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2009-11-29

Australian Ponyo Blu-Ray Cancelled

The following message comes from Madman in Australia:

Please note that due to circumstances beyond our control the PONYO BLU-RAY scheduled for December 29th is canceled.  Furthermore, the PONYO DVD is now a single-disc DVD product and remains scheduled for release December 29th.  We thank you for your ongoing custom and apologise for any inconvenience these changes cause.

One common theory why the North American Ponyo BD was delayed was to give an exclusive window to Japan.  Region-free players and discs make the home markets more vulnerable to imports than ever, and when you consider the high retail prices for Blr-Rays, this makes sense.  If this is so, I would expect to see Ponyo in Australia about the same time as the Americans.

In any event, this is a very hard blow for fans.  Whatever the reasons, everyone had their heart set on Ponyo for Christmas.  That's a real shame.  Somebody in the corporate food chain seriously FUBAR'd.

6 comments:

returnofthesmith said...

I just messaged Madman the Australian distributor and they replied "good things come to those who wait is all I'll say"

Daniel Thomas MacInnes said...

Yes, that's right. Ponyo has only been delayed until some unspecified time. My guess is Spring 2010, but it's nothing more than a guess.

I'm sure Madman would love to have Ponyo available for Christmas, but if they cannot, they cannot.

Anonymous said...

I think the same thing just happened with Paridiso's (Netherlands) up-rez Blu-ray of Spirited Away. It was supposed to be out a week ago, but so far nothing. No mention of it either way that I can find on-line either.

Oh well, back to the wiki.

Ja ne!

Daniel Thomas MacInnes said...

A quick note on that Spirited Away "Blu-Ray" from the Netherlands. It's actually an upscaled DVD produced by the Dutch company. I'm not at all surprised if Studio Ghibli squashed that idea down.

Chris Sobieniak said...

Still, at least it gives me ample time in waiting until I get around to buying a Blu-Ray player or such.

In Solitude said...

Madman are planning to release the 2 Disc DVD and Blu-Ray edition at the end of June.

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