness of anime fans (Code Geass and Ouran being the two exceptions).
Also, the facts are that the number of titles being released in Japan is well down from previous years.
The thing is that this is an indication, to me, of two things:
1) The fans believe that far too many titles have been _made_, much less licensed (I hear the over-licensing canard time and again — but that can only mean that the companies in Japan are, in the eyes of the fans, over-producing.)
2) Those few fans who are still paying would rather the anime companies liquidate (Best Buy anime reduction, anyone?) at fire-sale prices, without regard to any future for the pay model of the product.
Boy, am I glad I am banned from Anime Expo. Dear God, to think of how little that show is going to have this year…
“Boy, am I glad I am banned from Anime Expo. Dear God, to think of how little that show is going to have this year…”
All I know is I’m only interested in the Friday venue. I’m sick of all these j-pop acts I don’t have time to see, anyway.
I think it’s gotten to the point that the con is only about the cosplayers and the like — the whole “gotta be there” motif of AX went out about 4-5 years ago. The last two years I went (before the SPJA proved itself to be a bunch of incompetent dicks, and, when I told them, if they didn’t like me saying that…), I was openly wondering why I would want to go.
Now, I wonder why anyone does. But that’s getting off the track a bit.