They’re probably trying to do some synergy with the release of Season 2. That said - HBO Go has all the episodes, watch it there :)
The point of the DVDs isn’t to let subscribers watch. Thry already have HBO Go. But only a fraction of American TV subscribers subscribe to HBO. There is a vast, untapped market out there that would enjoy the show of they could watch it. That is the point of the DVD. Did you not read how Rywill would probably buy 5 sets for his friends who havent see the show?
Then there’s the point of the Blu-Rays, since HBO Go is not high def, and the Blu-Ray is as good as it visually gets.
The marketing, however, is such that you want to hold your first season until shortly (between a week and a month) before your second season launches. You want people to be talking about the run up to your show starting and the release of the first season in basically the same breath because the two events amplify the total volume for the brand.
That’s why they’re holding the discs.
I think the argument is that the extra buzz (and conversion to subscriptions) that they get by releasing right before season 2 isn’t going to outweigh the Christmas boom. And then some portion of those DVD owners will want to subscribe to HBO in April so they can keep up.
I caught that too and laughed. Westeros, the original Kingdom of Loathing.
I was referring to the people who “Missed an episode or got into it late” in his post. Did you not read what he posted?
Worked great for Boardwalk Empire’s new season!
walTer
3328
With Fios, Apple TV and every other streaming outlet, I have basically stopped buying DVDs. But, these, hell yes I would. (I do not have HBO)
March 20, bitches. Unless you’re a Frog. Those effers get it March 7.
Yay! And also: Woo! BD is what I’ll be getting. Hope the extras are impressive.
Yay! I will be getting it on BD too, but to be a little nitpicky, I wish the case was more like Rome and Deadwood’s book style rather than a fold out mural.
Thyroid
3332
DB Weiss has always been a bit geeky.
Goddamn, HBO is going all out on the Blu-Ray. (March 6 now, yay!)
There is a crapton on bonus and extra stuff, comparable to that of a big-budget blockbuster, rather than a TV show. IGN has a preview of the in-episode menu and stuff, it looks kinda lame, but at the very end, it kicks into something entirely cool and new. Bran narrating the history of House Stark. There are apparently 30 minutes of “histories” in the set.
My only complaint are the fucking vendor-specific bonuses, cause each one has something that sounds awesome, but I’m NOT going to buy 2-3 different blu-ray sets. I fucking hate vendor-specific bonuses.
jason
3334
Ugh… I hate vendor specific bonuses. But I guess they work… for me, it saves me money, because when I can’t decide which bonus I want the most I end up not buying at all.
Vendor specific bonusses on tv-shows? That’s new to me. That fucking sucks. The only thing getting me to buy a physical disc these days would be the extras, but I’d never buy more than one, so if I was unable to make the pick, like Jason I’d pick neither.
New season 2 teaser tonight. That is all.
Pogo
3337
I don’t see anything about deleted scenes :(
The producers say that’s because they used everything they shot, but I know of at least two scenes shot that weren’t in the final cut. There’s a clip I’ve seen of Arya and Sansa discussing the various house sigils during the Hand’s Tournament. And there’s a scene of Brandon Stark choking to death with the Mad King sitting on the Iron Throne in the background. I kept expecting that scene in the final episodes, perhaps in an Eddard dream. For some reason, they held it. Maybe for future seasons.
Pogo
3339
That’s a weird statement. There isn’t a director in the world that’s good enough to fit a time slot with exactly as much footage as he filmed.
Even a couple of minutes per episode would get me to pay for a special edition.
Goddamn, they finally got the money for some helicopter shots!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBrsM_WlfV8
