Sony and Funimation are bringing downloadable anime to a PS3 near you in a big way. As part of yesterday’s press conference at E3, Sony unveiled their new video service that will allow you to purchase/rent movies and other videos on your PS3. The big surprise was the fact that Funimation was casually mentioned alongside several big movie studios during the announcement.
So I logged on today to see what Sony was serving up. Among the many movies and TV shows, there were a dozen anime titles to choose from. While the list of anime is small right now, it’s certainly a step in the right direction for Funimation to make anime more mainstream. I wonder if Bandai will follow suit and make an offer to Sony. Well you probably want to know what’s up for grabs. All shows are $1.99 for purchase with one exception noted below.
Afro Samurai
Astro Boy
Basilisk
Burst Angel
Desert Punk
Gunslinger Girl
Kiddy Grade
Moon Phase
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
Samurai 7
Trinity Blood
Xam’d: Lost Memories (Bounen no Xamdou)
Most of the anime titles currently available have been licensed for a good while, but one eluded me… Xam’d: Lost Memories. What a weird name. According to this post at Japanator it’s an exclusive Playstation Network anime created by Bones (Eureka 7, Darker than Black, Fullmetal Alchemist). Xam’d is only available for rental and will cost $2.99 (SD) and $3.99 (HD). Ouch. Sony has a nice deal going on there. Guess I won’t be watching this show, especially since it’s only a rental. If anyone is going to watch Xam’d, tell me how it is.
And if you want more info on Xam’d, check out this post at Giapet.
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Is gunslinger girl available in HD?
dKiWis last blog post…Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 01
GSG and all the other anime (except for Xam’d) are SD resolution. If it’s any consolation, GSG should still have a 16×9 ratio though.
I wish I could play PS3 games, if only my parents would let me
blissmos last blog post…Blade of the Immortal – 01: Bow Down to the Blood
SD only? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose of the PS3 as a HD entertainment device?
And no D.Gray-Man S1? Odd.
C.I.s last blog post…[Ah, Nostalgia] Who remembers Chrno Crusade?
@Blissmo: Maybe one day they will. No big rush, right?
@C.I.: It’s a bummer but the next best option is upscaling. For anime, the difference between upscaled and HD should be negligible unless you have hawk eyes or something.