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Personally I don't think Gundam needs to be big. Because if it gets big, we'll get appropriated material. We don't need a Dragon Ball Evolution/Ghost in the Shell movie western interpretation adaptation. I think it just needs to be recognized without being mistaken as Transformers/Robotech/Voltron. I think it's getting to that point, but not there yet.
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May 21, 2017 07:17
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You say that like there wasn't already a live action American Gundam movie.
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May 21, 2017 07:19
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My ideal Gundam game would be to take the Gundam Breaker customization, and move it to a traditional Gundam setting, rather than the gunpla backing of the breaker games. Be an ace pilot that builds their custom mobile suit up from a stock GM/Zaku throughout the UC or something.
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May 21, 2017 07:39
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Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Bandai America has much if anything to do with Gunpla distribution in NA at this point in time.
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May 21, 2017 09:05
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I phrased that badly, the numbers I'm referring to are what Mother Bandai as a whole has been reporting for operating profit in the Americas. I assume the figure includes Bandai America along with sales from other NA distributors of Bandai products. That said it might not be a useful reference for gunpla purposes, I could easily see something like Power Rangers eclipsing Gundam in the US, even if Gundam is at the top for Bandai overall. Still a kind of interesting trend, and if they've stopped bleeding money here that might give them the wiggle room to take a more active role in gunpla distribution.
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May 21, 2017 10:29
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mikeycp posted:You say that like there wasn't already a live action American Gundam movie. There wasn't. It was Canadian.
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May 21, 2017 10:42
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Bandai Namco's videogame sales apparently took a major poo poo a few years back, but the toy and hobby division has been raking in healthy profits for quite a while. Got to wonder what the numbers were on AGE, though, since they expected it to be huge.
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May 21, 2017 10:54
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They forecast 15 billion yen in Gundam toys/hobby for the year AGE started, and it ended up being 13.4 billion, so about $24 million less than expected. Funny enough total Gundam revenue exceeded forecasts by about the same amount that fiscal year, so it somehow worked out for Bandai. Thank god for Unicorn I guess, must've taught them to diversify because I don't remember there being as many concurrently running Gundam series before then. Also I swear I downloaded all these earnings reports for legit market research, not to spectacularly nerd out.
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May 21, 2017 11:41
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Triggerhappypilot posted:How old school? Flash Gordon? A ming the merciless-esque gundam villain would loving own
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May 21, 2017 11:58
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Xy Hapu posted:Also I swear I downloaded all these earnings reports for legit market research, not to spectacularly nerd out. It's cool, I find the business side of this hobby fascinating. Always thought Bandai was nuts for loudly proclaiming that AGE was going to sell some 50% more merchandise than 00 though. Doubt we'll be seeing anything like that again.
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May 21, 2017 13:02
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They probably thought anything could handily beat a show that came out in the middle of a massive financial crisis. AGE sure showed them. Incidentally Gundam toy/hobby gross sales crawled past pre-2008 levels only in the last 2-3 years. The takeaway being that they probably would have splurged money on an MG G-Self long ago if the world economy had never collapsed; truly the crisis affected us all.
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May 21, 2017 13:36
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Never before have I been happy for at least one aspect of a crippling worldwide financial crisis but I guess here we are, huh?
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May 21, 2017 13:46
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Interesting, though the 2008 crisis did not stop them from churning out a record number of MG subjects for the next couple of years... it's not until around 2015 or so that things started getting kind of grim on that front.
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May 21, 2017 13:47
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Clearly we need another global meltdown to kick them back into high gear. Though in the meantime the least they could do is release the model from the GFT CG short with the suspiciously well thought out but barely visible inner joints, which I am presuming is a nixed 1/100 NG though I would not be shocked at all if they also have a completely modeled MG gathering digital dust somewhere.
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May 21, 2017 16:20
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The failure of the AGE kits also lines up with the Kamen Rider Fourze stuff, so there was a ton of unsold merchandise from both on stores shelves for a long time. It seems like that's when they shifted to releasing a lot of stuff on P-Bandai instead of through retailers.
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May 21, 2017 16:37
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chiasaur11 posted:It was Canadian. I didn't know this! Guy Goodbody posted:The failure of the AGE kits also lines up with the Kamen Rider Fourze stuff, so there was a ton of unsold merchandise from both on stores shelves for a long time. It seems like that's when they shifted to releasing a lot of stuff on P-Bandai instead of through retailers. Speaking of which, I would kill for an MG Figurise Fourze.
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May 21, 2017 17:04
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Hot Topic is selling SD Gundam Neo figures now.
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May 22, 2017 05:11
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Xy Hapu posted:I phrased that badly, the numbers I'm referring to are what Mother Bandai as a whole has been reporting for operating profit in the Americas. I assume the figure includes Bandai America along with sales from other NA distributors of Bandai products. No, it's not reported that way. Bandai America is not a Bandai local office, it has its own reporting that is reflected on the Group's profits. Gundam is only reported under Toys/Hobby SBU for merchandise/character good sales. I believe Gundam is also reported under media and video game, but Gundam sales are not reported as part of Bandai America because they have nothing to do with it.
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May 22, 2017 05:34
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Hm, I'm not sure I understand, what does the number Bandai reports for Operating Income in the Americas represent in that case? If I'm reading you right it includes neither Bandai America nor Gundam? This is the table I was pulling from: 
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May 22, 2017 06:31
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I'm saying that number does not include any sales for Gundam even if Gundam is sold in the U.S.
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May 22, 2017 07:34
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Ahh I see now, thanks for the explanation! So any US sales just get lumped into Japanese sales instead? That's pretty interesting.
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May 22, 2017 07:58
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Xy Hapu posted:Hm, I'm not sure I understand, what does the number Bandai reports for Operating Income in the Americas represent in that case? If I'm reading you right it includes neither Bandai America nor Gundam? This is the table I was pulling from: The only thing Bandai US does is license titles out, usually to Funimation. A few years ago the existing Bandai US was abruptly shut down and reconstituted as a licensing operation.
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May 22, 2017 13:17
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I preordered the new MG 00 P-Bandai for $90 I feel like a horrible nerd but that 00 is gonna own own own and I have to have it.
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May 22, 2017 13:23
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Midjack posted:The only thing Bandai US does is license titles out, usually to Funimation. A few years ago the existing Bandai US was abruptly shut down and reconstituted as a licensing operation. Bandai America still exists, and handles a number of toy lines... and SpruKits, which I was surprised to learn are still a thing since no one ever talks about them. Bimmi fucked around with this message at 13:49 on May 22, 2017 |
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May 22, 2017 13:42
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Bimmi posted:Bandai America still exists, and handles a number of toy lines... and SpruKits, which I was surprised to learn are still a thing since no one ever talks about them. I saw some superhero sprukits in toys r us and they seemed real weird
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May 22, 2017 14:25
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They seem cool enough for what they are, but the lineup doesn't seem to have changed at all in two years. Who's even buying them?
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May 22, 2017 14:31
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EVGA Longoria posted:I preordered the new MG 00 P-Bandai for $90 I feel like a horrible nerd but that 00 is gonna own own own and I have to have it. What's different from the base version?
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May 22, 2017 14:50
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Presumably not even kids bought the marketing spin that 'sprus' are a revolutionary part organization system for model kits Then again runnerless kits seem to be on the rise so maybe kids these days have legit never seen one and were amazed their parts didn't come jumbled together in lovely little bags.
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May 22, 2017 14:57
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The Muffinlord posted:What's different from the base version? It's got some extra giant parts that make a sword or fit on the riser backpack and make it so big the riser needs a stand to hold it up.
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May 22, 2017 15:33
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The raiser already needs a stand to stay upright, though. It's actually part of the charm that this unwieldly mobile suit is designed to levitate and therefore can't stay upright without power, as far as I'm concerned.
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May 22, 2017 15:36
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I just stumbled across the Twilight Axis stuff and I was kind of jazzed about a new Zaku III Custom because I like my mobile suits mono-eyed and spiky. Apparently the release is just a P-Bandai recolor of the ancient-rear end HGUC Zaku III  
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May 22, 2017 16:39
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After not building anything for quite some time, I picked up a Duel Assault Shroud, one of the few Seed designs I like. Hope I didn't make a big mistake.
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May 22, 2017 16:47
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Mordja posted:After not building anything for quite some time, I picked up a Duel Assault Shroud, one of the few Seed designs I like. Hope I didn't make a big mistake. Well it goes without saying that you've made a major one, because you seem to think this lapse in self-control will end after purchasing just one kit.
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May 22, 2017 16:50
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Potential BFF posted:I just stumbled across the Twilight Axis stuff and I was kind of jazzed about a new Zaku III Custom because I like my mobile suits mono-eyed and spiky. The Tristan is a rehash of the old rear end HGUC Alex with some Mk 2 and Nu Gundam parts slapped on it. Twilight Axis is basically a sideshow with how lazy the production has been.
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May 22, 2017 17:12
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Neddy Seagoon posted:Well it goes without saying that you've made a major one, because you seem to think this lapse in self-control will end after purchasing just one kit. Haha, oh, don't worry I'm prepared for that very real eventuality, even got a list planned out for what I hope to grab in the future. Just not sure if the Duel AS is a good kit or whether the shroud's gonna be falling off all the time. Mordja fucked around with this message at 17:30 on May 22, 2017 |
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May 22, 2017 17:27
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To be fair, the Tristan is like 75% new parts, but it still looks kind of bad.
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May 22, 2017 18:05
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Bimmi posted:To be fair, the Tristan is like 75% new parts, but it still looks kind of bad. it's a boring design
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May 22, 2017 18:10
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Bimmi posted:To be fair, the Tristan is like 75% new parts, but it still looks kind of bad. The biggest problem with the Tristan is that it's a 2017 kit with 2004 articulation.
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May 22, 2017 18:30
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I'd say the biggest problem is that the CAD looks like it was done on a Friday and the molds finished on a Monday. It just looks shabby. The antique joints being the main recycled parts is a LOL, though.
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May 22, 2017 18:52
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whatever happened to that goon that was working on the mechanicore Deep Striker? Are they ok? or were they buried under spent runners and rattle cans? goddamn those mechanicore kits look cool but I don't have the time to paint and detail all of that.
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May 22, 2017 19:58
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