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Ghost in the Shell, Other Anime Coming to Xbox Live

Posted by Zonk on from the aeria-gloris dept.

Joystiq is reporting that a large slice of the catalog for anime distributor Starz will be coming to Xbox Live. Some of their titles are already available via the service, while others will be placed into circulation in the coming months. High profile new content includes the stellar Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Series 1 and 2), Read or Die, Macross Plus, Tokko, Virus, and X.

49 comments

  1. In other words... by Applekid · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ... just the stuff you've already seen aired on cable.

    --
    More Twoson than Cupertino
    1. Re:In other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But now you can pay a fee, in order to pay a fee, to view a scaled down version of it!

    2. Re:In other words... by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1

      I opted not to get cable or satellite in my house. All my TV shows come in from Xbox Live or Netflix. For all the time I have for TV, I save a lot of money that way.

      --
      Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
    3. Re:In other words... by vertinox · · Score: 1

      Pretty much.

      But one of the reasons I bother keeping comcast cable TV part is the on demand anime... Now if Xbox360 had Adult Swim episodes... I might drop the non-data part of comcast.

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    4. Re:In other words... by Osty · · Score: 1

      But now you can pay a fee, in order to pay a fee, to view a scaled down version of it!

      Xbox Live Video Marketplace is available to free Silver accounts, so you don't have to pay the tiny $50/year Gold fee. Obviously the content will be for-pay, but TV shows on Xbox Live have typically gone for $3 or less for HD versions. And when available, Xbox Live does have HD episodes on the marketplace. That means your only objection is that you have to pay a fee to download the video.

    5. Re:In other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Internet lets me do it for free.

    6. Re:In other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Regardless of whether or not it's required for downloading videos, I wouldn't call the $50 gold fee "tiny". I have a 360 but haven't paid for the gold account since I only want to play something online maybe once or twice a month for 30 minutes. It just doesn't make sense for me.

    7. Re:In other words... by Osty · · Score: 1

      Regardless of whether or not it's required for downloading videos, I wouldn't call the $50 gold fee "tiny". I have a 360 but haven't paid for the gold account since I only want to play something online maybe once or twice a month for 30 minutes. It just doesn't make sense for me.

      $50/year is $4.17/mo. That's approximately the cost of a latte. I can afford to skip one latte a month in order to pay for Gold, so it's "tiny" as far as I'm concerned. If you have trouble affording $4.17/mo, you have more important matters to tend to than playing video games online.

    8. Re:In other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      $50/year is $4.17/mo. blah blah blah you have more important matters to tend to than playing video games online.

      I probably spend 10x more than that average per month on video games, thank you very much. And it's not $50/year if you aren't committed to getting your money's worth every month. If I don't play online that month at all (which is likely given my playing pattern), that $4.17 is just lost. In order to avoid that I would have to pay monthly $9/month or something like that which is just silly to get my few online gaming sessions per month. I might as well go drop a few quarters at the local arcade.

      Point being, I don't care how cheap it comes out to per month. I don't want to pay for something I won't be using.

    9. Re:In other words... by MBraynard · · Score: 0, Troll
      Point being, I don't care how cheap it comes out to per month. I don't want to pay for something I won't be using.

      I get the feeling you have the same attitude about antipersparent.

    10. Re:In other words... by somersault · · Score: 1

      It also lets you do all manner of vile, sick and immoral things which you probably don't actually do. What is your point?

      --
      which is totally what she said
    11. Re:In other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you spend $6000 a year on video games? If you did, that $50 a year would amount to 0.008% of your expenditures. Seems like an awfully small amount to spend for the features it adds to online games.

    12. Re:In other words... by bencass · · Score: 1

      He spends 10x $4.17 a month. 10 * $4.17 * 12 = $500.40 a year. That's 10% of his budget on an X-Box Gold subscription. Also, multiply the result by 100 to express it as a percentage. You meant to say 0.8%. >.> Sorry. I can't help but to correct bad math. I agree. I don't have the X-Box live service because I don't use it. Though with some anime available now, there's slightly more incentive to get it.

  2. Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not my mom!

  3. evangelion! by everphilski · · Score: 2, Funny

    Angels Attack XBOX!

  4. Great News! by Klickoris · · Score: 0

    But Japan doesn't care about the 360. I suppose the weaboos will rejoice though.

    1. Re:Great News! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Starz only distributes within the United States, they have no right to distribute in Japan anyways, so it's moot. As an otaku, I don't watch Americanized versions of anime anyways, much less giving a massive evil American company a bunch of money for something I get online for free.

  5. XBox Taking Over Living Room by StCredZero · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The ultimate XBox strategy for Microsoft domination of the world (or at least the US) is for it to take over the living room. Start with Anime. Move on to sports. (Isn't the NFL trying to launch its own network?) Comedy Central? They could put a XBox branded YouTube on there. (Just re-skin the browser for YouTube pages.) Start small, even at a loss to Microsoft, but if they play it right, they can grow into a media empire. They could be the next cable, just with shows and series, but no time-slots. They would have targeted advertising, however.

    1. Re:XBox Taking Over Living Room by kamapuaa · · Score: 2, Insightful
      The XBox has been out for 6 years now, and they're starting to offer downloads of anime episodes, to the 5% of American households than have an XBox. At that rate it will name them approximately 95 more years to take over the living room.

      People have been talking about "Living room domination" since the beginning, but if that was at the forefront of MS's plans, they would have adopted XBMC as their own, they would have made the XBox 360 cheaper, they'd have targeted a broader audience that really isn't into games, really they would have done a lot of things differently. I don't they're using the XBox to build on the failure of Web TV.

      --
      Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
    2. Re:XBox Taking Over Living Room by StCredZero · · Score: 1

      The living room is clearly the target of everyone going after the US market. No one has figured out how to make themselves more convenient than cable. Until you figure that out, it doesn't matter how badly cable sucks. Americans are all about the convenience.

    3. Re:XBox Taking Over Living Room by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Why is it so clear? If that's really true, why hasn't the XBox been more friendly to general consumers? It's known (and marketed) as being a for-gamers system. It would be easy to support XBMC, and they didn't. MS has already flopped with Web TV, why would they be so quick to make a general cliving room device? If they wanted to make the XBox360 a living room device, why wouldn't they make a Hard Drive standard equipment? Why didn't they push DVD-player compatibility in the first XBox, or HD DVD in the second?

      You seem to just have an assumption, but no evidence to support it. Repeating something isn't evidence.

      And talking about the other video game companies, how do you possibly figure Nintendo is trying to take over the living room?

      And it's impossible to compete with cable on simplicity, all you do is press up and down to change channels. Any competitor would have to have a larger feature set, or possibly be cheaper.

      - kamapuaa

  6. You're Right by JamesRose · · Score: 1

    How dare those evil bastards try and offer a product! [/sarcasm]

    I'm sorry, but what the hell are you on about, so what if it's been shown, firstly, some people missed it, secondly some people would like to have a copy to watch as much as they want, thirdly, how is it a bad thing for a good series to get distributed in a new way?

  7. Not the UK i bet. by ThirdPrize · · Score: 0

    We haven't got any TV on the 360 over here. :(

    --
    I have excellent Karma and I am not afraid to Troll it.
    1. Re:Not the UK i bet. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just do what most people do... download the fan-subbed version. Its 100 times better than the awful edited US dubbed versions with awful voice actors.

  8. But what format... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Let the holy war begin...
    Subbed or Dubbed?

    1. Re:But what format... by provigilman · · Score: 1
      That's actually a very interesting question. Subbed is usually far superior, but I don't mind dubbed...however, that seems to be all they show on cable.

      Now, if the 360 started offering subbed versions of the same show at a competitive price, then I would definitely be interested.

      --
      "Life's short and hard, like a body building elf." -- The Bloodhound Gang
    2. Re:But what format... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      either that or the crappy dubs make you want to kill yourself.
      for me it depends entirely on the series, I'm not some elitist fagort, but far too often dubs have very sub-par voice acting.
      for example, in the case of GITS:SAC, I don't care one way or the other because the english dub is pretty great, actually.

  9. Anime sites by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Zone-Anime
    http://www.anime-sensei.net/
    http://www.da-anime.org/
    Etc.

    Bittorrent:
    http://www.tokyotosho.com/
    http://a.scarywater.net/

    Just some nice Anime sites.

  10. Or, you know... by Yusaku+Godai · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...you could just buy them on DVD.

    Apparently, the Ghost in the Shell episodes, for example, would cost $4 a piece.
    Hmm, let's see...I recently got the entire second season box set from rightstuf.com for like $70. $4x26 episodes = $104 to buy the series on XBL. Plus mine are on DVD, so I can play them, you know, just about anywhere (with or without breaking the encryption).

    Also, like other people said, "Same crap you can see on TV anyways."

    1. Re:Or, you know... by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 2, Interesting

      "Hmm, let's see...I recently got the entire second season box set from rightstuf.com for like $70. $4x26 episodes = $104 to buy the series on XBL. Plus mine are on DVD, so I can play them, you know, just about anywhere (with or without breaking the encryption)."

      Yeah, if you already know you like it and want to get it, the season DVD approach is preferred. Somebody like me, though, hasn't seen a lot of anime and would enjoy sampling it. I dig the idea of spending $4 and getting an episode to watch right away. (as opposed to going to the store and buying more than I want...) It's not the most economical thing in the world, but if I spent $70 for the whole season and didn't like it... well that doesn't make much economical sense, either.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    2. Re:Or, you know... by Yusaku+Godai · · Score: 2, Informative

      That's reasonable for the first few episodes, but by then if you think you'll like it, it become uneconomical.

      BTW, assuming you aren't just saying you haven't seen it for the sake of arguing, it's a really damn good show whether you like anime or not. I'd highly recommend sampling it whether through this medium, or whatever else is available!

    3. Re:Or, you know... by MMaestro · · Score: 1

      You bought online from a non-name brand company though. A quick look at Walmart.com shows no DVD box set for the second season set, an average of ~$20 USD for each volume and at 7 volumes for the whole series, its $140. And this is from Walmart, the supposed ultra-cheap megastore of the USA. The XBL version is cheaper and more convenient for the casual XBL buyer. Even the Ghost in the Shell fans could even skip over the filler episode and go straight for the storyline episodes.

    4. Re:Or, you know... by MBraynard · · Score: 1
      That makes so much sense but the odds are that if you are an anime fan and have a 360 with a broadband, you also have bit torrent. And then you can take it and transcode it and watch it on your 360.

      That's been the big hole I've seen in the downloadable media from XBL. I watched and LOVED Clark and Michael - but it was free. I'd like to see Afterworld on there too (for free). But there is no way I'm going to pay money for something that is going to get stuck on the 360 on the limited 20g harddrive.

    5. Re:Or, you know... by Barny · · Score: 1

      I dig the idea of spending $4 and getting an episode to watch right away.


      Why? Is IRC.RIZON.COM so hard to type into an irc client?

      Even the anime producers are happy fan-subbers get so many people hooked on a series.

      Another advantage you get with the DVD versions, most of them still have the real audio track ^_^
      --
      ...
      /me sighs
    6. Re:Or, you know... by Yusaku+Godai · · Score: 1

      Eh, wouldn't it still be preferrable to have it on a more portable format? Sure DVD has CSS, but practically speaking that's easily broken anyways. Then you could play it on your XBox, your computer, your portable DVD player, your PSP...whatever. And the DVDs are probably better quality too (can't say for sure, but it seems a reasonable guess).

      I do see what someone above was saying about sampling--that makes sense. But for purchasing an entire TV series it seems a ripoff.

      Also, as far as Ghost in the Shell goes, the so-called "filler" episodes are still mostly damn good and worth seeing (though they're generally better in the first season). Also, some of them fill in bits related to the main plot, even if the rest of the episode isn't related. Or they provide some character development. And if you *really* just care about the main plot arc, for the first season anyways there was a release in Japan called "Laughing Man", which was just the Laughing Man plot from the first season edited together into a coherent whole. I believe it is also scheduled for the release in the US, but I'm not certain. I believe there are also plans to do something similar for the second season.

    7. Re:Or, you know... by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Nar I haven't seen it. Thanks for the recommendation! :)

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  11. English? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm a casual anime fan, not enough to spend the $200 a season it seems most series go for, but i do download. As i said, im a casual fan and usually have videos going on my 2nd computer while i read fark or play wow on my main computer. Unfortunately most of what i download is subbed, which does not lend itself to inattentive watching. Anybody have a good source for the big-name anime shows with the english dub?

  12. Two Words: by drwav · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Subscription Model

    Until TV shows are offered in this way instead of pay-per-view bullshit I will continue not to buy any TV shows. A good DVR and cable is the best way to watch TV and it looks like no one out there has the guts to provide a cheaper AND better model.

    Around $70/yr for on-demand content to their library of COMPLETE seasons of TV shows from ALL the major networks and you will have your revolution.

  13. dubbed by 15 year old xbox live players by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you know you want that to happen

  14. You mean the same stuff they already... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    show on Adult Swim's website? The same stuff you can easily watch for free on the Net?

  15. Real Console Winner--the PC by MogNuts · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You know what is interesting? The real winner in the "console" wars, although many may not realize it, is the PC:

    1. Vast library of titles available and also has titles available on multiple consoles (vs. PS3's dearth of a game library)

    2. Option to have non-faulty hardware (vs. XBOX 360 "red ring of death"; btw, I'm not saying all have it--mine is in an extremely well ventilated area and I have no problems)

    3. Superior graphics capabilities. Being able to play Oblivion at resolutions 1280x1024 and up--gorgeous (vs. the Wii)

    4. No need to deal with figuring out the complexities of HDTV or even buying one (just choose the resolution your monitor, which you already have, supports)

    5. The expense. You already have a computer if you are reading /. Pick up a cheap $200 video card (e.g. ATI Radeon X1950 XT) that can run pretty much any game out there with very good quality and good resolution, It will be very speedy and you have something that is cheaper than any of the consoles. And needing an expensive computer for games is a myth.

    6. No loading times (for the most part). Forza Motorsport 2 or Oblivion on an XBOX 360--painful, after a while

    7. Depending on the game, free online play

    8. Games are always about $10-20 cheaper than console counterparts

    9. Built-in hard drive, and whatever size you want at any price you want at that

    10. Mods. Tons. And they're free.

    Something to think about.

    1. Re:Real Console Winner--the PC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know what is interesting? The real winner in the "console" wars, although many may not realize it, is the PC:
      Do you post this same list on every story involving a console? I know I've seen it in another thread.

      You could at least invoke Netcraft.
    2. Re:Real Console Winner--the PC by ggabyt · · Score: 1

      "2. Option to have non-faulty hardware (vs. XBOX 360 "red ring of death"; btw, I'm not saying all have it--mine is in an extremely well ventilated area and I have no problems)"

      How about the PC's faulty software? I bought Bioshock for the PC since I just upgraded my PC with a Quad Core and an 8800 GTS (640MB) - a $400 card - only to find out that 2K games has a sound issue with RealTek drivers. So the sound never worked. Then they told me to run the game in XP compatibility mode when Vista compatibility is on the box. That didn't work either. It's Bull****. I just sold the game on Ebay and lost $20 in the process. Having been out of the PC gaming deal for awhile I assumed all this crap was getting better - guess again! Say what you want about consoles and PC's but until the PC is as faultless as a console and as reliable there's no comparison. All the mods in the world don't mean crap if the friggin' game doesn't work.

    3. Re:Real Console Winner--the PC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pick up a cheap $200 video card What's this, the mother of all oxymorons, or what? Not only that, but you have to fork that kind of cash over about once a year. Last year for example, my brother bought a $200 card, and Heroes Of Might And Magic V's graphics sucked right from the start. At 1024x768.
      It used to be that on consoles, graphics were always pretty much guaranteed to be fluid and nice. I don't really know if that's still the case, I guess it depends on the game studios.
      Plus, "PC gaming" is a misnomer. You actually need Windows, and after waiting less than 10 years, your game won't function anymore unless you're lucky or have kept an ancient version of Windows.
    4. Re:Real Console Winner--the PC by xtieburn · · Score: 1

      1. Vast amount of games that are either old enough that they require constant fidling, too new to run smoothly and otherwise require installation and usually some kind of graphics setup others and myself really can not be bothered with.

      2. Option to have endlessly faulty hardware with one thing breaking another and serious difficulty ever tracking down or even knowing if something somewhere is going to go down.

      3. Superior but minimal increase in graphics most of the time even when you spend more than a PS3s worth on a graphics card. The usual driver difficulties when you do have the most up to date technology.

      4. No need for HD really full stop.

      5. Limited to /. readers is no victory for anything, many others dont have a computer that can be easily upgraded and buying new systems or even a first system is a huge expense.

      6. Dunno what games youve been playing but that is highly debateable there are just as many load times in PC games as in console games and often due to games being optimised to run entirely off disk on console the reverse of what you say is true.

      7. On often dodgy servers without any support for who you are playing against and whether you are going to effortlessly win or lose horrifically. Most online play is via the pay subscription games like WoW.

      8. Not if you buy from the bargain bins or the rereleases like the platinum series.

      9. Largely irrelevant to the gaming experience except as a vehicle for making you wait several hours for your many gig of textures and such to install.

      10. and mostly crap.

      Dont get me wrong I like the PC, I like it because I can track down the few mods that are great, I like to play RTSs that have never been equalled on consoles and I love twitch FPS that suffer hugely on controllers.

      That isnt going to win any wars though, the PC is just too complicated, too difficult and too hard to get right to be a winner in the gaming world. Just look at who is winning by miles, the Wii and why? because its far more simplistic than even the other consoles. Going the other way isnt going to help and the numbers back this up. As far as gaming goes the PC is dwarfed by the console world.

      PC gaming is a nice addition to a platform that can already do a lot but leave the big gaming to the consoles its what they are built for.

    5. Re:Real Console Winner--the PC by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      lol get a soundcard. a new videocard and CPU will not fix a SOUNDCARD issue.

    6. Re:Real Console Winner--the PC by ggabyt · · Score: 1

      No dumb ass - the sound is coming off of my new MSI board. It's driven by a RealTek driver which is an industry standard and has support all over the place. The fact that Bioshock got on store shelves with this issue is indicitive of the PC gaming culture = the games seldom work 100% when consumers are paying for them day 1. Take a look at the 2K Forums for this issue - it's widespread. As are MANY more. My point remains that when you have customers paying thousands of dollars on hardware to run the latest games and those games flat out DON'T WORK with industry supported hardware more and more people turn to consoles. I'm holding out for Crysis and if that game comes out with issues my 8800 goes to the high bidder on Ebay and one more PC gamer bites the dust.

  16. More Exposure and More Mainstream = Easier Get... by Otaddiction · · Score: 1

    Hey, I'm all for anything that brings more Anime and Manga to our shores and into our living rooms. Granted, I need to get an Xbox 360 into my living room first, but it's well below my list of Anime/Manga to get. :/

    Feed the addiction. ;)

    Otaddiction
    http://www.polygon-comics.com/

    --

    Otaddiction... Anime/Manga/Cosplay addiction at its best!

    http://www.polygon-comics.com/