DVDs Count On New Titles For Sales Lift...................................
satellite.nikkei.co.jp
BY SHIGERU ENDO
Staff writer
Nearly a year has passed since digital-videodisc (DVD) software debuted in Japan. The available software continues to grow, but sales are lackluster. However, software developers are finding some market appeal from their efforts to plug the vast information-storage merits of DVDs.
According to a survey by the Electronic Industries Association of Japan, sales of DVD players this year are expected to reach an aggregate 600,000 units. This forecast bodes well for the industry and presents an opportunity for software developers, who have been relatively reluctant to jump aboard the DVD wagon.
Tokyo-based Pioneer LDC Inc. is a typical new entry. On Oct. 25, the company launched sales of "Cliffhanger," a mountain-climbing rescue action adventure starring Sylvester Stallone. As with video releases, DVDs come with Japanese subtitles or voice-overs. The DVD, however, is capable of keeping selected scenes from various parts of the movie in a section of the monitor that offers simultaneous playback of choices.
This special option, called Highlight Clips, runs nine scenes at the same time. Users are thus able to quickly pinpoint the place in the movie they wish to view.
Disney focus
Buena Vista Japan Ltd., which boasts overwhelming strength in videocassette sales, plans to enter the field of DVD software next year with a focus on Walt Disney Co. products. The company will be involved not only in the preparation of well-known animated movies, such as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin," but also in the DVD production of filmed works such as "Dick Tracy."
With the two animated features, Buena Vista Japan recorded shipments of 2 million videos. The company aims to prime the market for DVD software with an extensive lineup of movies for a wide spectrum of viewing audiences, including families and women.
Sales will be run through Pioneer LDC. While the company rounds out its selection of movies, the idea of DVDs as a replacement for laser discs still colors the public-relations backdrop.
Warner Home Video Japan, a master in capturing the market through low price and timing, is one of the most aggressive software marketers. Since April, the Tokyo-based company has offered same-day launches of new-release rental videos and DVD software. Prices are set at 3,400 yen ($27.64), the lowest for the company's software. "Executive Decision" and "Eraser," which sold briskly, are examples of successes with the same-day video/DVD strategy.
Warner Home Video has also introduced a number of discs featuring background music, such as "Music Soundtrack." A special edition Michael Collins DVD features original scenes from the movie.
In December, the company will release the Alfred Hitchcock thriller "Strangers on a Train," with both the U.K. version and the slightly different U.S. version on one disc. That the last scenes and editing are different is well-known among movie fans. Packaging the versions together on a single disc highlights the DVD's immense storage capacity.
More Japanese films
There are few examples of Japanese films on DVD, but this will change toward the end of the year with the gradual debut of the "Otoko wa Tsuraiyo" ("It's Tough Being a Man") series. Shochiku Co. and Toshiba Corp. have teamed up to offer all 49 episodes of the series, beginning in December. The video version of the series has sold 500,000 sets. As a DVD promoter, Toshiba aims to raise the profile of the discs among the older generations. Since DVD titles are available with Japanese subtitles, they should be a popular form of entertainment for senior citizens with hearing problems.
Around 500 titles will appear on the market this year. To date, the majority of available offerings are foreign movies, followed by music, including concert performances, and adults-only items. While the 500 titles include some new releases, most have already appeared on video.
Yasuhiro Sato of Ginza Yamano Music in Tokyo pointed out an increase in sales of DVD software could depend on how many new music titles can be released on DVDs. The overwhelming percentage of DVD software buyers are men over 30 years of age. A DVD product, "Neon Genesis Evangelion," released by King Record Co. is such a hit that even animation enthusiasts without DVD players are said to have snatched up the disc as a collector's item.
Toshiba Vice President Masaichi Koga said he expects the scope of software applications for games, karaoke and personal-computer components, such as DVD read-only memory (DVD-ROM) discs, will expand and proliferate. To steadily permeate the market, the number of software titles must increase, but not merely through an expansion of titles, he said.
Consider the substantial contribution from external factors, such as rental operations, in the development of video. Thus, the biggest key to proliferation of DVDs may be a compromise that would maximize sales of new releases as well as the potential of rental operations. |
