I'll more than likely be checking out Xam'd, just to give them a few bucks for trying something new. Actually kinda hoping it's NOT good, because I dont want to pay for every episode! :D

Please give us a review! I've been anticipating this show since TAF, but since I don't live in the US I have no way of getting this show. (I do have a PS3 though)

The show was always a co-production between Bones and Sony, so there was no real need to "coax" anyone into the deal.

And of course the show can't be fansubbed... no one will be able to run their PS3 feed into a computer and record the show as it's playing... or even record their TV sets with a camcorder.

DRM is pointless, and Sony should be slapped across the face for making fans pay a ridiculous amount of money just to "rent" a single anime episode. I want to watch this show, but there's no way in hell I'm ever going to pay that much for it.

Lol DMV

Never heard of a video capturing device?

How do you think people get anime raws anyway?

Fansubs have been out since midnight sooooooooooooo....

Good luck with that...

I'd love to give Xam’d: Lost Memories, but I don't have a PS3. Even still, $3-4 for just renting an episode? That's a bit much.

It wasn't the $1 difference that made me go SD-- it was the 1100mb difference =P

Scott: Actually, there ARE video-capturing tools that work on the PS3.

byrc, I haven't seen subs anywhere online yet, tbh.

Scott, are you kidding me? The price isn't so gigantic, and if you think about it, there's nothing funding this other than the download. No advertising, no sales in Japan to make it profitable. The price is totally justified.

The DRM isn't pointless -- people will go to whatever lengths they can to release shows online without having to pay for them. Weren't you ultra-critical of people doing that with Gonzo's stuff on crunchyroll? Seems like you've suddenly hopped the fence when Sony did what was necessary to prevent widespread fansub releases of the show.

bob you forgot to show us a teaser:
http://video.google.co.uk/videosearch?q=xamdou&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wv#

and I give you a guarantee some angry Japanese are hard at work trying to crack the DRM.

Perhaps it's the lack of Euro content but colour me un-impressed.
Not off to a bad start, they've just got alot of catching up to do.

$3-$4 for video downloads? I kinda wish now that there were some sort of "season passes" thatll let me download a set amount of episodes for a cheaper price.

I'd rather start smoking, it's less expensive!

@Gia - I guess sarcasm doesn't translate well when typed out. ;-)

@DMV - I have never ever said DRM was good in any way. It does not prevent piracy at all because no matter what you do, someone will find a way to circumvent the system and post it online for free.

The only thing DRM does is restricts a completely legitimate buyer, i.e. myself, from enjoying the product when he or she buys it. Unless I get it through iTunes, I cannot play any DRM'ed video on my Mac no matter how much I pay for it. So not only are you not protecting your product, but you're f@#$ing things up for the people who want to pay you for your product.

If you look at my piece on the results of Gonzo's first week on Crunchy Roll and BOST TV, you will find that the only pirated version I was able to find online was a rip from the TV broadcast and not the DRM-free video file. You don't have to put DRM on a file to prevent piracy. If you trust your costumers enough to not to DRM your stuff, they're not going to take their paid purchase and share it with everyone on the internet.

Now that I think about it, most of the DVD releases are 20 bucks for 4 episodes, so thats 5 bucks per episode (plus physical media and all that, but still). 3-4 bucks isnt too bad really, especially if you just want to test out a series with on or two episodes, instead of blind buying a DVD...

I don't see how fansubs are impossible. Surely you can just put the vids onto your PSP, and then onto your computer? I don't know how it works, but surely it isn't that hard?

[quote]@Gia - I guess sarcasm doesn't translate well when typed out. ;-)

@DMV - I have never ever said DRM was good in any way. It does not prevent piracy at all because no matter what you do, someone will find a way to circumvent the system and post it online for free.

The only thing DRM does is restricts a completely legitimate buyer, i.e. myself, from enjoying the product when he or she buys it. Unless I get it through iTunes, I cannot play any DRM'ed video on my Mac no matter how much I pay for it. So not only are you not protecting your product, but you're f@#$ing things up for the people who want to pay you for your product.

If you look at my piece on the results of Gonzo's first week on Crunchy Roll and BOST TV, you will find that the only pirated version I was able to find online was a rip from the TV broadcast and not the DRM-free video file. You don't have to put DRM on a file to prevent piracy. If you trust your costumers enough to not to DRM your stuff, they're not going to take their paid purchase and share it with everyone on the internet.[/quote]

It's already ripped and fansubbed in an mp4 (that was fast ;B). I just saw it at tokyo toshokan, so I'm sure it'll be at every other major torrent site if it's not there already. :P

Scott: Have you looked at the availability of high-quality illegal downloads for both Druaga and Blassreiter *recently*?...

@giapet

Nope. I only did it in the first week.

Did someone actually put their paid video download on bittorrent?

@yuusuke

That's just the trailer.

Tons did.

@b00017065
He's talking about the ~200 megabyte filed titled Ep. 1 that was released today unless the file is a fake and sized to match a typical episode size.

@DMV Are you sure it was the legal download and not a TV rip? Because that was all I could find online that first week.

SD=$2.99
HD=$3.99
Bones usually does 26 episodes... Maybe for this one only 13.
So.. $77.74 or $38.87... That's about the cost of a box of either series more or less.

I paid for the Druaga anime for around $1.75 each on Crunchy Roll -$21 total, but I paid less in the hope that it would be a 26 eps series=$45.50- and I hope to buy the Actual DVDs -$30~$45 for a complete pack or $20~$28 per discs =$75- when it comes out and I'm low-balling that cost since it'll probably cost more. So in total I'll have paid $90~$100 bucks for it all. I've just bought the final disc of Mai-Z-Hime = $118.93 without this service and I still feel somewhat burned by Bandai because of their damn 3 a disc scheme.

I 'might' rent the first eps to see it, but I fear they've priced my wallet out of their equation.

[quote]@b00017065
He's talking about the ~200 megabyte filed titled Ep. 1 that was released today unless the file is a fake and sized to match a typical episode size.[/quote]

Yeah, and it's definitely the episode, unless the trailer is 24 and a half minutes long. ;)

Scott: I thought this show was exclusively broadcast on the Playstation Network?

@yuusuke
I just looked at mininova and saw someone who complained about the quality of the video: http://www.mininova.org/com/1602576

I just downloaded the whole first ep from tokyotosho and it's the real xam'd.

all in all
video 8/10
audio 3/10
The video was decent but the audio was out of sink, but it was still watchable because no major action was taking place. and this anime was subbed, which actually put a smile on my face.

I am really surprised that someone was able to crack the DRM in less than a day. I guess the pirates are ahead.

so I'm confused

I can only download the first episode of Xam’d: Lost Memories for 14 days I have to watch it the day I download it?

screw that...

[quote]I just downloaded the whole first ep from tokyotosho and it's the real xam'd.
[/quote]

Well, yeah! What, did you think I was lying? ;P

Shenazin, yeah, I know. That deal just blows. It's a shame too because the show (if the first episode is any indication of the future) is actually somewhat interesting. It's cool that it's brand new and an exclusive release, but just sell the damn thing. :/

This is why Xbox Live is still superior. Once you download something it stays, except for a few new movie releases... but I doubt that concerns most of us.

Though they may not have their own new show on it, but hey at least they're friendly and have a pretty sizable selection.

That and if you have an XPORT you can put it straight on your computer, flip into your windows live account, and then you can watch it that way (though that method still has quite a few bugs).