sai

I haven't been to a lot of concerts of Japanese artists, but Boris was definitely the best one I saw so far. The entire venue shook when they were playing and I even got to attend their soundcheck

I tried to avoid getting involved in this one, however just to simply state my understanding of how it works:

I feel that overseas fans downloading music really doesn't effect their sales. (as stated quite a few times). As of right now, we're not really a target audience since money has not been spent to promote and distribute their goods. cds etc to overseas fans. The fact that some overseas fans even go out of their way to spend the money and buy a cd would be a bonus considering what was spent to only promote and distribute in Japan. Yes in the long run, cd and goods purchased in overseas countries will most certainly play a role in deciding a tour here or not. I don't see a bunch of uploads coming from sources in Japan, they're usually uploaded and shared through overseas fans anyway.

The one thing that annoys me most is the fact that people still pull the whole. "Well if you love the band so much you'll find a way to purchase their stuff." 
I'd like to address the fact that a large percentage of people in to visual kei overseas are teenagers who don't have the means to even buy themselves their own shampoo let alone a $40 album. Plus from personal experience, I could love a band as much as i want to but if it's between keeping my water on or making sure I have gas money to get to work and buying a cd... hell, sorry for being responsible but i'm going to choose to pay my bills. I won't have a damn thing to play that cd on if my electricity gets shut off. but at least it will look nice on the shelf. 

Another thing that was brought up was the numbers that fill the live houses this band plays at. I don't listen to Nocturnal Bloodlust so i don't have a solid opinion of their style. Regardless, whether people are downloading or not, if they like the band and have the money and are able to go see them, they'll go. Whether it be promotion and marketing, or the band just not really hitting home with their style choices... overseas downloads do not play a part in how successful they are in their own country. 

I'm not saying downloading music illegally is all A+ okay now, no. Every artist deserves the support and i can understand. I'd be pissed off too if someone started handing out something I spent a shit ton of money on and hard work and efforts to make to just anyone. I'd feel under appreciated for the amount of people who claim to like it. But it should be common sense with the way the industry is and how file sharing has been for YEARS before NB even formed. 

File sharing is and always will be there, so they need a game change because as stated somewhat before... NB has 99 problems and file sharing ain't one of them.

Ubisoft has said that AC Unity would originally have a female lead, but they changed it to a male because animating women would "cost too much and isn't in their abilities":
 
http://www.videogamer.com/pc/assassins_creed_unity/news/no_female_leads_in_assassins_creed_unity_unfortunate_but_a_reality_of_game_development_ubi.html
 
I can't fucking believe this. If you can't animate women you obviously don't have the right job. Women are not mystical creatures that are impossible to animate. Like I'm not even mad they put in white men with stubble all the time (though it IS annoying), I'm mad because of their horseshit argument they clearly pulled out of their ass because they animated a woman before! Aveline de Grandpre was even remade for a HD version for new consoles, so don't tell me you can't animate women BECAUSE YOU CAN. You just don't want to.

I agree with rsasai that CD sales can indeed be a big indicator whether or not a band decides (or their management, tbqh I have no idea who even makes the final call) to tour abroad. After all, if a band sees they've got quite a bit of CD sales in some part of the world, it might be worth it to tour there. CD sales do not make everything though; I've seen indie bands who play even smaller venues than Nocturnal Bloodlust come to Europe, bands that gathered audiences on a regular concert of only about 200-300 people in Japan (and only about 30-40 in Europe) and yet decided to tour this continent more than once. I'm pretty sure even less people in Europe bought the CDs of these bands than the amount of people who bought Nocturnal Bloodlust's latest release. Sure, these bands are cheaper to bring over, but hey, if bands like DIR EN GREY and the GazettE can be brought over (who are probably a lot more expensive than an indie band like NB), I doubt costs would be the main problem, even with these indie bands.
 
I consider piracy with visual kei fans a two-sided problem. First, you have the fact that a lot of visual kei fans do not buy the CDs of their so-called "favourite" VK band (whether or not you dislike that mentality isn't really relevant to my argument so I'm just letting this for what it is) because they feel like they're not the target audience anyway, and it's not something that will hurt them. AGAIN, THIS IS PURELY HYPOTHETICAL AND DOES NOT REPRESENT MY OPINION ON THE MATTER. I mean, if they really DID want to target the fans abroad, why do their official webshops not ship outside of Japan? Why are their releases only on the Japanese iTunes? Why do I have to order the CD from Japan and spend a fortune on shipping costs (and perhaps taxes and customs) to get that CD here while I could have free access to it with the click of a button? This isn't going to hurt the band! If they really wanted to target me, they'd attempt to reach out more! Why would I put money into something that's only going to be used for promotion in Japan?
 
The other side is that the slight amount of people who DO buy CDs do not make up enough people for the band to take their audience abroad seriously. I've read a couple of band interviews where VK bands were confronted with the question of how they felt about having fans abroad. Some of them seemed suprised, others said "oh that's nice I guess". For my hypothesis NB is actually a really good example because they seem to be willing to come abroad. They put their music on other countries' iTunes stores, they have an official YT channel that ISN'T restricted to Japan alone and some of the members even tweet in English. "Why don't our fans see this, we're trying!" Like in my personal opinion I think NB is a terrible band but that doesn't take away the fact that they are trying. So on one side you've got fans thinking they aren't reaching out enough, on the other side the band thinking that they DID do enough.
 
The current business model is outdated and forms a big part of this problem. There are plenty of things bands could do next to what they're doing now to promote themselves more to foreign audience if they actually wanted to/could. NB wants to, we've seen it in their efforts. They could, smaller indie bands with less sales have done it without going bankrupt. What's stopping them? The amount of people who download their stuff? Like Zess said, how many people would've actually bought your CD if they hadn't found out about you through illegal downloads in the first place? This doesn't take away the fact that it's still illegal and that fans should definitely chip in where/if they can (and if they don't, they're just a pretentious freeloader), but the music business needs to evolve and use piracy to their advantage instead of desperately trying to fight it. This band has every right to speak up about something that is illegal and "fans" who feel offended but never actually buy something even though they could buy it as a luxury (and then I mean that you have everything necessary provided for) should really stop being so incredibly entitled. On the other hand, NB can't expect to sell tons of albums abroad because a) the attitude of many vk fans is completely opposite of theirs and b ) not enough people enjoy their music.
 
But for the love of god, if you really enjoy this band and you can afford it, buy that fucking new album they're releasing is2g.
 
sorry if this is too long and makes no sense but i hope you guys sort of get what i mean whoops

I agree with rsasai that CD sales can indeed be a big indicator whether or not a band decides (or their management, tbqh I have no idea who even makes the final call) to tour abroad. After all, if a band sees they've got quite a bit of CD sales in some part of the world, it might be worth it to tour there. CD sales do not make everything though; I've seen indie bands who play even smaller venues than Nocturnal Bloodlust come to Europe, bands that gathered audiences on a regular concert of only about 200-300 people in Japan (and only about 30-40 in Europe) and yet decided to tour this continent more than once. I'm pretty sure even less people in Europe bought the CDs of these bands than the amount of people who bought Nocturnal Bloodlust's latest release. Sure, these bands are cheaper to bring over, but hey, if bands like DIR EN GREY and the GazettE can be brought over (who are probably a lot more expensive than an indie band like NB), I doubt costs would be the main problem, even with these indie bands.
 
I consider piracy with visual kei fans a two-sided problem. First, you have the fact that a lot of visual kei fans do not buy the CDs of their so-called "favourite" VK band (whether or not you dislike that mentality isn't really relevant to my argument so I'm just letting this for what it is) because they feel like they're not the target audience anyway, and it's not something that will hurt them. AGAIN, THIS IS PURELY HYPOTHETICAL AND DOES NOT REPRESENT MY OPINION ON THE MATTER. I mean, if they really DID want to target the fans abroad, why do their official webshops not ship outside of Japan? Why are their releases only on the Japanese iTunes? Why do I have to order the CD from Japan and spend a fortune on shipping costs (and perhaps taxes and customs) to get that CD here while I could have free access to it with the click of a button? This isn't going to hurt the band! If they really wanted to target me, they'd attempt to reach out more! Why would I put money into something that's only going to be used for promotion in Japan?
 
The other side is that the slight amount of people who DO buy CDs do not make up enough people for the band to take their audience abroad seriously. I've read a couple of band interviews where VK bands were confronted with the question of how they felt about having fans abroad. Some of them seemed suprised, others said "oh that's nice I guess". For my hypothesis NB is actually a really good example because they seem to be willing to come abroad. They put their music on other countries' iTunes stores, they have an official YT channel that ISN'T restricted to Japan alone and some of the members even tweet in English. "Why don't our fans see this, we're trying!" Like in my personal opinion I think NB is a terrible band but that doesn't take away the fact that they are trying. So on one side you've got fans thinking they aren't reaching out enough, on the other side the band thinking that they DID do enough.
 
The current business model is outdated and forms a big part of this problem. There are plenty of things bands could do next to what they're doing now to promote themselves more to foreign audience if they actually wanted to/could. NB wants to, we've seen it in their efforts. They could, smaller indie bands with less sales have done it without going bankrupt. What's stopping them? The amount of people who download their stuff? Like Zess said, how many people would've actually bought your CD if they hadn't found out about you through illegal downloads in the first place? This doesn't take away the fact that it's still illegal and that fans should definitely chip in where/if they can (and if they don't, they're just a pretentious freeloader), but the music business needs to evolve and use piracy to their advantage instead of desperately trying to fight it. This band has every right to speak up about something that is illegal and "fans" who feel offended but never actually buy something even though they could buy it as a luxury (and then I mean that you have everything necessary provided for) should really stop being so incredibly entitled. On the other hand, NB can't expect to sell tons of albums abroad because a) the attitude of many vk fans is completely opposite of theirs and b ) not enough people enjoy their music.
 
But for the love of god, if you really enjoy this band and you can afford it, buy that fucking new album they're releasing is2g.
 
sorry if this is too long and makes no sense but i hope you guys sort of get what i mean whoops

I agree with rsasai that CD sales can indeed be a big indicator whether or not a band decides (or their management, tbqh I have no idea who even makes the final call) to tour abroad. After all, if a band sees they've got quite a bit of CD sales in some part of the world, it might be worth it to tour there. CD sales do not make everything though; I've seen indie bands who play even smaller venues than Nocturnal Bloodlust come to Europe, bands that gathered audiences on a regular concert of only about 200-300 people in Japan (and only about 30-40 in Europe) and yet decided to tour this continent more than once. I'm pretty sure even less people in Europe bought the CDs of these bands than the amount of people who bought Nocturnal Bloodlust's latest release. Sure, these bands are cheaper to bring over, but hey, if bands like DIR EN GREY and the GazettE can be brought over (who are probably a lot more expensive than an indie band like NB), I doubt costs would be the main problem, even with these indie bands.
 
I consider piracy with visual kei fans a two-sided problem. First, you have the fact that a lot of visual kei fans do not buy the CDs of their so-called "favourite" VK band (whether or not you dislike that mentality isn't really relevant to my argument so I'm just letting this for what it is) because they feel like they're not the target audience anyway, and it's not something that will hurt them. AGAIN, THIS IS PURELY HYPOTHETICAL AND DOES NOT REPRESENT MY OPINION ON THE MATTER. I mean, if they really DID want to target the fans abroad, why do their official webshops not ship outside of Japan? Why are their releases only on the Japanese iTunes? Why do I have to order the CD from Japan and spend a fortune on shipping costs (and perhaps taxes and customs) to get that CD here while I could have free access to it with the click of a button? This isn't going to hurt the band! If they really wanted to target me, they'd attempt to reach out more! Why would I put money into something that's only going to be used for promotion in Japan?
 
The other side is that the slight amount of people who DO buy CDs do not make up enough people for the band to take their audience abroad seriously. I've read a couple of band interviews where VK bands were confronted with the question of how they felt about having fans abroad. Some of them seemed suprised, others said "oh that's nice I guess". For my hypothesis NB is actually a really good example because they seem to be willing to come abroad. They put their music on other countries' iTunes stores, they have an official YT channel that ISN'T restricted to Japan alone and some of the members even tweet in English. "Why don't our fans see this, we're trying!" Like in my personal opinion I think NB is a terrible band but that doesn't take away the fact that they are trying. So on one side you've got fans thinking they aren't reaching out enough, on the other side the band thinking that they DID do enough.
 
The current business model is outdated and forms a big part of this problem. There are plenty of things bands could do next to what they're doing now to promote themselves more to foreign audience if they actually wanted to/could. NB wants to, we've seen it in their efforts. They could, smaller indie bands with less sales have done it without going bankrupt. What's stopping them? The amount of people who download their stuff? Like Zess said, how many people would've actually bought your CD if they hadn't found out about you through illegal downloads in the first place? This doesn't take away the fact that it's still illegal and that fans should definitely chip in where/if they can (and if they don't, they're just a pretentious freeloader), but the music business needs to evolve and use piracy to their advantage instead of desperately trying to fight it. This band has every right to speak up about something that is illegal and "fans" who feel offended but never actually buy something even though they could buy it as a luxury (and then I mean that you have everything necessary provided for) should really stop being so incredibly entitled. On the other hand, NB can't expect to sell tons of albums abroad because a) the attitude of many vk fans is completely opposite of theirs and b ) not enough people enjoy their music.
 
But for the love of god, if you really enjoy this band and you can afford it, buy that fucking new album they're releasing is2g.
 
sorry if this is too long and makes no sense but i hope you guys sort of get what i mean whoops

You missed my point when I discussed a distinction between Popular and Art music (I wasn't talking about the "Art of popular music", whatever that means). The point was to demonstrate the high appreciative standard in Art music which deems music as a "privilege" does not necessarily hold up in a lot of Popular music -- especially when the end goal is marketability (especially with image in Nocturnal Bloodlust's case). If someone is trying to market something to you, is it truly a privilege to listen to when it's being thrown in your face? I also said nothing about how NB "don't have the market". I believe there you are referencing the point I just reiterated which was the band pushed their new look for the sake of marketability (when previously as those more knowledgable on the band have said in this thread, their previous look wasn't doing anything for them).
 
 
And we're not necessarily arguing potential (I'm not at least). If you were to ask me about their potential, I would say they're a terrible, derivative band that has next to no potential for staying around much longer. But that's just my opinion on their music, not an assessment on their financial dealings. So while others may have shared an opinion on the band, I'm shying away from that kind of argument because it has too great of a chance of devolving into subjective opinions without any care for reason.
 
 
And you'll need to link me to where they have announced they are playing in larger venues, because I took all of the shows they have lined up on their website and went through them by capacity, all totaling to about 600-700 each. Nowhere is there any mention of anything to indicate otherwise, please provide a link if you can.
 
 
 
 
There is one thing that struck me, and what I find to be the focal point of your narrow interpretation of this situation: "They're losing in the international market not because the interest isn't there, but because it's easier and free to just illegally download."
 
 
At first glance this is blatantly incorrect. The reason why it's not entirely incorrect when in consideration of the whole is because there are people that will just download an album because it's free. There are those that can't be bothered to pay anything, and that's fine. But how many of those are even fans to begin with? How many are potential fans that want to hear the music first? How many are people who just want to rag on the band by downloading the album and shitting on it afterwards? There are many groups that need to be considered because it's not a black and white issue of "they're losing the international market because it's easier and free to illegally download". 1. They're NOT losing the international market because they're not even IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET. Their presence is literally unknown to everyone but a minority of those that listen to and follow Visual Kei. How can you be losing a market that you have LITERALLY 0 presence in? You can't, because they were never there to begin with. This is a failing of the band. If they're not marketed, how am I to know I can purchase their music in the US, or Europe? If you disagree, show me sales outside of Japan that indicate otherwise.
 
 
You can't argue that NB are losing sales and international market potential due to downloads, because to argue such you have to be ready to prove it with statistics. At that point you can argue that you THINK they MIGHT be losing potential; but due to the complex buying habits of individual persons, I would disagree with you. As mentioned above, how many of those downloads are from people that are curious and want to see if they like the music? how many are from people who want to give the band another chance and see if they're any good? how many are from people who genuinely like the band and want their new release for free? You don't know these things, and those are but 3 of the endless factors that take place when someone purchases an album.
 
 
I can only speak off of personal experience (and others can attest to this as well, I'm sure); but as others have said, many of those downloads could very well be of those that would not even buy their music in the first place, and perhaps don't even like the band. BUT, those downloads could also come from people who are curious about the music, and intend on paying for their goods if they like the band. I could easily inflate my argument to assume that those people (those that gain interest in the band, download, like them, and then begin supporting them) are the very refutation of your point that downloads are killing their market potential; but even I know that's not the whole picture. When I mentioned personal experience, I am referencing my large (and growing) collection of Classical that I have bought (and torrented). I recently picked up Kleiber's infamous recording of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. I downloaded it first though, listened a few times, then purchased a physical copy. Why did I do this? Carlos Kleiber is dead along with many of the musicians that took part in that recording. They won't receive the money, so by logic I can argue I don't NEED to pay; but I did to show my furthering support (and Wagner Operas do not come cheap) of the music. In fact, most purchases have come this way where I wanted to listen to a recording before making a decision. I'm not saying that this is what everyone in the world that torrents does; but this is a group you have neglected in your assessment, and which I guarantee makes up a large portion of this community from the amount that have indicated this notion in the past.
 
 
In regards to ("but I think your reasoning is flawed in a business perspective. Because it obviously does affect the market enough for the band to actually say something about it,") - you can't argue this because you don't truly know. What if their record label is acting through them by proxy? Those more skeptical would indicate such, especially when you take into account the variety of bands that speak out about piracy, and in which in many of those cases, financial dealings have nothing to do with it.
 
 
tl;dr:   There are too many factors that are in place for you to make the argument that illegal downloads are responsible for the band's lack of market hold abroad. As I have indicated, that cannot be the case when 1. they don't have the presence in the international market that you think they do. 2. You are assuming an outdated argument that illegally downloading = huge impact to the band when in many cases (i.e. even big bands like Metallica) they don't see much, if anything, from CD profits (to make this argument you'd need to know how much NB make from record sales vs. merch and ticket sales). and 3. you are failing to take into account the complex buying habits of individuals.
 
 
If you can address points 1-3, and provide statistics as support for the claims on losing market potential, etc., then I will be thoroughly persuaded and will be driven to find out more about this issue. Until then, I still say you need to broaden your understanding seeing as how with points made above, it is far more complex than the black-and-white issue you're trying to draw it into.
 
 
 
 
Finally, please link me to your 60 page thesis if you can, I'd love to read it.

They should change their name to Nocturnal Butthurt tbh

How is that a bad thing? We're small and scattered all over the world. Fans are supporting the small selection of bands that came to tour in their country. At least this way they can play to a room of people instead of just a handful.
 

They didn't change their style at all. They were always an imitation of Suicide Silence, BMTH, and other types of metalcore/deathcore bands. All they changed was their looks. By moving into visual kei, they turned from a small fish in the sea to a big fish in a little pond. No one in visual kei does what they do and they figured it would be easier to attract attention that way. It's working...sort of. They're one of the only bands on here that have five solid pages of discussion dedicated to them, so I can't knock them completely.

Two things I'd like to mention in regards to this post:
 
 
1. In regards to your comment ("but to be fair, fans have been able to find rare and hard-to-find stuff from obscure bands for years prior to MP3s and filesharing") -- the keyword here is "been able to find rare and hard-to-find stuff", which has to do with scarce product. There simply weren't many ways to find out about these VK bands, and the goods available were even more scarce than the resources of finding out about them. Tell me, in those days when people found these tapes did any of the bigger name VK bands: 1. Tour the States (or Europe) because of these second-hand sales? and 2. Did these bands profit from said second-hand purchases? The answer to both is no. Yes, people "found a way" to get music; but not only was this a fractional minority, it was one that had next to 0 impact on those bands at that time. Also note that the world has vastly changed since this time and those that actually went out looking for these tapes back in the "80's and 90's" were the select few that were passionate enough about the music to want to look in length for the music. Your average consumer (the ones that ultimately drive a majority of the sales) were not prepared to do this.
 
 
2. In regards to your comment ("most bands are stunned when they realize how popular they are abroad, because they just don't know. They actually have no idea how many fans they have abroad") - this is incredibly misleading because you're assuming a level of popularity that may or may not be there. Judging from venue size played in Japan by NB (650-700 person venues) not only is this ridiculous projection; but it could be an incredibly optimistic one as well. You have constantly mentioned that you are specifically talking about VK whenever someone brings up Western bands, so let's stick with Nocturnal Bloodlust that play in small clubs. Do you think that Nocturnal Bloodlust have a larger fanbase outside of Japan? Compare their fanbase with any 1 country (if you can) and let me know what you find. Could Nocturnal Bloodlust do a headlining tour of the US? The answer is no.
 
 
 
This hits on a greater point that I have been keeping note of. Any excuse can be presented to try and explain Piracy and its impact on Nocturnal Bloodlust; but based off of observation, that should be the last of their worries. Yes, music is TECHNICALLY a privilege. Since a family member of yours (Mother I believe? Sister? I forget, sorry) performs in Opera, I'm sure you could relate to the concept that music is art that we have the privilege to appreciate on higher levels (as Classical music is the very essence of this notion); but in regards to Pop music, this becomes less so when the primary drive for these bands (and yes, lesser bands such as Nocturnal Bloodlust as well) is marketability. For example: Nocturnal Bloodlust, seeking to make changes to their lack of popularity, didn't change the music they're writing; but instead changed their image....for marketability. Did piracy make Nocturnal Bloodlust change their image? No. Their music and lack of interest in regards to their music did -- for marketability.
 
 
 
Now, is this a failing of the consumer, or band? Is the consumer responsible for Nocturnal Bloodlust playing 600 person club shows, or is this the band's fault? It's self evident when you consider the reasoning above that piracy is not the main reason; but a lack of interest in the overall product. As I'm sure you know in the appreciation of Opera, if the role of The Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte  can not perform the demanding falsettos required, people will not attend the performances due to the poor performance of the singer. This is the same with Pop (Popular) music: If people do not have any interest in a band, they will not attend their concerts, and thus the band will be playing to fewer and fewer people (in Popular music this can end a band/group/solo artist).
 
 
 
In sum: Due to your misleading "facts" and narrow interpretations, you are not seeing the entire picture here. Sure piracy has SOME impact on the archaic model of record labels (due to the very design of the old ways clashing with the new); but it can not be cited as the reason for a band's failings, especially when they have 99 other problems to worry about.

OT: I don't have any input into this discussion but I do have to say this is one of the most intelligent and well-debated conversations I've seen on MH in a long time without any chaotic slandering towards one another.

And if there were no illegal downloads available, would there be 10% of the fans willing to pay for their music? Would they even have overseas fans? This is one of those questions that has no right or wrong answer since it's all hypothetical, so I'll just let you ponder that.
 
 

If a band won't take the steps to cultivate a foreign fanbase, then of course they won't have people buying their music! Like we agreed, it's a very easy thing to do. Most bands are probably focusing all of their energy on the domestic market, so the question now becomes do they not know or do they not care? I think they don't care, because it would be a very big stretch to argue that any given visual kei band would know that other visual kei bands have overseas fans but they themselves know they do not.
 

I don't think a few hundred people all over America buying Nokubura's next album is going to cause any real change one way or another. It'll be a little more cash in their pocket, and maybe the management will be happy that some people in America bought their next album, but I don't expect miracles to happen just because of that.

This is the most understated point in this entire topic.
 
As "famous" (I use that word very loosely) as Nocturnal Bloodlust are, they're still an indie band an unpopular scene playing metalcore/deathcore music. Their fanbase is small due to the nature of their music and they only made it smaller by entering the visual kei scene. They haven't been active for all that long either. Bands that end up going abroad and are still successful in Japan are bands like the GazettE, X JAPAN, and Dir en grey, who have all been around for 10 to 15 to maybe even 20 years. And you know what all three of those bands had in common? They didn't give a fuck about the foreign market until they "made it" in their home country. The GazettE pretends the American continent doesn't exist and don't come here. I still can't find albums before Withering to death. in American stores.
 
Nocturnal Bloodlust have been around for what, three or four years? How many indie bands in Japan have been around for seven or eight years and still haven't been signed to a major label? How many just made it? Did they not do their research on visual kei before diving in? Not many VK bands accelerate to superstardom status in four years.
 
Placing things on iTunes for purchase, opening doors to fanclubs, etc. are all things other visual kei bands should be doing because it doesn't require a lot of effort and the returns are valuable. However, all those CD sales and MP3 purchases still translate into money that's only going to be used for advertising and concerts in Japan. If you don't have the budget to advertise overseas, then you aren't ready to go there yet. And when you factor in our inability to attend their concerts in person, buy their merchandise in person, support them in person, then our sales are but a miniscule portion of whatever revenue they get. We aren't that important. Yet.
 
But they realize our importance. If they don't stop activities some time in the near future, they'll get places.

herp, yes.
 
The also released a small gameplay trailer:
 

 
Looks like they're using the same graphics engine as X and Y, which I'm fine with. Hopefully it doesn't have the same noticeable lag during swarms.

Culture doesn't work as an explanation when piracy is a worldwide issue. I've never once given thought to how the Japanese feel about piracy when I download music and I never will. I'm too focused on my own country and their stance on piracy, which I also feel is just as outdated. If an industry is too stuck in their old model of conducting business to take advantage of the new model, then they are outdated. That's literally the definition.
 
This is the double-edged sword of capitalism. It stands for any industry in any country that relies on a business model that hasn't kept up with the times. Adapt or die. It seems that the labels are adamant about sticking with their sixty year old business model because it's "worked for so long". But decentralization of music distribution via the Internet has removed their stranglehold on what music we are exposed to. We can search for what we want, listen to what we want, form our own tastes, and never need to turn on the radio to hear an artist's new single. That's why we're all here. Labels have the resources and the connections to push artists, but they are not the de facto chairmen in charge anymore. They don't like that.
 
All of their waffling back and forth on this issue is smoke and mirrors to distract us from the real issue. At the end of the day, the Internet is a revolution they didn't anticipate and it has the potential to disrupt business. Nobody in power has the balls to tell these companies to change their approach like pretty much every other industry has past 1995. They'd rather try to pass draconian legislation to protect their interests than to defend and exploit new ideas such as turntable.fm, SoundCloud, Spotify, Bandcamp, or YouTube. They want us to meet them in their court instead of meeting us in the middle and we don't have to do that anymore. Labels don't have to do anything right now because they're still turning a profit, so the discussion won't change until they're no longer making a profit. If/Whenever that happens will be a very interesting day.
What I would really like to now is how much pressure Nokubura gets from their label to sell records, and also what percentage of music sales they get. I'm pretty confident that they make more money selling merchandise and tickets than they do from their CD sales, so I don't understand why Masa is so thirsty for money he won't get unless it directly impacts the future of the band with the label. They didn't seem to care much about piracy when they weren't a visual kei band.
Then again I still think they're a bunch of sellouts who turned visual kei because they thought Photochop and a couple of fancy wigs and terrible outfits would be enough to attract squealing fangirls en masse to throw money at them for their music. It looks like they're finding out the hard way that their rotating wardrobes takes a nice chunk out of whatever slim profits they're making. I'd laugh my ass off if they ever drop the visual kei aesthetics in the future when they discover that maintaining the image is too expensive in the long run.

Can't wait to pirate this

Can't wait to pirate this

It's nearly that time of the year again! Here are a few E3 previews:
 
 - Ubisoft will most probably show content of both Assassin's Creed Comet and Assassin's Creed Unity, along with a new different game they've been working on. Far Cry 4 is also rumoured.
 
- EA is rumoured to reveal footage of Mirror's Edge 2 and a new the Sims game.
 
- Square Enix is coming with a new Final Fantasy XV trailer along with a release date for the game, footage of Kingdom Hearts 3 has been rumoured but not confirmed.
 
Anyone excited?
 
FINAL FANTASY XV RELEASE DATE, FINALLY, HOLY SHIT.

Can't wait to pirate this

If Square isn't showing anything from FFXV I'm going to hope they spend it on Tomb Raider. I need a new Tomb Raider game ;___;

Can't wait to pirate this

Can't wait to pirate this

Can't wait to pirate this

Can't wait to pirate this

Can't wait to pirate this