Ask Wreck: SteelBooks Questions

[Wreck]

I dont know how long I will do this, or if people have questions ... but I'll check this thread daily in case people have questions about steelbooks etc. I'll try to answer to the best of my ability from what I am allowed to say in some cases or just info you may not have seen me drop before in past threads.

 

[Wreck]

Can we ask if specific titles were interested in are coming to steel soon or in the works? Or is that can of worms not to be opened.... lol.

Yeah I pretty much cant mention titles unless I've been given the "ok". And when I get the "Ok" it is usually posted on the threads ... so no real reason to ask for specific upcoming titles.

Any chance Play.com will ever consider shipping Worldwide?

Idk if any of that has even crossed their mind again. So I really have no idea but I wouldnt say its NEVER possible as there used to be playusa.com that they ran. So who knows. Maybe one day we'll see buy.com get into steels as both play and buy are from rakuten group.

Now that they have released TNG on steelbook. Is TV-series steelbooks on the rise?

Will we see any more interesting releases?

Totally depends on content owners ... a lot easier to make headway of tv shows appearing on steels if they are coming from studios who are being successful with steelbooks already. ie. if the studio hasnt put out anything in steel, then its highly unlikely we'll see a tv show in steel.

---------- Post added at 11:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:22 PM ----------

Hi Wreck,

I'll bet you've been asked this a million times but can't see it in this thread, is there ever likely to be another print run of the two Iron Man play.com steelbooks? I missed them as I wasn't collecting for a few months and was really gutted when I found out.

Also, who do you actually work for? (Your profile just says Bluray ambassador under occupation)

No Play doesnt plan to reprint them. I think many Countries haven't seen some of these because of the Disney/Paramount Battle over licensing in regards to Marvel films. ie. So much is up in the air the world over and I have no definitive answer on any of that debacle.

Perhaps we'll see another Country get them out before Iron Man 3? Who knows. Hopefully with new interesting art.

"Bluray ambassador" - I jokingly put that since I've been a long promoter of blu-rays. I've made a lot of contacts a long the way the world over. I don't have an in with every studio or retailer, but I've got good relations with a # of people to be able to answer a lot of questions etc. I've been doing this for a few years now but most the questions and answers are buried in title specific threads. Just figured I'd try and keep stuff more in one place to help out the Ninja members.

Hey there Wreck!
They used to sell blank steelbooks in Amazon germany, but they don't do that anymore.
Any chance they will do that again? G2 maybe?

I have speculations based on conversations in the past. But I wont get into that.

 

[Scary Hair]

THIS IS AMAZING I have learnt so much. Thanks for taking the time to do this Wreck.

Some members have had problems with print runs having defective art work. Do the retailers use the same company's to do each film?. Or do Amazon Play etc use thire own in house manufacturers so to speak. I so hope this question reads right.

 

[Wreck]

There is a company called Scanavo. They market the SteelBook brand and also sell plastic cases of the sort. (The make the clear cases that Criterion uses in North America for example) G&M used to be the owner of SteelBook brand but they recently got bought out by another company like a year ago ... so whether that company became a parent company of G&M or the two merged I've not followed up on. In any regard, Scanavo if I remember right from a conference call owns the rights to the plastic inserts inside the case. So the two work hand in hand.

Scanavo works with those processing the steelbooks and they are all made in a few places. Denmark, China, and USA. Not exact, but pretty sure that is all the factories. So if you live in Europe your most likely seeing steelbooks made in Denmark. In fact most cases even say that on the back. So what this means is Steelbooks that HMV orders or Play order come from the same place.

so if you get a defective steel, its usually happens at the retail level in handling but that doesnt mean it couldnt have happened in transit or along the line of manufacturing. And then sometimes you get ones with paint chips etc that can be the cause of quality issues in regards to materials used in the first place.

 

[Bobthesub]

Something that Ive always wondered is how a steelbook release comes about, obviously the general releases are done by the studios and sold by various retailers, but when it comes to store exclusives from Play, HMV etc how does it work? do the studios offer the retailers an exclusive steelbook or do Play for example contact the studio and ask if they can release an exclusive steelbook? and who is responsible for the design of the artwork? the studio or the retailer? how much input into the item do the retailers have with regards to the 'premium finishes' such as embossing or the number of disks?

 

[Wreck]

Used to it was always retailers needing to request from studios the type of packaging they want. Lately with teh popularity of steels on the rise often the studios will pitch to the retailers to see who will pay the most or take the most in then they get an exclusive.

As for catalog titles, its more the product buyers for the big companies (the world over) who are trying to work with the studio who holds the content rights to make the steelbook.

Artwork: Depends on a lot of original contracts in regards to the movie in question. Sometimes there is wiggle room, while sometimes not. Sometimes only certain art is approved, and there is nothing you can do about it... while sometimes they can use other art. It all comes down to the studio.

As for "finishes" of the steel, the retailer can request .. but again studio makes/allows final decision. Without naming any studios in certain Countries ; let's just say some are more than willing to work with the retailers demands a lot more whilst others are "take it or leave it". Or, "Take this exclusive or we're giving it to so-and-so."

ps folks .... The Walking Dead Season 2 steel for MM is not a jumbo ; it's regular afterall. Enjoy. GB is active in GB forum as well.

 

[jcm]

Hi Wreck, I was wondering if the last WB wave at Best Buy was just a bad batch because they seem to show shelf wear much sooner than Steelbooks I have had for years (ie POTC) Or is it limited to steels that have a matte finish?

 

[steelbook95060]

hi wreck,
thanks for the useful thread.
who / what is blufans? ...and what is their connection to steelbook releases?

 

[Wreck]

Hi Wreck, I was wondering if the last WB wave at Best Buy was just a bad batch because they seem to show shelf wear much sooner than Steelbooks I have had for years (ie POTC) Or is it limited to steels that have a matte finish?

Well they were made "on the fly" so to speak. Ie. They were hurrying to get them done as fast as possible to meet the time frame for the sale at best buy that it coordinated with. ie. Fathers Day. If you notice, on many of them they even say Made In Denmark on the back and they werent... was just part of past design and they didnt want to try and wait and get any new art approved etc. So I guess you could say it was all rushed. I think cause it was matte it left scratch marks easier.

hi wreck,
thanks for the useful thread.
who / what is blufans? ...and what is their connection to steelbook releases?

blufans is a predominantly Chinese forum. blufans.com They occasionally release steelbooks when the "deal is right". They've released viva Metal Box in the past too.

 

[Pieter V]

Play.com and spine scratches.

Wreck, please inform your contact(s) at Play.com there are more and more steelbooks from Play.com with spine scratches lately.

Even "our" Terminator steelbook is affected with this. Especially with these rare and OOP steelbooks, it is quite annoying.

https://www.hidefninja.com/forums/showpost.php?p=398292&postcount=904

 

[Wreck]

Its not play.com in general ... as I've had this happen on plenty of steels from the world over too. I have a very good inkling as to why this is happening. I tell you what tho .... I will get some answers and get to the bottom of this. I will raise awareness but I need everyone's help so we can show how wide spread it is.

https://www.hidefninja.com/forums/showthread.php?p=398462

 

[Cizzar]

Its not play.com in general ... as I've had this happen on plenty of steels from the world over too. I have a very good inkling as to why this is happening. I tell you what tho .... I will get some answers and get to the bottom of this. I will raise awareness but I need everyone's help so we can show how wide spread it is.

https://www.hidefninja.com/forums/showthread.php?p=398462

What is your guess ? It seems to happen in the production process ...

 

[SimonLDT]

Wreck, any confirmation on the finish for the Prometheus steelbook (UK)?

 

[Wreck]

What is your guess ? It seems to happen in the production process ...

Steelbook cases are made in one place and then they are sent to another place. That "other" place then does all the packaging like inserting discs, inserts, adding shrink wrap and stickers. So my guess is that the "other" place has employees wielding box cutters who are cutting down to get to the steels to then do their job. Which would explain why some see a slash mark inside a perfectly shrink wrapped steel.

That's the process in NA; so I just presume it's the process in Europe ...

---------- Post added at 09:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:53 AM ----------

Wreck, any confirmation on the finish for the Prometheus steelbook (UK)?

Ill have to check if you're asking about gloss or matte, last I heard there was nothing like debossing etc. if that is what you are asking about.

 

[Bobthesub]

Play.com and spine scratches.

Wreck, please inform your contact(s) at Play.com there are more and more steelbooks from Play.com with spine scratches lately.

This isnt exclusive to Play, Ive had the spine scratch of steels from other places too, at first I thought it was from folks in the packing dept opening boxes with a blade/box cutter but Ive seen a few complaints from folks who have had this problem on some of the Fox exclusives from Play (Terminator being the most recent example) where the 'mini slip' info card has been in the centre of the steelbook, providing 'protection' yet when the steelbook is unwrapped there is the scratch, so, this says to me that the damage was done prior to the item being shrink wrapped...somewhere in the manufacturing process before its anywhere near Play/HMV/Amazons warehouses....


Im sure detective Wreck will get to the bottom of this...

 

[SimonLDT]

Ill have to check if you're asking about gloss or matte, last I heard there was nothing like debossing etc. if that is what you are asking about.

Hi Wreck, yes about the paint finish.

 

[Slinchafi]

Hey Wreck,

just a quick question regarding the latest Play.com catalogue releases, are all of those limited to 4000? I know with some it's been confirmed, are the rest usually higher runs, or is it mostly just 4k?

 

[Starling]

Wreck, how about HDN doing an Exclusive? I understand that the minimum run is 4k (which would be too many for HDN), but if 4k can then be sold on for £10-£15, why don't you just simply destroy (yep) 2k and sell the remainder for £20-£30 each? Members would go crazy to get hold of a HDN Exclusive with a 2k print run.

Make it exclusive to HDN Ninjas, and you'll also enjoy a huge rush to join up. Win win.

 

[snooloui]

Is it possible we could get an update on the stock levels of some Play.com Steelbooks? For example The Incredible Hulk looked out of stock for a while yet we weren't told in advance. On other hand we were told Transformers was low on stock and yet it's still around.

 

[Snollygoster]

Hi Wreck,

Are there any Plans for 20th Century Fox to bring out a Robocop Steelbook on Play.com following the very successful release of The Terminator.

Thanks

 

[shejon01]

Hi Sir Wreck,
Any news on whether the upcoming Play.com Transformers Steelbook will be em/debossed or anything? I ask, but its hardly going to affect my order

Thanks in advance