In its continuous effort to promote and branch out
Naruto to its millions of fans in the United States, global manga licensing company, Viz Media, has teamed up with IGN Entertainment's retail store, Direct2Drive, to make the
Naruto animated series now available for digital download.
The latest cartoon series to be offered on a download-to-own (DTO) basis via Direct2Drive, Naruto is a television series adapted from the Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It follows the adventures of a slacker teenage ninja named
Naruto Uzumaki. Along with his comrades,
Sasuke Uchiha and
Sakura Haruno, Naruto goes on perilous missions and adventures while he struggles to become the strongest of all ninjas. Prior to
Naruto, Viz Media has also offered
Death Note and
Bleach on DTO earlier this year.
“We are very pleased to expand our relationship with VIZ Media and add this massively popular series to our roster of animated titles,” Sutton Trout, Vice President of Digital Content for IGN Entertainment, said in a statement. “Direct2Drive is committed to offering the latest premium digital content targeting our early adopter audience, including PC games, popular TV shows, movies, comics and animated titles, directly from the Web to the desktop.”
Making
Naruto available for digital download will reportedly expand the series' fan base since it allows consumers to conveniently purchase and download the show directly from the web to desktops. According to the press release,
Naruto episodes debut sequentially beginning on November 15 with each episode costing $1.99. The first 25 episodes of the series are now available at direct2drive.com.
“Download-to-Own has become a compelling addition to our business model and one we hope to take full advantage of it for popular titles like
Naruto, Bleach and
Death Note. We look forward to
Naruto fans revisiting their favorite episodes using Direct2Drive and to having casual fans check out the action-packed series from the beginning,” Daniel Marks, VIZ Media's senior vice president of strategy and business development, said in a statement.
-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Viz Media
(Image courtesy of Viz Media)