February 17, 2006
Sony Cutting Back on UMD Movies for PSP
I have said it right from the first day that the PSP went public. The general movie fan does not want to watch movies on a small hand held device. Yet all the industry people were talking about was how Sony PSP was going to revolutionize how people watched films. There were wild and outrageous predictions that UMD films would rival DVDs in sales. All the while I said "NONSENSE!" (I'm such an arrogant prick aren't I?)
Well guess what boys and girls, with sales falling way below expectations, Sony has now announced that they're actually cutting back on the number of movies that will be released on UMD for the PSP and a bunch of films that already had released dates announced have been axed. The good folks over at Variety give us this:
While comedies that appeal to the core young male gamer demo are doing well, execs say other PSP movies simply aren't selling.Yeah, no kidding Sherlock.
Watching movies on a hand held is a novelty at best. It was doomed to never be a legitimate movie format, and now that all the initial hype has passed, all that's left is the cold hard truth. UMD's don't sell. Yes, it will always have a novelty factor, and there will always be a limited interest in the format... but that's about the extent of it.
Posted by John Campea at February 17, 2006 12:21 PM
Comments
Posted by: ChrisP at February 17, 2006 12:47 PM
This is interesting because I thought I read somewhere not too long ago that UMD movies were all anyone was actually buying for the PSP... because there sure aren't that many games out for it yet.
Still, I'm surprised they've even sold as well as they have so far. I would think that if you have a choice to buy a movie on DVD or UMD you're going to choose DVD... and I doubt many people want to buy the same movie twice. It just doesn't make sense to watch movies on your PSP.
At least with the iPod video you have a lot of storage space to download videos for free (or cheap prices) or rip movies that you already have.
Posted by: Sean at February 17, 2006 01:18 PM
One of the biggest problems with the UMD/PSP format is all too obvious: there can be more content on DVDs, the aspect ratio for 1:85 and 2:35/40 is all equal at 1:77. This means that there is a good percentage of a film that is cropped off. The cost for UMD/PSP is about the same for DVDs.
Not much more to think about.
Posted by: darren seeley at February 17, 2006 01:24 PM
Exactly. I'm a PSP owner and I love the device, but I'm not going to watch movies on it. It's a hand held gaming device first and foremost. The only time I will ever buy a UMD is if each one is about $5.00 each. Otherwise, I'm still buying DVD's.
Posted by: Jose at February 17, 2006 05:02 PM
I think you're jumping to the wrong conclusion here. It's not that people don't want to watch video on a portable device. Look at iTunes, they've sold over 12 million videos already. It's just that people don't want to pay the same price as a DVD for something they can only view on their portable device. Especially when they can rip the DVD and copy it to a portable device and have the option of watching it wherever and whenever they want.
Posted by: hardcle at February 17, 2006 07:27 PM
Whats the point of watching a movie on a small tiny screen? Jebus Christ on a bike, when I watch a movie I want it on a HUGE screen with surround sound blowing me away. I know someone who has a psp and he was watching HellBoy and I could not understand how someone could what it on that screen. I hate UMD and to be honest I'm not liking the sound of HDVD or BLUERAY either. Maybe in 10 years bring out HDVD and all that crap. I mean DVD's have only been out for about 7 years now. Then with BLUERAY and HDVD everything will be confusing.
Posted by: Wolf at February 18, 2006 11:20 AM
guys...
I love watching films on my PSP - I make no apologies for it. With headphones and the crystal clear widescreen it delivers a very different but very satisfying movie experience. I've noticed little details that I hadn't picked up on the big screen - it kind of gives you a 'macro' overview of the film.
If you read the latest news coming out of Sony - they have begun production of double packs - DVD + UMD for $2 above the regular DVD price... double your pleasure!!
Finally the announcement that the PSP will get a TV hookup means that a UMD will be viewable on your TV / projector and the player will fit in you pocket which will be handy.
Everybody to their own I say but as of all the best experiences in life "don't knock it till you've tried it!!"
peace
DM
Posted by: Matt Adcock at February 19, 2006 04:13 AM
If they package a UMD with a DVD like Matt stated, then I'm all for it.
Posted by: ChrisP at February 19, 2006 08:41 AM
I own a PSP and I can't recall a single time that I wanted to buy a UMD movie. I want a big screen, not a small screen. However, I'd pay for watching television shows on it, if the price is good.