Are we seeing too many SteelBook releases in the UK?

[snooloui]

Just having a look through the upcoming Steelbooks and from what I can work out it's as follows:

January - 14
February - 3
March - 4
April - 15
May - 5
June - 16
July - 3
August - 1
September - 1
October - 2
November - 0
December - 0

That makes 64 Steelbooks so far, with a handful more announced but awaiting release dates.

Of course these are all subject to change and i'm sure there will be more to come between July and the end of the year. I expect to see another couple of 'big' months towards the end of the year.

 

[Sigill]

Well at one stage this year it was looking like the UK market was going to be in trouble. Fortunately Zavvi have stepped up and took over from where play left off. For me personally i dont buy as many steelbooks as before but I don't mind the amount as more releases means more choice. As steelbooks become more mainstream I think this was inevitably going to happen. So IMO the more choices the better, as long as there is some thought going into the releases and they are not just rehashing old artwork.

 

[FanOfGaming]

I don't care how many steelbooks get released, the more the better in fact, AS LONG AS they are different titles that I don't already have. I want to replace amarays with steelbooks, not steelbooks with different stelbooks

 

[movieknight]

I don't care how many are released either. I don't have a bottomless wallet but I will pick the ones I want and disregard the others. It's that simple.

 

[Apinamakina]

I think we are getting too many steelbook releases overall in the whole world. I'm gonna pull out "they are not collector's editions" card anymore but becoming more like amaray versions.

 

[Shanester]

The more releases the better just give June & July a rest already.

There's actually 12 months in a calendar year

 

[Lone Crusader]

Why does it have to matter how many are released. Actually the more the merrier. People with such diverse interests in movies and steelbooks is what this hobby caters to. Why should it by limited to a select few? Why should a number be governed to a certain region of the world?

You should only be so grateful for the amount of releases you get. The US gets very very little and we even have our own manufacturing plant now so go figure. The studios do take a number count and they see where demand is more popular and right now the UK is booming with demand for more steelbooks in the UK so it's going to cater to that demand.

If you go into the Collection Manager and search in Ninja view for all title made in each country you will notice that Germany hold three times as many titles as the UK does and I don't hear complaints coming from them.

Supply and Demand / Learn It, Live It, Love it

 

[chanfm]

I feel the same. I hope they release more steelbooks so that we all have better choices. I also hope that the studios compete amongst themselves to deliver better artwork to all of us. It is now impossible to buy all the steelbooks issued - I will just buy the few that I like.

 

[Deleted member 9789]

It's only 'too many' if you feel the need to own them all. Personally, not every single release announced deserves a purchase (or another purchase), and some of them aren't great, lets be honest.

Its nice to have more choice, definitely. I can see why this might be a concern though. It will be interesting to see what happens if HMV return, hopefully we'll get more new titles and less obvious catalogue releases.

 

[snooloui]

Let me be clear, i'm not complaining, just interested in other members' responses

Personally, I share a bit of each opinion. On the one hand I'm struggling to keep up, on the other more Steelbooks of course means more chance that the titles I love get Steelbooks. It's just that I find it difficult to say no to a title, like for example the Batman films. Do I really want those? Probably not. I've never seen them and will probably think they are inferior to the Nolan films. The trouble is i've pre-ordered them, do I cancel or do I keep my pre-order? I hate making decisions!

 

[Maccadinho25]

Let me be clear, i'm not complaining, just interested in other members' responses

Personally, I share a bit of each opinion. On the one hand I'm struggling to keep up, on the other more Steelbooks of course means more chance that the titles I love get Steelbooks. It's just that I find it difficult to say no to a title, like for example the Batman films. Do I really want those? Probably not. I've never seen them and will probably think they are inferior to the Nolan films. The trouble is i've pre-ordered them, do I cancel or do I keep my pre-order? I hate making decisions!

Cancel and pick up the cheap box set theyre definitely not at the Nolan trilogy level

 

[SaberTooth]

I don't see why they dont do more collections for the older titles. It's less risky for the retailer and more convenient to the collector.

 

[ABjerg]

Well, I feel like steelbooks are becoming way to common and I miss that feel when you hoped for a steel on your favorite movie and that they was hard to find, instead like now where you can go down in your local videostore and pick up steels... Worst of all, you can choose from 2-3 versions of steel on the same movie. That's cool so you have something to pick from, but it makes steelbooks feel less special. Also, there is way too many re-releases.

 

[jcm]

Well, I feel like steelbooks are becoming way to common and I miss that feel when you hoped for a steel on your favorite movie and that they was hard to find, instead like now where you can go down in your local videostore and pick up steels... Worst of all, you can choose from 2-3 versions of steel on the same movie. That's cool so you have something to pick from, but it makes steelbooks feel less special. Also, there is way too many re-releases.

Completely agree

 

[frankfish44]

Just cancelled most of my Zavvi pre orders now. Only about 6 releases I am interested in now. Seems that UK retailers and studios are hell bent on re releasing most catalogue movies in steel format. I can't justify losing content just to have a steelbook. Since cancelling most of my pre orders, I now have room to breath in between orders which is healthy for any hobby.

I can only hope that other nations don't follow the path that the UK market is carving out as eventually it is destined to fail. Flooding the market is never a good thing for any business/hobby. We have seen this in a multitude of industries over many years.
Long live steelbooks but in moderation

 

[justboy]

While I don't think the choice on offer is a bad thing; the single disc catalogue releases is what I find most annoying.

There is little incentive to upgrade favourite movie to steelbook edition if that you lose the extra discs with bonus content.

I used to pre-order most steelbooks until the release schedule got crowded, to the point that I was ordering movies that I didn't particularly care about.

I do think that Zavvi in particular might will be left with a lot of unsold stock, as they seem to be releasing anything that people have shown a slight interest in.

 

[Bluprint]

If America had that schedule I can tell you confidently It would be a welcomed problem.

 

[frankfish44]

While I don't think the choice on offer is a bad thing; the single disc catalogue releases is what I find most annoying.

There is little incentive to upgrade favourite movie to steelbook edition if that you lose the extra discs with bonus content.

I used to pre-order most steelbooks until the release schedule got crowded, to the point that I was ordering movies that I didn't particularly care about.

I do think that Zavvi in particular might will be left with a lot of unsold stock, as they seem to be releasing anything that people have shown a slight interest in.

:agree:
Consumers always ask for more choice. Complying to this however has seen many major industries fall. The car industry did this for a while and now we see streamlining of operations as that was not a viable strategy. While choice is great, without moderation, it is a killer. Even FS at its hay day never came close to what we are seeing in the UK today. One release every 3-5 weeks average. I see this in Germany, Asia, US (very scattered), and other European nations. The Zavvi calender is so congested with releases, ES is barely able to sell 2K copies of GI Joe after so many cancellations coupled with numerous questionable titles that I do not see selling out despite 4K print runs ( wicker man, black swan, Beverly hills cop, witnail and I )

Just because 100 or so ask for a steelbook does not mean it deserves one. If Zavvi are gauging interest from the polls, they are not going to be successful IMO.

 

[snooloui]

Interesting to compare numbers from when I created this thread to what we are looking at now:

January - 14
February - 3
March - 4
April - 15
May - 3
June - 20
July - 5
August - 9
September - 14
October - 19
November - 8
December - 1

So in total that's 115 released or announced (with a release date) so far this year.

 

[Auracom]

From a business standpoint - yes, could be detrimental.

From a consumer standpoint - more choice is never a bad thing, whether you're talking retailer competition or product selection.