Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Steelbook (HMV Exclusive) (LE) (UK)

[Groge511]

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4K Steelbook HMV Exclusive Limited Edition UK

Release Date: TBD

Purchase Link:

HMV

Artwork: TBD



Back and Interior:

[Show spoiler]

[yeslek]

No 3D?
For sure?

No sale if so

[rwc]

Hopefully there’ll be an Amazon or Zavvi 3D Steelbook. Annoyed that HMV get exclusivity on these titles and don’t make the most of it. Unlike Venom (which they also chose to only do a 4K Steelbook for), the 3D edition of Fantastic Beasts 2 is getting a wide UK release so no excuse in this case really.

Amazon Germany have an exclusive 3D Steelbook (their 4K Steelbook is non-exclusive), while Amazon France have a 4K + 3D Steelbook (Warner Bros France continue to pioneer this model).
Problem is the non-English steels will almost definitely have foreign text/titles imprinted.

[sherrifflobo]

My issue is there wasn’t a uk steel 4k of the first one and don’t like having mixed collections

[Voltaire53]

Originally Posted by rwc

Hopefully there’ll be an Amazon or Zavvi 3D Steelbook. Annoyed that HMV get exclusivity on these titles and don’t make the most of it.

Yes, I wish HMV would include the 3D too but, to be fair, when exclusivity is given to Amazon UK or (especially) Zavvi they never put the 3D in as well; HMV are the only steelbook exclusive people who do *sometimes* put in the 3D as well in the UK; sadly in this case (and as TVs have all dropped 3D non-inclusion will only become more prevalent with time) it's just the 4K... even more annoyingly, at the same price as if they *had* included the 3D!

[rwc]

Originally Posted by Voltaire53

Yes, I wish HMV would include the 3D too but, to be fair, when exclusivity is given to Amazon UK or (especially) Zavvi they never put the 3D in as well; HMV are the only steelbook exclusive people who do *sometimes* put in the 3D as well in the UK; sadly in this case (and as TVs have all dropped 3D non-inclusion will only become more prevalent with time) it's just the 4K... even more annoyingly, at the same price as if they *had* included the 3D!

When I said HMV should make the most of their exclusivity I didn’t mean they should necessarily release a 4K + 3D combo - I meant they should do a 3D-only Steelbook, which has been done by all three retailers in the past, and several times in 2018. A 4K + 3D combo is great but raises the price which is a problem for some people - but as you’ve pointed out, here HMV are charging so much already for the 4K Steelbook that they should have included 3D anyway.
I was hoping Amazon or Zavvi might have grabbed the exclusivity for a 3D Steelbook, but it appears that’s not the case, so the options are an English-titled 3D Slipcase or European-titled 3D or 4K+3D Steelbook...

As I said before, unlike Venom (which HMV also chose to only do a 4K Steelbook for), the 3D edition of Fantastic Beasts 2 is getting a wide UK release so there’s no “3D is dead” excuse on the part of HMV in this case really. If anything, the retailer’s decision threatens to send a negative signal to Warner Brothers who until now have been pretty great at releasing 3D
The upside is that on Amazon UK’s Blu-ray bestseller list the 3D edition is #236 while the 4K is #261 (both remain niche as the standard blu-ray is #46)...

[Voltaire53]

Originally Posted by rwc

When I said HMV should make the most of their exclusivity I didn’t mean they should necessarily release a 4K + 3D combo - I meant they should do a 3D-only Steelbook, which has been done by all three retailers in the past, and several times in 2018.

Fair point; sorry to mis-understand you

A 4K + 3D combo is great but raises the price which is a problem for some people - but as you’ve pointed out, here HMV are charging so much already for the 4K Steelbook that they should have included 3D anyway.

It seems to be the way though should is a bit hard when HMV are charging £30 for the 4K/2D steel and Zavvi just charged £33 for Ant-Man and the Wasp 4K steel also with no 3D... and if you wanted the 3D steelbook you had to then spend ANOTHER £25,... and it didn't even have different artwork - but hey you get another 2D copy, so that's fine!
Zavvi get a lot MORE stick (IMO, probably not yours, correctly) for doing both and trying to get you to pay twice... they NEVER do a triple like HMV do sometimes.

I was hoping Amazon or Zavvi might have grabbed the exclusivity for a 3D Steelbook, but it appears that’s not the case, so the options are an English-titled 3D Slipcase or European-titled 3D or 4K+3D Steelbook...

Possible but again if you want both it costs a fortune (and we know the discs cost peanuts so it's just the fact it's a separate, licenced item that makes it expensive). I assume it's not just HMV being 'we won't bother' though - I imagine they have to negotiate costs of licencing and work out which makes the best financial sense for each title, as much as neither of us like it when they don't come up with the answers we would like!

As I said before, unlike Venom (which HMV also chose to only do a 4K Steelbook for), the 3D edition of Fantastic Beasts 2 is getting a wide UK release so there’s no “3D is dead” excuse on the part of HMV in this case really. If anything, the retailer’s decision threatens to send a negative signal to Warner Brothers who until now have been pretty great at releasing 3D
The upside is that on Amazon UK’s Blu-ray bestseller list the 3D edition is #236 while the 4K is #261 (both remain niche as the standard blu-ray is #46)...

... and the DVD will outsell them all

[rwc]

Originally Posted by Voltaire53

Possible but again if you want both [4K and 3D] it costs a fortune (and we know the discs cost peanuts so it's just the fact it's a separate, licenced item that makes it expensive).

Yep. This and the fact they constantly include a standard blu-ray disc (failing to port over bonuses from it while often leaving unused space on the 4K/3D disc) even when the product is clearly designed for double-dippers interested in packaging and who already own the discs (like collectors steelbooks released much later)... The inflexibility with regards to packaging and content/discs is what really irritates me, the whole system is flawed in this way and frankly it is physical media’s main hamartia. We’ve all become so used to it that it’s hard to recognise how inflexible it is now compared to other industries. Forcing those only interested in new packaging to rebuy the discs and forcing those only interested in discs to spend extra for packaging, all the while having limited options (if any choice at all) within both packaging and discs. So when it comes to which physical option to choose increasingly people are either accepting an unnecessary premium or ticking the box ‘none of the above’ and turning to streaming. I’ve already posted at length in this forum about a potential solution so won’t again...

[minister_x]

Glad that Warner have finally deigned to give the UK market 4K steels. Won't have to import this like the first one!

[Matthew.H]

I've got the 3D steelbook of the first film. May pick this up depending on price. Probably will end up being around £25.

[MifuneFan]

Germany has a 2D/3D Steelbook with cool artwork, but the title is in German too, which I'm sure is a dealbreaker for many.

[Voltaire53]

Interesting full cover shot:



Not sure I 'approve' of how they have the image on the rear cover upside down - I assume they have been watching forums where people say "I much prefer the image on the back, they should have used it on the front" and by turning the rear image upside down the buyer can use the back as the front if they like (especially since it actually has the title on it).

[DioramaMaker]

Very cool. That flipped back cover should be used much more often. That's a great idea and I absolutely love it.

[imsounoriginal]

Really hope that's not what the US gets, I hated when they did that flip-over Steelbook for BvS.

[Voltaire53]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Really hope that's not what the US gets, I hated when they did that flip-over Steelbook for BvS.

Originally Posted by DioramaMaker

Very cool. That flipped back cover should be used much more often. That's a great idea and I absolutely love it

I just knew it would be controversial; personally never seen it before and am unsure but already we've had 'hate' and 'love' within 2 comments...

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Voltaire53

I just knew it would be controversial; personally never seen it before and am unsure but already we've had 'hate' and 'love' within 2 comments...

Nothing new there. Art is subjective, so inevitably you will have two camps.

[Voltaire53]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Nothing new there. Art is subjective, so inevitably you will have two camps.

Totally agree but I was more talking about the concept of having an 'upside down alternative front cover' on the back, so it can be flipped to the owner's preference, rather than the artwork itself.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Voltaire53

Totally agree but I was more talking about the concept of having an 'upside down alternative front cover' on the back, so it can be flipped to the owner's preference, rather than the artwork itself.

BvS had the same concept. So it’s not like this concept is new, unless you totally missed that worldwide release.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Voltaire53

Totally agree but I was more talking about the concept of having an 'upside down alternative front cover' on the back, so it can be flipped to the owner's preference, rather than the artwork itself.

The actual artwork itself is fine, but like you said, that "flip over" style is annoying. Even if you do want to display the back, the spine is reversed/upside-down, so it accomplishes nothing lol. And then Best Buy had the audacity to market their BvS Steelbook as two separate Steelbooks so people would collect them

[DioramaMaker]

Originally Posted by Voltaire53

I just knew it would be controversial; personally never seen it before and am unsure but already we've had 'hate' and 'love' within 2 comments...

I mean, let me put it this way; how many people display their SB's flayed open and outwards? Let alone "display" them at all? IF so, it's usually one side forward only. Few designs are even meant to be wraparound these days anyhow, with the main art nearly always being exclusive to the front. This allows for two unique prints per film and allows it to be oriented either way for those who DO display them, such as myself. I use magnet racks I built to showcase steels, so this turns one SB into two, effectively.