Movie Studios Decide to Scale Back PSP-UMD Releases

[fitbabits]

According to this news story (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117938320?categoryid=18&cs=1&s=h&p=0) on Variety (http://www.variety.com), sales of UMDs are not what Sony or the movie industry had hoped.

Sony's PlayStation Portable isn't turning out to be the hot new movie platform many in the bizbiz had hoped.

With sales falling below expectations, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video are cutting back on movie releases for the PSP.

While comedies that appeal to the core young male gamer demo are doing well, execs say other PSP movies simply aren't selling.

Sony's handheld device plays games, movies and music.

In a bid to boost the format, execs from SPHE and sister unit Sony Computer Electronics America, which sells the PSP, are touting a new adapter that would allow a user to watch a PSP pic on a TV.

If it's successful, that could overcome widespread criticism that consumers have to buy two separate copies of a movie to watch on PSP and TV.

Execs plan to visit other studios to tout the adapter in the next month.

"It would be a huge boost to (PSP movies) if we can arrange for the disc to play on TV players," said SPHE prexyprexy Ben Feingold.
Thanks to TheUnknownSoldier for the tip.

I'm not sure that a UMD-to-TV adapter is what's needed here.

[Cupelix]

Isn't the resolution of the UMD version significantly lower since its being displayed on a smaller screen? I figured that part of the UMD format was the assumption that it was being displayed on a small screen. I can't imagine that someone doing something such as watching a UMD on an HD tv would end up very pleased with the quality.

[Doctor Worm]

This comes as quite a surprise to me considering all I've seen on the release schedules for PSP is movie, movie, movie, movie, game, movie, movie, movie, game...

[MSUStud911]

I think one of the big problems with the UMD format is that UMD movies are so friggin expensive. Why would someone pay $25 to play a movie on his PSP when he could pay $10-$15 and play it on a significantly larger TV with surround sound?

[Reanimated]

Just another failed sony format in a long line of failed formats.

[Sl1pstream]

At least now they'll have as much game releases as they'll have movie releases.

[Scaryboy]

This gives my inner Nintendo fanboy a happy.

[Entropy Effect]

I think bundling DVD's with UMD's for maybe an additional $5 is a much better way to move these things.

Also, as a frequent traveller, if UMD movies were $9.99 I'd buy a ton of them as that's only a few dollars more than a new release rental anyway.

[Kamalot]

Cutting back on movies won't solve the problem or save the PSP. Increasing the number of quality GAMES is the solution to which Sony seems blind.

[ackbrack]

Isn't the whole point of the format the portability of it? Seems like an admission of failure if they need to find a way to make it less portable (viewable on a TV) to boost sales. Plus, there's the whole "isn't it easier to just get the DVD version of the movie and not have to worry about buying an adaptor" argument.

[Nite_Moogle]

Just another failed sony format in a long line of failed formats.
QFT
1234567

[Hignaki]

I'd buy more UMDs if they came packed with a DVD. They proved it could work in Japan, so why the fuck don't they do it here?! An extra $5 seems like it'd be the "sweet" spot for UMD+DVD packages.

[Kamalot]

I think this is a VERY interesting point the article makes.
Industryites say retailers are being flooded with new discs and view underperforming PSP movies as an area for cutbacks with upcoming high-def releases set to reach market in the coming months.

"With standard definition, HD DVD, Blu-ray and PSP, all these formats take up space," said one retail source. "Consumers aren't going to buy three or four configurations of the same movie. Something has to give."

So, the PS3, as a Bluray Trojan horse, may be killing the PSP as a movie player.

[GunnyMo]

I think one of the big problems with the UMD format is that UMD movies are so friggin expensive. Why would someone pay $25 to play a movie on his PSP when he could pay $10-$15 and play it on a significantly larger TV with surround sound?

100% correct! Our used UMDs at $9.99 sell like crazy. The new $24.99 don't move at all. UMDs should release at $14.99 or less and they will sell very well. The cost can't be that much on the tiny things.

[Discobob73]

100% correct! Our used UMDs at $9.99 sell like crazy. The new $24.99 don't move at all. UMDs should release at $14.99 or less and they will sell very well. The cost can't be that much on the tiny things.
I agree, UMDs are expensive! i'd buy some if the price was down. Also, I think 19.99 for Air Force One or Bad Boys 2 isn't fair at all.

[Borys]

Just another failed sony format in a long line of failed formats.

Just another failed Reanimated's troll...

...nah, you are right this time.

[Reanimated]

Just another failed Reanimated's troll...

...nah, you are right this time.





I'm always right. :cool:

[Cool AN]

Not really surprising, but I like that people now can't say that the PSP is turning into a movie player, that was annoying.

[Vandenh]

In this case he might be... the question is how long wil UMD last?

Maybe if they made an UMD slot on the PS3? Or maybe if some other devices support the format (like DVD players and/or airplane screens)?

I never believed in UMD.. I was shocked how much shops stock them? Blind fate in the Playstation name?

[Cool AN]

Just another failed sony format in a long line of failed formats.

Not really, the games have still been selling rather well, so it is more that the movie side of UMD's have failed.

[Derella]

They mentioned this on CNN this morning, citing that consumers just don't want another format.

[Dr Quincy]

If only somebody had seen the light in the early days and replaced the clunky UMD drive bay with an iPod-style hard disc. Games and movies could be downloaded through an iTunes-style online service with suitable DRM to ensure the system wasn't easily abused. That and an attractive cradle for charging and the PSP would have been a thing of perfection.

Oh and maybe half-decent cell phone quality predictive text input too.

[Kamalot]

If only somebody had seen the light in the early days and replaced the clunky UMD drive bay with an iPod-style hard disc. Games and movies could be downloaded through an iTunes-style online service with suitable DRM to ensure the system wasn't easily abused. That and an attractive cradle for charging and the PSP would have been a thing of perfection.

Oh and maybe half-decent cell phone quality predictive text input too.
Hear Hear!

I've been saying that since before the PSP launched!


Here's the secret to success...
http://kamalot.blogspot.com/2006/02/portable-movie-sales-dry-up.html

Make the PS3 a Recorder
The PS3 will come with the ability to playback DVDs. Why not embed the ability to copy the contents of a DVD to a Memory Stick for viewing on the PSP? Sony could control the fair-rights copyright within the PS3 and PSP since they create the hardware for both. They could enforce that your are only allowed to copy the DVD to a PSP a set number of times, much like iTunes handles digitally rights managed music.

If people could buy a DVD and use the PS3 to watch it on their TV as well as use it to copy the DVD to the PSP, people would see a greater value in both the PSP and the PS3. It would solve the problem consumers have with buying two copies of the same movie, an understandable complaint.

[Dr Quincy]

Physical media is becoming a thing of the past very rapidly it would seem. At least in terms of anything less practical than a hard disc or a flash drive.

[absolut taco]

Also, as a frequent traveller, if UMD movies were $9.99 I'd buy a ton of them as that's only a few dollars more than a new release rental anyway.
I wonder what they were thinking setting the price above $10. You get a low-res probably highly compressed movie that can only be played on a PSP. Do UMD discs come with extras and commentaries like their DVD counterparts?

[Yeti2005]

I have exactly two movie UMDs and one of them came with the system (Spiderman 2).

There are multiple problems with the format:
1. Too expensive (this is the #1 reason)
2. No one wants duplicate movies but fixing #1 might solve this a little
3. Portability; Who wants to carry around 3-4 UMDs when your buddy has some HD video player and he's got dozens of movies on them? I know the memory stick can hold movies but it's not nearly as cost effective as a HD.
4. I know space is an issue on the UMD but it sucks having few or no extras.

[AntB]

UMD movies are ripoffs. There is nothing stopping me from taking my DVD movie, ripping it to MP4 format and then putting it on my 2GB memory stick.

Just what I did with Serenity last night. Watched it on the Subway to work today. Will finish it on the way home.

They can bundle UMD movies all they want. I still wont buy them. When I'm on the go, I do not have the space to fit a UMD game and movie in my pockets, plus using the UMD drive burns battery out pretty quickly.

DVD/iTunes -> Memory Stick. Very convenient.


Make the PS3 a Recorder - Really great idea in theory, too bad Sony is too dumb and the Movie industry is too dumb to do it. They don't realize that forcing people to buy shit is profitable in the SHORT run, but not in the long run when people just get fed up and tired and are not buying any more copies of the same shit in different formats.

SONY UFIA.

[jacktion]

Making it able to play on tvs could be a big help. People would only need to buy a PSP to watch movies anywhere. No more dvds. No more PC streaming files. It would be a way to simplify things.

[Montolio]

News like this just reminds me to never doubt that Nintendo owns the handheld gaming space and that isn't likely to change anytime soon. Not that I needed the reminder heh. I have to give Sony their due though for taking them on...they just have a lot more work to do.

Microsoft is thinking of stepping into this?

Good luck.

[Reanimated]

I agree with the notion that something like iPod video is FAR better for watching movies/shows. Who the fuck wants to carry around a bunch of UMD's when you can have a bunch of shows and movies on a hard drive, thus enabling you to access all of this content without the hassle of disc swapping/hauling. Sony's desire for another cash cow has trumped their design sense. Eventually you can expect another version of PSP with a built in hard drive, but who knows what all kinds of DRM bullshit it'll have on it.

[Steve_Erhardt]

I think one of the big problems with the UMD format is that UMD movies are so friggin expensive. Why would someone pay $25 to play a movie on his PSP when he could pay $10-$15 and play it on a significantly larger TV with surround sound?
Exactly. I'd love to get some UMD movies for it, but the price is just completely out of whack. You pay the same or even more for a UMD than a regular DVD, that usually also comes with all the extras stuff. You have to have a level of income more condusive than what I've got to go that route.

The only UMD movies at a price point I'd be willing to pay, are shit I don't want. The stuff I'd want on UMD, I already have on DVD and/or I'm not willing to pay what they're asking for it.

It's far too simplistic for the reality of the situation, but they'd really be doing themselves a favor if they just looked at it like: smaller physical media = smaller price. I'd pay $10 for a UMD movie. $15 for a really good one. They'd probably do gangbusters at that kind of pricing.

[Captain Awesome]

Having games would help.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Not really surprising, but I like that people now can't say that the PSP is turning into a movie player, that was annoying.


Yeah, now it just doesn't play anything!

:D

[51|RandoM]

Just another failed Reanimated's troll...

...nah, you are right this time.

...except there isn't a long list of Sony failed formats. Sure, there are formats that didn't monopolize a given market, but they're still going strong in their niches. Is this just another aspect of the console war mentality? Anything other than a monopoly is a failure?

Lol, the descendants of beta are still being used worldwide(professionally).

UMD is actually pretty good for what it does, it is just that what it does isn't really what most people want. The number one complaint in this thread is about UMD's cost, not about any aspect of its performance as a portable media format. I'd bet that the real explanation for that high cost has little or nothing to do with cost to manufacture/duplicate the media.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I think the "failed formats" refers to Beta, MiniDisc, ATRAC, and now UMD. There might be more, but none of the above formats made/has made a very big splash, and all of them are unnecessary.

[xanthome]

I'd get some UMD movies if there were any worth watching!

Has blockbuster started renting them yet?

[Dirty Harry]

UMD movies are ripoffs. There is nothing stopping me from taking my DVD movie, ripping it to MP4 format and then putting it on my 2GB memory stick.

Just what I did with Serenity last night. Watched it on the Subway to work today. Will finish it on the way home.

They can bundle UMD movies all they want. I still wont buy them. When I'm on the go, I do not have the space to fit a UMD game and movie in my pockets, plus using the UMD drive burns battery out pretty quickly.

DVD/iTunes -> Memory Stick. Very convenient.


Make the PS3 a Recorder - Really great idea in theory, too bad Sony is too dumb and the Movie industry is too dumb to do it. They don't realize that forcing people to buy shit is profitable in the SHORT run, but not in the long run when people just get fed up and tired and are not buying any more copies of the same shit in different formats.

SONY UFIA.
To sum it up, your a fucking dreg on this society with your actions. I condone try before you buy and thats about it.

[Hizawky]

To sum it up, your a fucking dreg on this society with your actions. I condone try before you buy and thats about it.

I don't see any piracy in his post.

/manny the set painter

[Beelzebud]

I always wondered who actually wanted to watch movies an a 2 inch screen.

Apparently no one that earns a paycheck. :D

[johnperkins21]

I will never pay for a UMD movie on its own. I would pay up to (but absolutely no more than) $5 extra to get a DVD (or HD/Blu-Ray) and UMD combo pack. I just can not justify paying any more than $5 for a movie that I can burn to my memory stick before a trip anyway. I'd rather spend $200 in memory sticks to carry around and have access to burn any one of my many DVDs, than spend the $200 on 8 UMD movies. It's just completely retarded.

I can easily get 2 full lenght movies on a 1GB memory stick with a pretty good resolution. Sure it's not as nice looking as the UMD, but on such a small screen, it works pretty well and eats up less battery life. I love my PSP, but I would never buy a UMD version of a movie over the DVD.

[benig]

I kinda like UMDs once they're like, in my hands playing. They're a quality format when you want to sit there and watch a movie on the go. It's just got such a huge barrier to entry.

[GrinR]

To sum it up, your a fucking dreg on this society with your actions. I condone try before you buy and thats about it.

I don't see any piracy either. And not that I condone that sort of behavior, but it's pretty stupid to try to compete with free.

[JazGalaxy]

Cutting back on movies won't solve the problem or save the PSP. Increasing the number of quality GAMES is the solution to which Sony seems blind.

Well... sony isn't, and has never been, about games. They're about "the big picture" which I, and I think a few other games, do not want. I want my game console to play games. I don't want it to scratch my back and cook me lunch.

[johnperkins21]

Well... sony isn't, and has never been, about games. They're about "the big picture" which I, and I think a few other games, do not want. I want my game console to play games. I don't want it to scratch my back and cook me lunch.

Neither do I. But if it could scratch my nuts and cook me breakfast, that would be awesome!

[31 Flavas]

I think the "failed formats" refers to Beta, MiniDisc, ATRAC, and now UMD. There might be more, but none of the above formats made/has made a very big splash, and all of them are unnecessary.Anyone know what the hell ATRAC stands for anyway?

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Anyone know what the hell ATRAC stands for anyway?


Absolutely Totally Really Asstastically Construed

[Sl1pstream]

Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATRAC

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATRAC

No, I really like my acronym more.

[Sl1pstream]

You could just edit the wiki article.

Sure, it might upset some people, but let's be honest, what's wrong with a little anger once in a while?

[TKO]

I really don't get the anyone's support of UMD, for the discs or the games. On a portable it just equals battery-suckage (compared to other formats.) That combined with the yet-another-bl--dy-format syndrome and price makes it hard to see how anyone, even detatched exec-types, cound think UMD the way for a new portable.

They should have just stuck with their memory sticks (which I almost like, despite the proprietariness) or sumthink and done some funky readable-to-PSP's-only version for gaming. Maybe even write-able, so ya can walk into the store, purchase a game, and look around for a couple of minutes while it downloads over the wireless ..or people can purchase thru a PC (proxy) or the PSP itself online.

Though I can understand why they haven't followed a media-less (or any other intelligent) path. With Sonys interests in movies and music I can see how the various suits could prevent any (obviously evil) media-less solutions. *sigh*

[absolut taco]

Neither do I. But if it could scratch my nuts and cook me breakfast, that would be awesome!
So your privates are itching? Maybe next Valentine's you should invest a little more in your hookers.

[LilAbner]

I agree with the notion that something like iPod video is FAR better for watching movies/shows. Who the fuck wants to carry around a bunch of UMD's when you can have a bunch of shows and movies on a hard drive, thus enabling you to access all of this content without the hassle of disc swapping/hauling. Sony's desire for another cash cow has trumped their design sense. Eventually you can expect another version of PSP with a built in hard drive, but who knows what all kinds of DRM bullshit it'll have on it.

Great points, except you're missing one crucial point: PSP is widescreen, iPod video is not. Both screens are gorgeous, however.

[LilAbner]

I'd get some UMD movies if there were any worth watching!

Has blockbuster started renting them yet?

Dunno, but Gamefly rents 'em, which is nice.

[Kamalot]

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/68/411/320/UMD_Dry.jpg (http://kamalot.blogspot.com/2006/02/portable-movie-sales-dry-up.html)

Here you go.

Click (http://kamalot.blogspot.com/2006/02/portable-movie-sales-dry-up.html)

[Paranoia]

Sony recently announced it would start bundling some DVD and UMD titles, including "The Grudge," "Underworld""Underworld" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," in combo packs priced at $28.95, slightly higher than for DVDs alone.


So bundled DVD+UMD will cost slightly higher than standalone DVD. Yet when you buy a standalone UMD movie it still costs higher than standalone DVD. What gives?