PSP: UMD movie price info
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Feb 15th 2005 at 4:44PM }
Sony recently announced that it would begin introducing a small number of movies in UMD format come April. However, they failed to offer a price quote. Well, guess what? We've now got that price quote:
3,800-3,900 yen (roughly $36-38)
This is basically the same cost of DVDs (in Japan), which are typically cheaper in the states. So we can assume that UMD prices will reflect a given region's DVD prices. Still, $20 to watch RE2: Apocalypse on a 4-inch screen with subway commuters lurking over my shoulder seems a bit steep…
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Wow. They should just give up on that.
Who is going to buy a UMD movie for that price?
They should have thought this one through more, that's for shizzy.
Cory @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
I wouldn't even pay $20 for some proprietary format that can't be used anywhere else. Plus, will the UMD's come with all the same extras as a DVD? Doubtful. Everything about the PSP seems to scream, "In a year, I will make you regret your choice." Sure, the PSP will sell well in the beginning months as all the flash and filagree wow people; but, once they get over the initial hypnotizing, they will realize that the PSP has sacrificed so much quality in favor of being able to "do" more.
Ben @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
I don't think that many movies are going to sell well at that price.
Still though, the system will be a huge success. Having played the games on PSP, I can assure you that this system is the best when it comes to games.
My guess is that when the user base get to the 5 million point, we will probably start hearing about UMD recorders. Sony would not be wise to ignore making many $ by selling UMD recorders and blank discs.
SetupWeasel @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
If Sony wants this UMD movie thing to take off, they need players other than the PSP to support it. They should have opened up the UMD format when they announced it in 2003. Now it's probably too late to convince companies to bring similar devices to market.
Even if there were other players, that price is pretty steep. Someone suggested including a UMD copy with a DVD purchase, and that would work given the fact optical media is so cheap to make. Or how about an extra 3-5 dollars when you purchase a DVD for a UMD copy.
Regardless, if Sony wanted people to buy their PSP for the UMD movie feature, they needed to put more effort into it.
boris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Helll YAAH! Sony's got a new toy they're banking on... and they've got a new propriertary format to try and get people to buy... The smart thing to do is sell them cheap... Better yet, bundle the Sony Entertainment-owned DVDs with UMDs for a few bucks more... You have to make it a no-brainer for me to buy the movie on such a specialized format... With no TV out, for the PSP why would i spend 20 bucks TWICE on a movie, no matter how much i like it? (Unless I'm filthy rich and I don't care about wasting money)
Blue Balloon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Will it come with tiny subtitle or closed caption? (T_T)
Wobble @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
I don't have a clue as to what Sony is thinking, neither do they it seems. Charging the same price for a UMD as a DVD is madness. Look I really like my PSP, but Sony has to be kidding themselves if they think there is a chance I would ever buy a UMD movie for more than $10.
I like the idea of bundling in a UMD along with the DVD version, that is most likely the only way I would ever buy a UMD based movie. Hopefully Sony gets the hint when DVD prices on UMDs goes over like a lead balloon.
As for UMD recorders I doubt we will ever see them. One of the reasons for Sony developing the UMD was so that they could have a "secure" format. I just don't see them giving up that control to make a few bucks on the recorders (and in the process lossing a ton of money on games alone to piracy).
@#2
I don't see what the PSP is giving up in order to play movies. The gaming side certainly isn't suffering because of video/movie playback ability.
ill trooper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
They will not bundle movies with both formats.
That would allow one person, only interested in the DVD, to give a UMD copy of the movie away for free to someone else with a PSP.
Won't happen.
If they do realease movies on the PSP, I think it will probably be selected films that will appeal to the target market of the PSP: comedy, action or superhero movies that Sony owns, like Spiderman for instance. Maybe something like Lord of the Rings or The Matrix - but not every movie that you see released on DVD, certainly NOT the kind of movie that don't appeal to the average PSP owner, the 18-30 year-old male with disposable income to spend on such devices.
It sounds to me like it would be like the DVD-Audio format, where remastered versions of definite-sell albums like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Eagle's Greatest Hits, Stevie Wonder, etc. are available.
Chris Norman @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
I can see this going over better in Japan than here, where they like their semi-obsolete formats just fine (i.e. Minidisc).
Again, I can't see this being a financially sound decision for Sony at all unless they plan on releasing a specialized playback device that allows for UMD movie playback and connects to a television. They need to broaden the audience beyond gamers for this to be viable at all.
Of course, I'm sure they're not losing too much money, since thus far they own the distribution rights for all of the movies being released, and it helps establish the PSP in the marketplace as an all-in-one media device.
However, when the next Game Boy comes out in a few months time, should it happen to play discs in a similar format to the Revolution, Sony amy find themselves roundly screwed.
Sony is not unknown for tossing money at off-kilter ideas, or splintering their market (remember their set-top box?), so this may be a non-starter or a specialist item from launch (i.e. - not sold in retail stores, but instead online for early adopters or the self-important to show off their fancy screen).
Kamalot @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Who would want a set-top player to play UMDs on your Big Screen TV? The quality of UMDs are total crap compared to that of a DVD which itself is nowhere near the quality of HDTV.
The PSP resolution is almost exactly that of a VHS tape.
PSP UMD Video Resolution = 480 x 272
VHS Video Resolution = 486 x 240
Why would anyone want to buy a VHS instead of a DVD?
Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Chris Norman: The GameBoy isn't coming out in a few months.
Wasim @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
You are better off with a PDA - there is an HP model with a 4 inch screen. Also there is a risk of someone getting mugged who has a PSP because it attracts a lot of attention.
I'm waiting for the next GameBoy - I know it will probably be a couple of years. I am hoping that Nintendo may surprise us and release it alongside the Revolution.
Chris Norman @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Luke,
I do recall Nintendo indicating that the device was in development parallel to the DS, and that the new Game Boy would be the system that links up with the Revolution, not the DS.
I'm not a gambling man, but I would bet that Nintendo is holding this new device as their 'Ace up the sleeve', but don't want to dilute the market for the DS before it even gets legs.
Kamalot @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
PDAs make much better multimedia devices than the PSP. Movies are free to encode from DVDs you already own, not $36.
Music capabilities are much more robust and cheaper since you can use SD or Compact Flash cards instead of the wildly overpriced Memory Sticks.
PDAs have wireless features such as Wi-Fi or cell-phones to allow you to stream music from the Internet. Try listening to Digitally Imported on your Treo for a Treat.
Also, PDAs have Emulators. You can play classic games on the road without having to lug around your Genesis and TV.
Cory @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Not to mention that the DS and Gameboy can play movies via the Play-Yan (soon to be released in the US), and that uses the non-proprietary, very cheap and easy to find SD cards. We all probably have a few of those laying around, and can take ANY DVD we already own and put it on the SD card for viewing on the DS or Gameboy.
That is something Sony and the PSP can't say, even if Sony did the movie playback via the Memory Stick.
Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
Cris Norman: Yeah, you may be right. Although my personal opinion is that if Nintendo launches the GBE anytime soon (espcially "in the next few months") then that will have a HUGE backfire. DS people will be like "um, okay". But you may be right of course. And I am probably wrong of course. Either way, I am sure we will start hearing about it soon, one way or the other.
Kamalot: Damn man, I was really getting tired of lugging my genesis and tv around. Thanks for the tip yo!
Wobble @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
I don't know about you but I don't happen to have any SD cards laying around that are large enough to even think about encoding video to them, even in the reduced resolution of the Play-Yan.
If you think the PSP is poor at video playback then the Play-Yan is even more so (regardless of its support for open standard SD cards). 320x240 Vs 240x160 tells about all of the story you would want to know, although I guess that could spun as a positive for the Play-Yan since the files would be smaller =). Not to mention the fact that a wide screen movie on the the Play-Yan would be tiny (for 16:9 the Play-Yan would max out at 240x135, while the PSP can display it stretched to 480x272 or 320x180 non-stretched).
Robert @ Dec 18th 2005 9:58PM
i was at my local target yesterday and the psp release of the hidden dager or whatever movie was 13.95 if i remember correctly. that isn't way to over priced, but i still think that since most movies offer widscreen or ful screen seperately they could offer a set with a UMD included. sony doesn't care if i buy the set and give my friend the UMD copy they still get their money one way or the other.