Chances of Dragon Boxes getting the UUE treatment?

[Rory]

With the surprisingly quick price drops of these sets, how likely do you guys think it is that the Dragon Boxes will see it through to the end? The price drops can be either very good, or very bad. If these sets aren't selling too well then surely(profit-wise) FUNimation won't see much of a point in releasing the Dragon Box in it's entirety.
Just something that's been worrying me lately, has it been bothering you guys? Do you think FUNimation will finish the Boxes even if the sales aren't as strong as previous releases (or strong at all)?
Just wanted the opinions of a few others on this one.

[Nils_McCloud]

After all the shenanigans they've pulled in the past with the UUE and Orange bricks, I'm sure FUNimation has the common sense that God gave a billy goat to know that they really need to finish this release of the series. If they don't, they'll permanently hurt their own credibility.

I'm pretty sure the Z DBoxes will finish their run.

[DemonRin]

As far as I'm concerned, there is ZERO Chance that the Dragon Box release will see a cancellation, at this point it would be moronic of them to do so.

In their press release, they stated that they received the Dragon Box Z Masters from Toei already, meaning whatever they paid Toei to get them, the deal is done and FUNi no doubt has the masters to all 291 episodes and the Movies.

They're not redubbing it, just slapping their old dub into the box and throwing it out there with subs, so the only extra money they need to put into it is Package design and publishing and, lets be honest, once the first set was designed, they had the basic layout for every single one from then on. ("Ok, now just replace Vegeta with Freeza and change the 2 to a 3")

Even if the Dragon Boxes aren't selling very well, it would be smarter for them now to finish the run, because that gives them more releases and more sales to attempt to at least break even or squeak by some form of a profit over what they paid Toei for the masters.

If they were still producing a new dub for the DVDs, I'd be worried, but they aren't, so everything should be fine.

[SHINOBI-03]

I - Hope - Not.


If they announced a cancellation of something meant for the fans of the original version for the first time, no body will trust them as it used to be.

So far, they've canceled Dragon Ball on VHS, the DBZ Ultimate Uncut Edition, and the Remastered DBZ movies singles. If they keep canceling their releases, they will lose the credibility of their customers. Especially now with the Dragon Box release. It's something fans waited for it for years. It's something only purchased by someone knows the series from the Japanese side of things.

Sure, you can say for example 15% of the fans are the ones who buy the Dragon Boxes compared to 85% who buys the Remastered sets. 15% is better than 0%, right? As long as there is an interest and someone still buys them, there shouldn't be a reason to cancel it.


But... if they went out of their way and canceled it anyways... they won't escape... OUR WRATH!!!

[LeprikanGT]

They cancelled VHS because they KNEW they werent making any money off of them.

The UUE was cancelled for the bricksets. [although I do have to look at a half empty box every day]

And I don't even KNOW what they were thinking with those new movie singles. Hopefully the Dbox for the movies.

[The Time Traveller]

I doubt it, they presented it as a specialist set for the die hard fans who love the Japanese version and want the full crisp picture, they knew it wasn't going to sell well.

[Cipher]

Seems like bad business no matter what the numbers are to not finish the release now that they've already bought the footage. Like Demon Rin said, there's not a whole lot of work on Funimation's side of this release, so they'd want to scrounge up what they can with footage they've already purchased.

With the UUEs, Funimation believed they had something far more marketable to replace it which would cover the material much quicker as well. And let's face it, by that time three-episode singles were already a thing of the past. Those were some very odd circumstances. They knew from the start, however, that the Dragon Boxes would be a niche release, and that's how they've treated them. And as Demon Rin also said, this was a very fan-centric release, so it'd be a huge credibility issue for them to halt it.

If anything, I'm nervous for Dragon Ball and GT Dragon Boxes. If we get to the end of the Z run with no word on them, I guess I'll just finally pick up the rest of the season sets, as those at least aren't terrible.

[TripleRach]

I agree with the sentiment that they likely went through a lot to secure these masters, so they'd probably be losing more money if they didn't release the whole series. FUNimation did seem to imply (at a recent convention, I think?) that we might not get the movies if the TV series doesn't sell well enough, though.

I wouldn't worry too much about the Amazon price drops anyway. Most of us seem to order from RightStuf because of the sales (or for the earlier shipments), and Amazon might have had trouble competing with that with their previous ~$50 prices. Currently, the three boxes seem to be doing well on Amazon, so it might be working well for them.

In Amazon's Dragon Ball series category, Box 3 is the #1 seller, Box 2 is #2, and Box 1 is #5.

In the anime boxed set category, Box 3 is ranked #2, Box 2 is #5, and Box 1 is #11.

And in the FUNimation category, Box 3 is #3, Box 2 is #5, and Box 1 is #10.

The rankings update hourly, so at the very least, people seem to be taking advantage of this sale.

[Castor Troy]

If they cancel the Dragon Boxes, I'm literally going to turn Super Saiyan.

[Tanooki Kuribo]

Well if they feel the DragonBoxes aren't pulling in the money they expected, can't they just so something like they did in Japan where you just pre-order it and that's how many they make? I rather that then a full on cancellation. They should have just done this in one or two sets, get it over with and move on with newer releases like Z Kai. Now they have to release DragonBoxes along side Z Kai. Not that it's bad but I get the feeling they want the emphasis to be on Z Kai right now.

[LeprikanGT]

They SHOULD have done something like that to begin with.

I mean coming out with 7 Dboxes directly after the brick sets Instead of two huge boxes doesnt set this release out any by looking at them.

And I refuse to believe the only reason they did it that way was 'it wouldnt fit on a store shelf'. I'll not be a DBZ fan before I believe that BS. That aside, its HIGHLY unlikey they would stop the Dboxes; they have 4 more of Z, they could split DB into 4 boxes, GT into 2 and the movies into either 1 or 2 depemding on the ammount the put on a disc. Thats almost a dozen boxes they would be making money off of.

[GizmoKSX]

If anything, I'm nervous for Dragon Ball and GT Dragon Boxes. If we get to the end of the Z run with no word on them, I guess I'll just finally pick up the rest of the season sets, as those at least aren't terrible.

That's where I'm sitting too. I'm fairly confident we'll at least see the rest of Z, but even with the lack of any official information on the matter, I'm still holding out for the chance of having the other series in Dragon Box quality as well.

[TonyTheTiger]

I can't imagine why they wouldn't follow through with the Dragon Boxes. Their business model clearly puts heavy emphasis on having something called "DragonBall" on store shelves at all times. So unless Toei is going to be a real bitch I figure the DB and GT boxes would come eventually.

[JulieYBM]

I believe fans would storm cons to mangle poor Josh, Adam Sheehan's recent successor...so I don't suspect they will.

[Gaffer Tape]

Yeah, I'm really hoping FUNimation has this mindset. I mean, so far I've seen people who HATE the Japanese version and love the Faulconer score decide to pick up Dragon Boxes just because they have to have everything or didn't like the video quality of the orange bricks. Even some members of their own dub-dedicated fanbase are buying Dragon Boxes. And of course original fans/purists/videophiles are eating this stuff up as well. I really don't see how they'd not see that as a sound investment. They might not fly off the shelves, but they're sure to turn a profit. As long as it says "Dragon Ball" people are going to buy it.

[DemonRin]

That aside, its HIGHLY unlikey they would stop the Dboxes; they have 4 more of Z

Actually, there's only 3 more unannounced. FUNi told us on their Twitter that DBox Z 4 would hit in September, so we know that at least.

they could split DB into 4 boxes, GT into 2 and the movies into either 1 or 2 depemding on the ammount the put on a disc. Thats almost a dozen boxes they would be making money off of.

GT in 2 sets wouldn't happen simply because, the Season sets were done in 2 releases. The GT Green Brick video quality wasn't nearly as bad as the Orange Bricks, so the Sell of a DBox GT would be harder that way. Releasing it as a somewhat pricey "Dragon Box GT Complete" would be the best way to sell it. It'd be a COMPLETE Boxed set, which is something they've never released before.

And honestly, I HATE GT. Absolutely Loathe it.
I would pay full price and buy a GT Dragon Box if they put it out, that's how much I love them for releasing the DBoxes

[OutlawTorn]

And I refuse to believe the only reason they did it that way was 'it wouldnt fit on a store shelf'. I'll not be a DBZ fan before I believe that BS.

It's not that a proper-sized Dragon Box "wouldn't" fit on a store shelf, it would just be relegated to the "Collectors Sets" section, which is usually quite small and haphazard. The stores wouldn't be able to stock as many units (for example, you're more likely to find an ample supply of a "Guitar Hero" game than the massive "Rock Band" products) and people would have to actually look into the "Collectors Sets" section.

However, even though the FUNimation Dragon Boxes are a massive savings off of the original Dragon Box price, they could potentially make more of a profit by releasing them in seven sets as opposed to two. If FUNimation released the Dragon Boxes identical to how they were sold in Japan, minus the extremely limited quantity aspect, and priced them at... say, $200 MSRP per box, it would total at $400. If the sets sold at their MSRP, all seven combined would cost roughly $420.

[rereboy]

I don`t think they`ll stop.

Hardcore fans and semi-hardcore fans from all over the world must be buying these Boxes like candy.
The original Japanese one was the ultimate release of DBZ but it was way, WAY expensive, its numbers were limited, and the only language featured in it was Japanese (a language that most of the people of the world can`t understand).
None of these problems exist with this release. The boxes are cheap, they are virtually the same product as the original one despite being divided into seven, their numbers aren`t limited from the start, and they are translated with English subtitles (the most international language of the world).

The only problem is that they are Region 1 but, with a region free DVD player (which are somewhat easy to get), that obstacle is easily defeated.

Even Japanese fans must be buying these since the original one is so rare and expensive. (Heck, the only reason why I`m not buying it is because I`m not interested in the anime, only in the manga)

So I think that they are making a nice profit overall. Besides, as mentioned, since they already payed for the Box, they are only gaining more if they keep releasing it until the end.

[FDLink]

FUNi told us on their Twitter that DBox Z 4 would hit in September, so we know that at least.

You've gotta be shitting me. That's a way longer wait between releases than there was between volumes 2 & 3. What's the hold-up? The post-production on the show is already done-- they just need to dump the episodes onto some discs and ship 'em out! It's already painful enough having to wait until September for football season, but now I have to wait THAT long for my next Dragon Box? I don't have the Orange Bricks to satisfy my jonesin'-- I'm ready to watch the Android Saga now!

On another note, you guys have done a good job of reassuring me that we'll see the rest of the D-Boxes, eventually. Honestly, I was sweatin' it for a while there.

[Brad Redfield]

You've gotta be shitting me. That's a way longer wait between releases than there was between volumes 2 & 3. What's the hold-up?

Most likely they want to time the release with Kai volume 2.