Online Manga Subsctiptions
The subscription/ad model seems to be working for anime online. Could the same model work for manga? I think it could, but there are some serious problems to overcome first. Format, copy protection and public perception are all going to be issues that must be addressed. The biggest problem will be content.
Online Manga
Reading manga on a computer isn’t going to be a major barrier. People are already doing that, be it web comics or illegal scanlations.
Easy access to wi-fi hot spots or even wireless data plans means people are connected all the time. If you’re connected to the net and got 5 or 10 minutes to kill, manga is a good way to spend that time. With the arrival of netbooks, I expect it to become even more common. Netbooks are cheap and extremely portable. Parents might not buy their kids a $1,700 laptop, but a $299 netbook is well within the realm of possibility.
Subscription Pricing
If there are enough manga included in the deal, I’d gladly pay $10 a month for an online manga subscription. That’s more than Crunchyroll charges for their anime membership at it’s most expensive. For manga that’s a steal. It’s less than the cost of 1 manga volume.
It’s bound to happen sooner or later. I’m just curious how it going to happen.
Manga, Opinion, Online, Subscription, Scanlation
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