[Tommy]

Originally Posted by Mr_Paper

Honestly speaking, there are better ways to know which series will be popular or good candidates to be licensed. Companies like ADV have invested, I'm sure, millions of dollars into market research and demographic studies to find out exactly what shows will sell and be popular before they even air. To base the decision to invest the amounts of money that go into a license agrement solely on a download site would not be a wise business practice.

True, But when I stroll down to the store to check out anime releases I can't help but think what the hell is all this crap on the shelves. There is so much anime that I would never consider watching. While so many unliscensed great series are just left to the side.

Of course I must admit without fansubs their would definitly be some series that I would have never given a chance and then I would of missed out on them.

Originally Posted by Mr_Paper

How would they capitalize on the illegal distribution of copyrighted material?

Sorry, I meant after they pickup the liscense of course.

Originally Posted by Mr_Paper

Why haven't Naruto or Full Metal Alchemist been licensed yet? It's simple, as others have said, who ever acquires that title stand to earn a sizable return on their invest. Assume that Naruto was to end next week (at episode eighty... simple math) then get licensed. You could expect about four episodes a disc meaning you'd have to buy twenty DVDs just to get the television series. I'd expect the series to sell atleast one hundred thousand units per DVD, a conservative guess... Then again I could be over estimating it... I'll let you work out the potential profit for yourself. Noone has licensed them, Naruto or Full Metal Alchemist, because, again as stated, noone has out bid the others yet.

Like you said whoever gets those titles stand to earn a sizable return. So thats why I'm kinda surprised that no ones been out bid yet. I guess once one company outbids another, some other company comes in and outbids the other.