Originally Posted by JurassicBD
I'd argue that grossly overstating just how niche physical media has become is just as ill-informed, naive, or even "delusional". I don't mean that as an insult. There are a lot of factors at play that are necessary considerations not just in interpreting where we are, but how we got here, that are deserving of far more credit than the most common, superficial knee-jerk interpretations propagated in social media implying simple dwindling interest.
If "general consumer" was THE gauge not just for home entertainment, but for anything manufactured, we wouldn't have very many choices regardless of category, even food.
The truth is that the current status quo is very sustainable, for as long as it has the studios blessing. In fact, all it could take is a little advertising from Hollywood to see collectible media soar again. But that still doesn't seem likely. Studios aren't about to undermine the past 15 years of desperately trying to convince consumers that digital is THE future, even when their holy grail still seems a bottomless pit, financially and collectible media continues to prove itself very profitable even at current pricing, which is still well short of what truly "niche" pricing was before the advent of DVD in 1997. Without actually doing the math, I suspect after calculating inflation, they'd have to be charging roughly $200 per UHD, maybe even per BD, IF such were actually selling in genuinely "niche" numbers.
Some people here have felt the need to call BD "niche" even when bigger titles were outselling their DVD counterparts over ten years ago, as if buying something they can label as "niche" somehow enhances their investment or makes them feel more special. Unless studios pull the proverbial rug out from under our feet, forcing their narrative in a more obvious and controversial manner, as they become less and less able to continue to finance some long-term plan of systemic market manipulation, we could even see further increase in collectible market-share even with the dearth of promotion discs have received from the studios over the past 15 years or so. Bill Hunt seems optimistic studios are starting to "see the light", but I can't see some risking compromising their streaming agenda considering how many billions they've sacrificed.
Realistically, barring some unforeseeable change of heart in the powers that be, we'll see prices continue to become more and more niche, as already seems apparent of more premium formats, albeit less because of the increased production cost associated with less demand and more because of dwindling interest in price competition and promotion by mass merchandisers and the soulless corporations that bought out the biggest specialty etailers long ago, further pushing what remains of the budget market toward streaming as the only affordable option left, especially if cinema tickets should spike as has long been forecast. But that bears further qualifying too, as the budget market was long over-represented by a robust rental market once rental surplus was loosed on the market, that market is the one that's most effectively been transitioned to streaming, which has always been the "general consumer" who simply seeks the very cheapest, most convenient route, rarely realizing when they're actually paying more in the long-run. Still, notions of just "enjoying it while it lasts" is self-defeating and promoting of the wrong propaganda IMHO.
|
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
. It's easy to sync my iPhone with my car with this high tech cutting edge piece of technology 
Linear Mode
