Anime Distributor Moves To Legalize Fansubbing, Embraces Digital Distribution. Gaming Industry Swears "Retail Still Rules, Man!"

International Anime Distribution released one heck of an announcement. They're seeking to legalize fansubs and move into Internet distribution. "Fansubs," for those who don't speak animu, are fan translations of anime. If an anime title hasn't picked up a US Distributor, a fansubbing group will usually pick it up and translate it (put subtitles) for release via a network of torrent sites, IRC channels, and so on. Fansubbing is sort of a legal grey area, from what I understand, technically legal if the series isn't licensed in the US, but still kind of iffy. This move will not only lead to more anime to consume (which is good for my site), it also continues the anime industry's willingness to embrace new methods of getting their product out there. While the game industry is hesitantly tiptoeing towards maybe doing something with this crazy Internet thing, anime companies are embracing it and looking to make money from it. I'm actually working on an article on this very topic.