×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: Video-on-Demand Service Akimbo Shuts Down




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article
Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Paploo



Joined: 21 Nov 2006
Posts: 1875
PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:52 pm Reply with quote
Too bad. Though I guess Legal download services have too much to compete with, being such a small market, and having way too much competition with illegal content. I hope it doesn't cause problems for Anime companies..... ADV and CPM being two of it's bigger partners is a bad sign
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4803
PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 8:37 pm Reply with quote
I don't think I've ever heard of this service before now.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
hikaru004



Joined: 15 Mar 2004
Posts: 2306
PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:20 pm Reply with quote
Paploo wrote:
Too bad. Though I guess Legal download services have too much to compete with, being such a small market, and having way too much competition with illegal content. I hope it doesn't cause problems for Anime companies..... ADV and CPM being two of it's bigger partners is a bad sign


Well CPM is at Totalvid and ADV is on cellphones, PC and TV so no worries.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Busaiku Chama



Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 65
Location: There
PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:13 pm Reply with quote
CPM is also on Anime Selects.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
Teriyaki Terrier



Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 5689
PostPosted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 11:27 pm Reply with quote
Like I've been saying, we are in a bad economy these days. In order to thrive, companies must secure one than one means of revenue. Otherwise they'll become similar to closed companies such as Geneon and other smaller companies that were forced to close.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Arcwave



Joined: 07 Jul 2007
Posts: 246
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:03 am Reply with quote
Akimbo? What the heck was that? Hmm, no wonder they went out of business...

Shocked
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Sticks



Joined: 14 Apr 2007
Posts: 199
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 2:13 am Reply with quote
Well, it looks like I saved a few bucks.

I saw Akimbo at AX06 and was interested, but I waited for my new computer and then saw some changes with them, so I waited to see what happens. From what I saw, they were pretty good. But now that we can get anime anywhere, sometimes for almost nothing, there's no reason to have them at all.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kokuryu



Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 915
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 3:16 am Reply with quote
They made 4 fatal mistakes...

(1) They used Windows as a base for everything
(2) They stopped offering download and view - they started to require an internet connection
(3) They got rid of the stand alone boxes and started requiring Windows on PCs
(4) When they re-made their website, they used all active-X controls - every one of which was buggy - so that nobody could access their site anymore, and any customers they had left could not use their services anymore

It was good while it lasted - and hopefully someone else will come along and learn from their mistakes. I really enjoyed their service in the beginning - at the end, it sucked.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Big Hed



Joined: 04 May 2006
Posts: 1607
Location: Melbourne, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:18 am Reply with quote
Up front I'll admit I don't know much about the company, but just to put in my opinions...

kokuryu wrote:

(1) They used Windows as a base for everything


Do you mean that platform compatability was an issue? If so, then I suppose I agree.

Quote:

(2) They stopped offering download and view - they started to require an internet connection


Yeah, streaming services are still far from perfect in my opinion. Direct downloads need to be a more widespread option.

Quote:

(3) They got rid of the stand alone boxes and started requiring Windows on PCs.


Disagree. Hardware distribution is an extremely competitive market I think, and I imagine that a small company like Akimbo would have had trouble breaking into it. I'd bet that Akimbo's overheads for manufacturing the boxes were high, therefore pushing the price tag up at retail, which in turn would've made staying green even harder in a market that is small to begin with. I wouldn't be suprised if a lot of potential customers would have turned away at the thought of having another set top box in their living room.

If Akimbo pulled the plug on their hardware branch, it was because they weren't pulling in enough revenue from it. Personally, I think the decision to sell the boxes to begin with was more 'fatal'.

Quote:

(4) When they re-made their website, they used all active-X controls - every one of which was buggy - so that nobody could access their site anymore, and any customers they had left could not use their services anymore


Again, I can't speak from experience here, but poor web design for a business that uses a digital distribution model more than anything sounds like the fatal error here.

Anyway, it's unfortunate to hear about this, but not sky fallingly so. I find it weird that Akimbo suddenly collapsed, when it seems from the article that the company was doing not to poorly until recently.[/quote]
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
AstroNerdBoy



Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 413
Location: Denver, CO
PostPosted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:47 am Reply with quote
Never heard of this company.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address
mithrandiryod



Joined: 03 Dec 2007
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 4:48 pm Reply with quote
Four Million in Funding and they had to shut down 3 months later? Man I don't want to bring downloading Anime into this issue. Someone who can burn through 4 million in capital in just 3 months has other MAJOR problems. The business model was likely flawed and if I were the acting forensic auditor that should be assigned to this case, I would search deep for any looting of the corporate treasury.

-mith
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group