Though I agree with you that it is their right to lay down the law when it comes to fansubs, or any dispersement of their product that's not under their control, I almost think it was a godsend of free market research. Keeping tabs on which shows are most popular as fansubs has to give them a strong indication of which shows will or won't do well over here. Though it's probably detrimental to sales to some extent, I would assume that the number of people who put enough effort into finding the apps to play the downloads, and keep up with the applicable codecs (factoring out those who buy the finished product when released in their region anyway) wouldn't be enough to significantly devastate sales.

I have a feeling this could actually be bad for their sales because anime fans beyond Japan's borders won't be able to get a taste of particular shows. Thus, they won't become avid fans of shows not already released, or eagerly anticipate (pumping up launch sales of a show). This means that the company has lost a means of advertising in a sense, and now has to depend on their Anime's box to stand out on a wall at Suncoast in and hope that these consumers will spend the $30 (in the US at least) to buy a volume of some show they've never seen, and might not like, just like you mentioned in this blog.

Ahem... the Panasonic-pimped version of the Nintendo GameCube, as offered at Lik Sang... ( follow the link below to go directly to the info page for it)

http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=77&products_id=1575&

... is a region free DVD player as well as region free GameCube and stereo component. Can we say "Zelda before it hits the states!" Not to mention it just looks freakin' high tech as all hell.

Sorry, it's a "multi-region" DVD player not a region-free DVD player... this is a different thing. I do know it will play both US/Canadian DVDs and Japanese DVDs. Here is what Lik-Sang says:

Plays DVD movies (Region 1-6 PAL & NTSC)

Wow! Thanks for the link!

It's interesting to see a perspective from someone who isn't exactly an "anime" fan. I know you like anime, but your not a downloader of fansubs and such, so it's interesting to get an outside perspective of the situation.

To tell you the truth, though I do agree they take down the material if asked, I am still getting the raws (Gankutsuou) via internet. It makes me a hypocrite I guess, but I'll live with that for now. I'm worried that such a show like this one, and others won't be released here in the US...so I can spend my money on it like these companies want...

Oh well...you just got to go with the flow.