4Kids Talkback: A New Dawn Begins - The 4Kids Discussion V3

[CyberCubed]

I think the ratings of the CW4kids will be less than stellar until 4kidsTV finally dies.

I guess 4kids doesn't mind right now since they make money off of both blocks, but come next year they had better convince all those kids who are watching Fox to switch over to CW.

Of course, given that there probably won't be another cartoon block on Fox next year, it'll be a given they switch over.

 

[D Dubbs]

Gee, the new Yu-gi-oh series is doing terribly so far.

Dinosaur King's ratings are lackluster as well.

I'm sure they'll increase over time. Last year on FOX, Dinosaur King also premiered with a 0.9, but later in the season, it would score like a 1.6 or higher. As for 5D's...something similar may happen, but even if it doesn't, 4Kids will still get revenue from the TCG, which is incentive enough to keep the series rolling along.

Anyway, I found something interesting on one of the NYAF articles Toon Zone put up yesterday:

Kelts began his discussions with the Pokémon phenomenon, when the game and cartoon exploded on the American consciousness in 1996. He also briefly digressed to relay the tale of how 4Kids' Al Kahn managed to get the Japanese owners of Pokémon to sign over subsidiary rights in return for a paltry $10 million, mostly because Pokémon's Japanese owners at Shogakukan had no legal team on staff to process the thick contract and didn't understand what they were signing away. Kelts related that Shogakukan's Masakazu Kubo told him, "That was our fault. If you do business with another country, you have to learn how that other country does business," even though this simple mistake ultimately cost them millions of dollars.

LMAO at Kahn. I always wondered how 4Kids managed to scrape enough dough up to get one of Japan's highest-rated series. Even so, $10 million at the time for 4Kids must have been the company's life savings...

 

[Light Lucario]

I don't think that 5D's is doing that bad in ratings. It has only shown three episodes so far and rarely do shows, especially Saturday morning cartoons, start off with excellent ratings. Besides that, their new episodes of GX would usually come up to that high in ratings with occasional ratings around 1.0 or a 1.1. Still, D Dubbs is right with how 4Kids will continue getting revenue from the card game so that alone will be enough to keep them airing it. I still hope they do the same for season four of GX at some point with that same reason.

As for Dinosaur King, it is starting off with new episodes after a good few months of nothing but repeats. Plus, it has only started playing on the CW4Kids with the new fall lineup so I wouldn't expect the shows to have high ratings so soon. I also think that 4KidsTV might be a factor, but kids probably need to get used to the the huge change in the CW4Kids' lineup as well.

 

[mumbo]

Haha, Kahn's a weasel from the start That's kind of funny. What a turdish thing to do.

If 5D's ratings stay low, they'll just keep lowering the production budget for each season. You could see it happening with GX season 3 already - they've clearly been spending less and less money on it and they've been making more and more half-assed/rushed mistakes with it. But they'll keep going as long as they can just to advertise the card game.

 

[ChibiGoku]

To be quite honest regarding Yugioh 5d's, the ratings are seriously about on par with Japan's 5d's ratings, which says alot. Japan might actually have a slightly higher ratio of viewers or visa versa, but it's overall around the same.

It doesn't seem to be doing too well in either it's home country or here. Makes me wonder if TV Tokyo, NAS, Gallop, and Konami are going to continue through past 52... Seems really unlikely at this point unless 5d's suddenly starts seeing a surge in ratings in Japan.

 

[collector_cliff]

The new TV Kids Weekly newsletter has a Profile on Brian Lacey (Executive VP of International 4Kids Entertainment) and confirms 4kids still has the Rocket Monkeys. Where and when it will show up is another matter.

September 30, 2008

A longtime supplier of content to the kids’ market, 4Kids Entertainment is bringing to MIPCOM its biggest slate ever of new programming. Brian Lacey is delighted to have 178 new episodes for a total of 1,100 new and returning episodes to offer buyers. Besides 4Kids’ popular brands Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds, Chaotic: M’Arrillion Invasion, Dinosaur King and TMNT: Back to the Sewer, Lacey is especially excited about two new series. Rocket Monkeys, available as 26 half hours or 52 11-minute episodes, is a zany comedy featuring two hugely entertaining monkeynauts, Gus and Wally, who drift aimlessly in space, struggling to get home. And Gogoriki, available as 35 half hours or 104 six-minute episodes, is a fresh ensemble comedy adventure series that “could be the hottest new series at MIPCOM Junior,” says Lacey.

 

[Light Lucario]

To be quite honest regarding Yugioh 5d's, the ratings are seriously about on par with Japan's 5d's ratings, which says alot. Japan might actually have a slightly higher ratio of viewers or visa versa, but it's overall around the same.

It doesn't seem to be doing too well in either it's home country or here. Makes me wonder if TV Tokyo, NAS, Gallop, and Konami are going to continue through past 52... Seems really unlikely at this point unless 5d's suddenly starts seeing a surge in ratings in Japan.

While I'm not by any means that knowledgeable of how Japan works with their series, but I think its a tad too early to say that they might not go back fifty-two. For starters, the series aired like its twenty-sixth episode and for certain series, that's pretty early. Besides that, at this point I believe they're using different Yu-Gi-Oh! series to advertise the card game. Considering how good I've heard the story is in 5Ds, I would hope they do continue past fifty-two episodes so that the story does get some conclusion. They could conclude within those episodes, but I'm not so sure that will happen. Plus, I don't think GX did have that good of a start in Japan either, but I could be wrong.

 

[D Dubbs]

October 1, 2008 - 9:00 AM EDT

Chaotic(R) Trading Card Game Launches 4th Series, M'arrillian Invasion(TM), in North America

NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 10/01/08 -- The Chaotic® Trading Card Game, which integrates a collectible trading card game with a unique online multi-player experience, has launched its new M'arrillian Invasion(TM) starter and booster series at 25,000 stores in North America, including 2,500 comic and hobby stores in the U.S. and Canada, following the success of The Dawn of Perim starter decks and Dawn of Perim - Secrets, Zenith of the Hive and Silent Sands booster series.

The announcement was made today by 4Kids Entertainment (NYSE: KDE) and its majority-owned subsidiary TC Digital Games.

The M'arrillian Invasion series includes 206 new cards, available in four new starter decks (the first issued since its debut) and the new M'arrillian Invasion: Beyond the Doors(TM) Booster Series. Each starter deck contains 53 cards, including four rare cards. The booster decks come with nine cards and two rare foil cards in every pack. The M'arrillian Invasion expansion starter decks retail for $13.99 and the booster packs retail for $3.99. The M'arrillian Invasion series introduces the long-forgotten enemies of the deep tribe and features new abilities and creature types to strengthen Chaotic players' armies, adding a new dynamic to gameplay.

The launch of the new trading card set follows the recent debut of the companion television series, "Chaotic: M'arrillian Invasion" (Saturdays 10:00-10:30 AM, ET), which premiered September 13th on the 4KidsTV four-hour program block on FOX (Saturdays 8:00 AM-Noon, ET).

Just eleven months after the Chaotic brand's initial launch on October 24, 2007, the release of this new series marks several key milestones for the brand as the increasingly popular multi-media game solidifies its position as the #1-selling trading card game in Canada (since June 2008), and the #3 position in the U.S. (since April 2008), behind only Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! (based on retailer and distributor reports).

To date, nearly 35 million cards have been uploaded by Chaotic players to www.chaoticgame.com, with the Website attracting over 2.5 million unique visitors and nearly 1 million registered users. Players can upload their starter decks and booster packs to challenge other players to matches online using the Chaotic Pad application, which allows players to interact and compete against each other in head-to-head matches.

#3 in the U.S. since April and #1 in Canada since June. Not bad, not bad at all.

 

[DinoQueen13]

To be quite honest regarding Yugioh 5d's, the ratings are seriously about on par with Japan's 5d's ratings, which says alot. Japan might actually have a slightly higher ratio of viewers or visa versa, but it's overall around the same.

It doesn't seem to be doing too well in either it's home country or here. Makes me wonder if TV Tokyo, NAS, Gallop, and Konami are going to continue through past 52... Seems really unlikely at this point unless 5d's suddenly starts seeing a surge in ratings in Japan.

Watching original episodes of 5D's, I didn't really find it all that satisfying.

Spoiler

Akiza (Aki Izayoi) only appears for so long, she isn't even a protagonist. Unless she has a more substantial appearance later on, it seems almost as if 5Dd's will be ending soon, so there'll most likely be a second season. In my opinion, 5d's isn't that much to watch unless you like the dueling, which I always skip because I find it boring.

 

[Yash]

The problem, I think, is that people are just tired of Yu-Gi-Oh. The show actually needs a plot behind it, it's not simply a "I'm gonna be the best and it'll only take me twenty years to do it!" type of show like Pokémon is, so it's harder to sustain.

Speaking of Pokémon, can you imagine? If Shogakukan only had a better legal council, we might not even have had this thread today.

 

[creativerealms]

The problem, I think, is that people are just tired of Yu-Gi-Oh. The show actually needs a plot behind it, it's not simply a "I'm gonna be the best and it'll only take me twenty years to do it!" type of show like Pokémon is, so it's harder to sustain.

Speaking of Pokémon, can you imagine? If Shogakukan only had a better legal council, we might not even have had this thread today.

The fact that the original had a half way decent plot while GX and (From the looks of it) 5Ds do not really does not help.

 

[mumbo]

The problem, I think, is that people are just tired of Yu-Gi-Oh. The show actually needs a plot behind it, it's not simply a "I'm gonna be the best and it'll only take me twenty years to do it!" type of show like Pokémon is, so it's harder to sustain.

Yeah, it's a what, ten-year-old franchise. It's run its course. The original audience has grown up and it doesn't have enough staying power to bring in a new generation really, unlike Pokemon.

I wouldn't mind if there was only one season of 5D's, or if not, I hope 5D's is the last series. Three is plenty.

 

[Bratbat]

Yeah it is rather unfortunate that YGO has somehow walled itself in terms of a spinoff that could allow for universe expansion.

I mean game really isn't that cool if magic was taken out of the picture. But 5Ds managed to replace it with chase scenes, plenty of chase, so it is covered.

However, whether in Duelist Kingdom or in Battlecity, I doubt there is anyone else that has as much involvement with villainous clandestine activities or is an equally attractive danger magnet as that of Yugi and his friends.

 

[CyberCubed]

So what will 4kids do if Dinosaur King and Yu-gi-oh end production in Japan? And they're also losing Spiderman from the block?

What shows are really long-lasting on CW4kids that we can expect to see next year when they only have one Saturday morning block?

There's bound to be a number of cancellations after this season.

 

[D Dubbs]

So what will 4kids do if Dinosaur King and Yu-gi-oh end production in Japan? And they're also losing Spiderman from the block?

What shows are really long-lasting on CW4kids that we can expect to see next year when they only have one Saturday morning block?

There's bound to be a number of cancellations after this season.

Chaotic will certainly continue. After all, 4Kids plans to draw out the series over seven seasons, and we're only on season two so far.

GoGoRiki will also likely continue for some time. 4Kids stated that they plan to dub 200 episodes of the series, plus there's no sign that the show will stop production in Russia anytime soon. And they have to have to fill 2 slots with E/I material anyway.

Dinosaur King already ended in Japan back in August, but there are still 50 episodes left to air on American TV, so it should last this year and the next.

I honestly don't think Yu-Gi-Oh! will end anytime soon...even if the ratings are low, the cards are still selling here in the U.S. and in Japan.

Viva Pinata will probably be taken off the lineup next year, and I'd say there's a 50-50 chance that TMNT might cease production too.

From my point of view, the only current shows that are certainly guaranteed to be on the block two years from now are Chaotic and GoGoRiki.

 

[veemonjosh]

Viva Pinata will probably be taken off the lineup next year, and I'd say there's a 50-50 chance that TMNT might cease production too.

If the Back to the Sewers toyline bombs, then yeah...

The only reason it'd stick around if that happens would be because of WB's promises of a TMNT 2.

 

[Rolling Cloud]

I wouldn't mind if there was only one season of 5D's, or if not, I hope 5D's is the last series. Three is plenty.

It's been stated that 5D's will be the last series. Like, more stated than with GX.

I mean game really isn't that cool if magic was taken out of the picture. But 5Ds managed to replace it with chase scenes, plenty of chase, so it is covered.

Spoiler

There's more than just chase scenes in 5D's. a LOT more.

 

[CyberCubed]

Viva Pinata will probably be taken off the lineup next year,

Yeah, I've been wondering about this. Does this show actually get renewed based on Microsoft's plans for the franchise? A new Viva Pinata hit the DS recently, I'm wondering if that implies it'll be around as long as the games exist, kinda like Pokemon.

and I'd say there's a 50-50 chance that TMNT might cease production too.

It kinda seems like 4kids are treating BTTS as a new series even with a continued episode number, so it kind of feels like a clean slate. Also, revamping the designs to make them look more like the movie and then axing the show before the 5th movie comes out would be a lame idea on 4kids' part, because then it's like...what was the point?

 

[The Huntsman]

Yeah, I've been wondering about this. Does this show actually get renewed based on Microsoft's plans for the franchise? A new Viva Pinata hit the DS recently, I'm wondering if that implies it'll be around as long as the games exist, kinda like Pokemon.

I’m not sure, but it’s obvious that the games have an impact on when the “new” episodes air on television. Both “Pocket Paradise” and “Trouble In Paradise” came out last month. However, I’ve heard that Rare is taking a break from making Viva Piñata games, so it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen with the series. I wish I knew, as in all honesty, “Viva Piñata” is my favorite animated program on television. Unfortunately, I don’t get The CW and I can’t watch it. Go figure. Regardless, I saw the ratings that were posted a few pages back and it’s nice to see that the series is doing modestly well.

 

[D Dubbs]

It seems Microsoft and 4Kids are splitting ways soon (since Microsoft would rather focus on hardcore gamers than children), so I'm doubting Viva Piñata will make it past 52 episodes. Though, it's not like that number is anything to be ashamed of. 52 half-hour episodes - or 104 individual segments - is still quite a healthy run.