Sony Group Corp. announced
it will cut about 250 jobs at its main recordable media manufacturing facility
in northeastern Japan . The move, which will also
include offering early retirement packages to employees, comes amid a decline
in demand for traditional storage formats such as Blu-ray discs ,
according to people familiar with the matter.
The manufacturing base in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture,
currently has a workforce of approximately 670 people. In addition, the
electronics and entertainment conglomerate will gradually cease
production of optical disc storage products, including Blu-ray discs .
This announcement has significant implications for
the anime market, which has relied heavily on Blu-ray as a vital medium for
distribution and collecting. Anime Blu-ray discs are important to fans
not only for the superior video quality and bonus features they offer, but also
as collectibles that hold sentimental and tangible value . Anime fans
often value special editions that include additional material such as artwork,
staff commentary, and exclusive content.
However, the Blu-ray market has seen a noticeable
decline with the proliferation of streaming platforms , which have
changed the way audiences consume content. Services like Netflix, Crunchyroll,
and Funimation have made it easier to access a vast library of anime, making
the need for physical formats diminish.
This shift in consumption directly impacts the anime
industry, as Blu-ray/DVD sales are considered a crucial source of revenue that
directly benefits studios . Sales of these physical media were often
used as an indicator of success and could determine the viability of future
productions. The cessation of disc production could therefore have a
negative impact on the economics of anime studios, making it difficult to
finance new series and projects .
One possible solution to these consequences is
for anime studios and streaming platforms to develop more collaborative
business models that allow for greater revenue sharing . This could
include exclusivity deals, profit sharing, and the creation of
exclusive content for streaming platforms . Additionally, the
offering of digital merchandise, such as virtual collectible editions or
interactive experiences, could offset declining Blu-ray sales .
- " There
is no other way, I have never seen anyone who has them ."
- « Sony
is not going to abandon Blu-ray ».
- " Are
they going to abandon the Blu-ray that they forced on the PlayStation 3? "
- " I
buy discs of movies that are not on streaming services, will I no longer
be able to buy them? "
- « It
doesn't look like they're going to release the PlayStation 6, I guess
they'll just fade away little by little and end up with the PlayStation .»
- « Even
when they released Blu-rays, they almost always had the same amount of content
as the DVDs .»
- " At
this rate, they'll abandon the games too ."
- " If
they abandon gaming, Sony will become a small company, since most of its
revenue comes from PlayStation ."
- « Trinitron,
abandoned. Betamax, abandoned. MD, abandoned. Memory Stick, abandoned.
VAIO, abandoned. Blu-ray, abandoned. PlayStation next? LOL »
- " With
the increase in game size, what will happen to physical media? "
- « Toshiba
was right when they said: “The future is streaming”. They said that in
2007, impressive »
- « With
more devices without a disk drive, it's not even an option .»
- « The
end of Blu-ray. We are now in the age of downloads and subscriptions.
Xbox, with its premium downloads and subscriptions, was ahead of its time.
Sony is in trouble – if its gaming business collapses, it will no longer
be able to pressure retailers and fewer PlayStation games will be sold .»
- « Blu-ray
became popular, but UHDBD became useless due to excessive security that
prevented it from being played on PCs. They should have evolved as an
extension of Blu-ray, without too many standards proliferating »
Source: MainichiShimbun
