When I was over in Germany I saw two different versions of AnimaniA, the rough equivalent to Newtype USA, for sale: a DVD-edition for 8.50 Euro (~$11.88) and a DVD-less version for 4.80 Euro (~$6.71). One can also subscribe to DVD and DVD-less versions of the magazine. This made me think about Newtype USA, its current $12.98 newsstand price, and the possibility of a similar thing being implemented.
Some of you might remember there was a period in which the newsstand version of NT USA lacked a DVD sampler for three issues (August-October 2004). The major issue with the proposal can be seen in the reader dissatisfaction back then over the removal: the readership base expected the DVD as a given extra along with the manga insert and poster and they probably have the same expectation that it will stay that way in the future. 45% of newsstand buyers said in an unofficial poll by ANN that August that they would stop buying the magazine while 15% said they would switch to a subscription. (However, it’s worth noting that voters were not asked why they would stop buying it.) The “bonus” DVD was reinstated at the request of “fans and select retailers” albeit with a price hike of $3 onto the original $9.95 cover price.
So the new poll question is: should there be a lower-priced, DVD-less version of Newtype USA? I’m not including a price in the question but I would assume that the cheaper version would be around $10 given there is still the glossy pages and a poster insert. This isn’t a suggestion per se that the DVD inserts should be subscriber-only but I do think that the subscribers should continue to get the DVD edition and perhaps also be offered the opportunity to get a cheaper DVD-less subscription.
The old poll was “Do you own multiple physical copies of any anime or manga?”
29 people voted: 21 said (72.4%) yes and 8 (27.6%) went with no.
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This is one of the biggest issues I’ve had with NT USA. They’re so expensive! A couple more dollars and I could go buy a manga or something. I don’t even watch the dvds. I really like the large pictures and a few of the articles though. Subscribing makes it a lot cheaper, but I’ve always held off on doing it. =\