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SW.com's apologetic press release (re the 2005 OT SE re-release set)

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I laughed out loud when I read the apologetic press release that SW.com gave for the repackaging of the 2004 DVDs. They didn’t even make a dramatic front page announcement like they usually do! Check it out for yourself:

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release/video/news20051202.html

 

Mod Edit: a working link for the above article can be found here:-

https://web.archive.org/web/20051213025740/http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/release/video/news20051202.html

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It's just that, from reading it, you can tell they've seen the fan reaction on the internet. They worded the press release to explain away their decision to release the set. That's what I find so funny.
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Adam S.W com probably saw your review of the DVD set on Amazon, and thought oh no!
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It just struck me as strange that they didn't make one of their typical "dramatic front page" announcements that they typically do, in which they glorify whatever new product they have. Instead, they put it in the "recent updates" section, which is not as prominantly featured.
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i found interesting when they said to paraphrase "you dont need to buy it if you already have it and theres more on the previous set" they must know that fans are cheesed off................
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Exactly. That's what made me laugh. That was one of the sentences which makes me suspect they are aware of the fan backlash from the internet, like you said.
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What's laughable is most stores still have plenty of last year's set on the shelves, and I'd bet the price difference isn't going to amount to much.

Where were you in '77?

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Originally posted by: SilverWook
and I'd bet the price difference isn't going to amount to much.


Especially at Wal-Mart!
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I see a bunch of confused grandmothers getting this set for their grandkids for Christmas, then the grandkids bursting into tears. "This isn't the one I wanted Grammy!"

Am I alone in imagining this? Probably. I just think it's kind of rotten that Lucasfilm is releasing an inferior version of an existing product, in similar packaging, just in time for Christmas. And then they give us a half-hearted excuse, "It's for people who want the Star Wars movies but without the value-added material, so they can save money!" But they're still bundling all three movies together, not selling them individually. For, you know, people who want one or two Star Wars movies, without paying for the value-added material of the rest.

(If you think there's no demand for individual SW movies, check out Amazon's DVD section -- some enterprising entrepreneurs are splitting up the box sets and selling the individual movies for $20 apiece, getting them a nice little profit.)
"It's the stoned movie you don't have to be stoned for." -- Tom Shales on Star Wars
Scruffy's gonna die the way he lived.
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The thing I find with the article is how Lucasfilm has released all the Star Wars dvds in full and widescreen versions along with a rather good article explaining the formats. If we can have a choice between full and wide, why can't we choose between original and special edition.

Take back the trilogy. Execute Order '77

http://www.youtube.com/user/Knightmessenger

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Because Lucas's original vision was for both full and widescreen versions of the trilogy. It's the ways the trilogy was meant to be seen, he just didn't have the technology to screen it in 1.33:1 twenty years ago. Now that technology has advanced, he can crop, pan, and scan the Star Wars trilogy the way he envisioned all those years ago. Or not, if you get the widescreen version.
"It's the stoned movie you don't have to be stoned for." -- Tom Shales on Star Wars
Scruffy's gonna die the way he lived.
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To be honest, I'm surprised they explicitly stated not to buy it if you owned the previous release. Isn't it usually their goal to get us to buy every single release?

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.

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Originally posted by: Scruffy
I see a bunch of confused grandmothers getting this set for their grandkids for Christmas, then the grandkids bursting into tears. "This isn't the one I wanted Grammy!"

The marketers know this, and they see dollar signs in their eyes.

Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
To be honest, I'm surprised they explicitly stated not to buy it if you owned the previous release. Isn't it usually their goal to get us to buy every single release?


That's exactly what I found to be so hilarious about the article, the fact that it wasn't written in their typical "you must buy this product" format.