Target discontinues UMD movies
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Jul 12th 2006 at 10:15PM }
With dwindling Hollywood support and anemic sales dragging it down already, the UMD format is unlikely to be pleased by news that all Target stores will cease selling films stored on the proprietary PSP format. Though UMD games are quite safe, this latest move is likely to cast further doubt on the format's viability in the realm of movies. Those looking to place blame will likely find some good targets in the pricing of the discs, the general lack of bonus features compared to their DVD counterparts and the fact that for Universal Media Discs, they aren''t very "universal" at all. One retailer's move is hardly a death knell for UMD movies, but perhaps the PSP would be better off by forgetting Hollywood and shoving its solid games library (which has made great strides in the last few months) back into the spotlight. Of course, those already enamored by portable movies should probably rush to their nearest Target before the shelves are empty and the format forgotten. Here are some of the titles you might want to remember it by (all chosen at random, of course):
- Cheaper by the Dozen
- Crash
- Cruel Intentions
- Cursed
- Doom
- Dumb and Dumber
- Gone in 60 Seconds
- Never Die Alone
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
The ZeroCorpse @ Jul 12th 2006 10:34PM
Yeah. This REALLY instills confidence in the Blu-Ray format.
nick @ Jul 12th 2006 10:39PM
Cool. Now Target just needs to move the entire PSP display to where the DS is – the second row (the gaming ghetto, I guess? ha!) – and put the DS up front, proud and tall. It's only fair, innit?
rhork. @ Jul 12th 2006 10:40PM
Didn't logic alone cast doubt on the umd's viability in the realm of movies? ... At least at the price they were charging for them. Same price as a dvd, but exclusive to a handheld.
Anyway, it was simply a matter of time before retailers started pulling the umds.... Now, how long before walmart buries their collection in the dessert and sony retreats- shoving the umd under the rug right next to betamax and putting focus on world domination through the blu ray alone.
ipodfanboy @ Jul 12th 2006 10:49PM
Lol this is a bad sign for the psp. First Walmart started to pull UMDS from its stores and now Target is now pulling off UMDS from its store. Thats two wholesale stores pulling UMDs off its shelves. I guess soon KMart will follow and start pulling umds off its shelves. Surprisngly were i live the Bronx, UMD movies sell more then the Ds SOFTWARE according to the gamestop were i live at, freaking new yorkers and thier psps. I cant wait to many stores up here in nyc start putting DS game shelves up front and psp titles in the back. The only savior for the psp right now is the source megazine mtv bet and other hip hop oriented media outlets.
idioteraser @ Jul 12th 2006 10:59PM
Didn't Sony say the UMD movies sold more then the PSP games?
LOBO Rodas @ Jul 12th 2006 10:59PM
psp, die already!!!!!!!!!!!!!
skyrous @ Jul 12th 2006 11:02PM
Sony looks around and sees all these other electronics companies make vast fortunes in royalties by controlling the standardized formats. And they try so hard to get in on the action but they are forever shooting themselves in the foot with their idiotic restrictions. Why call it a universal disk when only one piece of electronics is compatible?
And can someone please explain to me why blu-ray's going to succeed? And don't give me that "7th time is the charm" crap because it isn't true. And don't give me that "it's looks better than DVD" excuse because it won't unless you've spent at least a couple grand on a new TV in the last 2 years.
Joseph Villalobos @ Jul 12th 2006 11:09PM
I'm not surprised at all.
John Q. @ Jul 12th 2006 11:13PM
Raise your hand if you were surprised by this. That's what I thought.
Realistically, there was no way the UMD format could do well the way it was supported by Sony. Readable by one device only? No blank or rewritable forms? That's shooting yourself in the foot if you're going for a stable and widely used format.
Couple that with the rather anemic rates the PSP has been selling outside the US (perhaps unfairly, as the library has been picking up), and this should come as no surprise, even to Ken "Gaming Ghetto" Kutaragi.
Zell @ Jul 12th 2006 11:35PM
My faith has been somewhat restored in mankind, I was losing heart. There are still people out there left with common sense. People who did the math and realized paying that much for a movie you can't play on any other machine doesn't make much sense when you could buy a DVD at the same price or cheaper.
ipodfanboy:
UMDs are a great way to show off to your friends. UMDs are the new Timberlands.
Dux @ Jul 12th 2006 11:35PM
Well Blue-Ray technically is better than HD-DVD in specs, and Ive herd that Blue-Ray discs will still play no mateer how scratched the disc is. The reason why I would see Blue-Ray failing is because its expensive.
ancil @ Jul 12th 2006 11:49PM
I sent this story in, oh well
Anyway, I'm surprised wal-mart hasn't done the same yet, but maybe target will be an example for other retailers to follow suit.
Doc P @ Jul 12th 2006 11:51PM
Is the only source for the linked article a Target employee? If so then I will wait for confirmation from the higher ups.
idioteraser @ Jul 12th 2006 11:54PM
Actually from what I have seen a number of Walmarts are reduing their shelf space for UMDS or combining it with the psp shelves. They are expanding the DS shelf space.
nick @ Jul 12th 2006 11:57PM
Walmart is the #1 seller of DVD movies, and Target is #2. I seem to recall Walmart quietly ceasing sales of UMD movies, and now Target is doing the same. These aren't the only retailers which have dropped the format...there have been others.
But what is important, is that the two biggest sellers of disc-based movies in the U.S. have stopped selling movies in the UMD format. That's huge.
And it's a sign of the beginning of the end.
But was this not inevitable? You introduce a new format, which nobody was requesting. You limit what it can do. You charge a premium for the product. You don't market it well. And you limit yourself to playback on only one system.
Nick @ Jul 13th 2006 12:02AM
I work at target, we still have them, but they havn't been on our shelves for weeks, Im the only guy there that lets people know we have them,
Bob @ Jul 13th 2006 12:06AM
It's funny. I own a DS and have yet to purchase a PSP and the fact that the PSP is struggling has me concerned. The DS has become fantastic. I play it more than all of my systems combined. I can't help but equate this incredible surge of quality (beyond what I expect of Nintendo, which is pretty damn high) to the fact that Nintendo had it's back to the wall on DS's first year of existence with people calling the DS a folly and Nintendo's last stand before Sony steam rolls them over. In response we've gotten the best Mario Kart to date, finally a new classic 2d Mario, Metroid: Darker, More Realistic and in a First Person Perspective, Animal Xing with the online the game demanded. In a world without the PSP would we of continued getting crappy tech demos presented as games like Yoshi's Touch and Go? Probably.
If the PSP goes down the DS will too... Just only figuratively.
AK @ Jul 13th 2006 12:30AM
That means clearance UMD's.
1st 30%, then 50%, 75%, then 90%.
Coco @ Jul 13th 2006 12:36AM
They fell of just like MD's which are basically the same concept just a diffrent casing, space, and and U in front. Size is the same though
Alex K. @ Jul 13th 2006 12:43AM
"PSP will elevate portable entertainment out of the handheld gaming ghetto"
...and take it directly into the failed Sony formats whore house.
Todd Rabanus @ Jul 13th 2006 12:50AM
Seriously though the PSP is crap! What is all of this talk about games on the PSP. All I've seen (and played) is sub-par ports and uninteresting games (unlike the ones I have played on my friend's DS). And I have never bought a UMD. I just don't see the reason behind watching a movie on a 4" screen as opposed to watching it on a 21" screen (this is the lowest screen size in my house, I do have a 52" HDTV).
UMD may have taken off if it could be burned to. Transfering your DVDS to UMD to watch on the road may have been a slight(but otherwise unaffectable) hit.
But once again how many people watch a movie on their PSP?
What should've been added is the ability to watch a movie from a flash device. Come on. It's 2006 (almost 2007) where's AVI and MP4 playback? If i could change movies on a flashable drive when I wanted to and watch it on my PSP then that would totally be cool.
Well I have been recently considering trading in my PSP for a DS lately (mostly because of Brain Age and New Super Mario Bros.). Not that this article has anything to do with it but the games are alot more original and compelling.
Come on give me a freakin star!
Kent Houseman @ Jul 13th 2006 1:38AM
At this point barring anything short of a revolutionary game the PSP days are number. It doesn't sell nearly as well as the DS in Japan which will eventually make Japanese developers and publishers (if they haven't already) look at the benefits to develop a game for the PSP not worth the cost.
This is different from the console markets. They wanted to leap frog the DS in graphics but at the same time developers can't exactly easily port a game from one system to the other if at all. So if you were a game developer and you had to choose one portable system to develop for would you choose the PSP? Which would be expensive to develop for? Or the DS? This one is cheaper to develop for and will has a LOT larger user base (aka more potential buyers) than the PSP. If it doesn't quite yet (i don't have any up-to-date US numbers, do you?) then it will.
The ZeroCorpse @ Jul 13th 2006 1:43AM
Yeah! Give him a freaking star! That was a decent post!
Anyway... I was watching a betamax video, and I was thinking "Hey, I wonder if the soundtrack is out on MiniDisc, or if I should just buy the Sony copy-protected audio disc, Super Audio CD, or Multi-Media Compact Disc, and try to find a way around it so I can rip it to some Music Clip/ATRAC files that I would then store on my HiFD or a Memory Stick. I wondered if the movie's soundtrack was in Sony Dynamic Digital Sound, but it was in Dolby instead. Then I realized I needed a new copy of the movie, and nowI must debate between UMD and Blu-Ray.
If only I knew if any of these formats would be around next year...
olhado @ Jul 13th 2006 1:44AM
Cool. I work at Target and haven't heard anything about this, but then again I'm not in electronics (cashier sucks). Nice to get rid of them, they're worthless.
GameDeals.ca @ Jul 13th 2006 1:46AM
Like all competitors before it, the PSP will fall to the might that is Nintendo DS. The Atari Lynx jokingly said "Game over Gameboy", the Game Gear fought hard, even the TG16 handheld was remarkable... but Nintendo still prevails, and will continue to do so. Sony shot themselves in the foot with the UMD movie fiasco and firmware updates, not to mention poor game library. This next generation of consoles/handhelds will mark the return of Nintendo to the industry leader position, and while Microsoft & Sony battle for market share, I predict this will be the last generation we see for the Xbox/Playstation franchises (maybe someone should call Sega).
John Doe @ Jul 13th 2006 2:05AM
Yah Todd. I hear you. It’s a pain in the ass but I so enjoy taking my 52" TV with me on the light rail. There is nothing more satisfying as a 52" screen while I sit there waiting for my exit. Idiot. Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe there is a market for movies outside the home? And please don’t tell me about portable DVD players. The dang things may as well be a 15” laptop for the weight and size that they are. Sony had the right idea but piss poor execution. There was/is simply no way for the UMD to survive what with ripping software so prevalent.
JJ @ Jul 13th 2006 3:25AM
I feel the reason for the failure of UMD's is it only worked on ONE device, at least with Bluray and HDVD according to the prices i saw at walmart, aren't more expensive than DVD's and if they are its only by 5 bucks 24.88 compared to 19.96 for some things but for the most part all the HDDVD and Bluray movies i saw were 19.99. So i dont think one will fail...yet.
I foresaw PSP UMD movies failing MONTHS ago, thats what happens when you have a format that can ONLY be used on one device, makes it kind of pointless unless the discs are cheap (like 10 bucks or so) otherwise its not worth paying DVD prices which have more utility. Sony could have done SO much more with UMD but they failed in that remark by not pushing it right.
At least with Blueray and HDDVD you have major production studios backing it because They WANT the formats to succeed because thats were they make money.
Evan @ Jul 13th 2006 3:30AM
I think this is a good sign for all those who own a PSP (me included). Mabye if Sony scraps UMD movies we will FINALLY have access to full resolution (480x272) video playback capabilities (without using homebrew).
kevinski @ Jul 13th 2006 4:45AM
This actually happened a week or two ago. I work at Target, and I'm glad to see them go. Very few people actually purchased UMD's; they were typically stolen or simply sat on the shelves, collecting dust.
Amanda @ Jul 13th 2006 7:18AM
Honestly, if I know Sony, just another retailer not carrying their product will not mean they are "scrapping the UMDs". Sony is not one to let their format die that easily, nor have they been a company that seems to know when it's been beaten (which has proved some of us critics wrong once in a while).
On a side note, my husband has a PSP, but we both have DS's...and the DS games get played so much more! Out of the last fifteen games I've purchased, fourteen of them have been for my DS (with Kingdom Hearts II rounding out the list). The only games either of us play are Lumines, Untold Legends, and Infected, in all honesty. I just can't justify spending $40 or $50 for a port of an old PlayStation game or the eleventh game in a series. For example, I definitely wanted to get the Katamari game for the PSP...but at twice the cost of the original game, why bother? I'll wait till more things like this happen and the game either goes "greatest hits" or is clearanced out. I worked at Circuit City through that all important holiday season last year, my husband worked at Best Buy (I know, competition) and we both witnessed the DS outselling the PSP over 2 to 1, and that isn't including the Game Boy SPs that were bought in DROVES, especially the day after Thanksgiving. The PSP, honestly, sold about as good as the Game Boy Micro...for what that's worth.
Sony, I hope that you've learned something from this, and get back to making consoles and handhelds that, ya know, play games. What a novel idea.
Anonymous Rep @ Jul 13th 2006 7:49AM
John Doe - Um, let's see - my portable DVD player weighs in at 2 lbs, and is 8" x 8" x 1" - yeah, that sounds like a laptop.
Of course, when I travel, I tend to take a different form of portable entertainment device - a paperback book! Ever heard of one of those? (Ever learned to read?)
Jdoki @ Jul 13th 2006 7:53AM
Quote: '...and shoving its solid games library (which has made great strides in the last few months) back into the spotlight'.
I must have missed something. Until Loco Roco came out my PSP had been gathering dust for a while...
And anyone who trots out 'Liberty City Stories' as a well developed game for a portable games machine needs their head examined.
The only other title of note has been Daxter - but that got old fast. I'd rather break out any of the old Jak titles rather than trudge through a watered down version of a great gaming series in Daxter.
Seriously... where are these solid PSP games???
Pedro @ Jul 13th 2006 7:57AM
Something for the ms bitches and nintendo babies to ramble on about. Can't wait for npd june numbers to see the PS2 still kicking nintendo and ms asses.
n8dogg @ Jul 13th 2006 8:50AM
Anyone who asks for a star should be in contention for one being taken away. Self-righteous asshole.
DG @ Jul 13th 2006 9:05AM
When I was a kid, we would all go to my friend Rory's house for sleepovers, because his mom let us swear and watch TV all night.
Inbetween Nintendo sessions and watching Police Academy II, we had the idea to watch the old episodes of ALF he had on tape -- actually, Betamax. I didn't get it. He had a VCR, why bother with this other stupid tape player?
Of course, the only videos he had on Betamax were the ALF episodes, and that was set up on its own dedicated small, black and white TV. It was still a good show, but we mostly spent the whole time wishing he had taped ALF onto VHS instead.
The lesson here, Sony, is that no one likes you.
Anticrawl @ Jul 13th 2006 9:11AM
I don't know what in god's name you people are talking about. New releases on DVDs here at regular retail stores haven't broke the 20 dollar price barrier in a long while, with the exception of TV series(which have recently stopped charging 54.99 and 64.99 and started costing around 28.99). Now a UMD of a movie that came out 10-ish years ago (Office Space for example) with no special features costs $24.99 or $29.99(at Best Buy, crazy bastards). That was the last time I bothered checking. Now I can get Office Space with Flare for 9.99 at walmart or the original Office Space for 6 dollars on DVD. So when you see a $9.99 DVD with bonus features vs a $24.99 UMD that you'll hardly use what do you pick? Well I know what I would. Honestly I would love to have some movies on my psp on discs, that would be fantastic and I would actually get some use out of my psp. But by god I refuse to pay over 20 dollars unless it's an entire season of Family Guy!
Anticrawl
andrew @ Jul 13th 2006 9:48AM
There are programs that take dvds to psp so why would anyone buy umds when you can just convert cheaper dvds
kelekod @ Jul 13th 2006 9:53AM
Pedro - how about seeing the jan 1st numbers? Wii outselling PS3 and 360. It'll be like
PS3 - X units sold = $x,000..
Wii - 2X units sold = $x,000.. (same money as PS3)
then the profits show...
Sony -$x,000,000..
Nintendo +$X,000,000..
Those PSP movies are just as worthless as the VHS movies.
Then also in Jan besides the report we'll get awesome posts like "Amazon stops selling PSP movies" and people will be saying the same thing now. Also in Jan, it'll be Year of the Wii, outselling PS3 everywhere. Then in June Sony admits defeat and PSP and PS3 are defeated.
Zing!
Baboon @ Jul 13th 2006 10:20AM
I don't know about Microsoft not being present in the generation after the next upcoming one (Something huge would have to happen to cause that, like all windows users suddenly switching to Lynix), but depending on how the PS3 does, I am a bit worried about Sony existing at all, much less putting out a console. They have not been doing so well in the past few years in almost every department but the PS (at least profits wise) and are really banking on Blu-ray being able to pull them out of the lions den. If their format doesn't take off this time, they may need to do some SERIOUS damage control.
And please, while you may deserve a star, don’t ask for one. Wait and get one when they decide to bestow one upon you like the rest of us. You may be frustrated, but it comes across as a bit pompous and presumptuous.
striderhayasa @ Jul 13th 2006 10:20AM
@ John Doe
Actually there are some very small/compact portable DVD players on teh market that are loaded with some interesting features. I just saw a great model at the local FYE in the Gallery here in Philadelphia. I'm sorry I don't have the exact specs but it was a lot smaller than a laptop.
@ Pedro
Still spreading the joy. Sites like joystiq wouldn't be the same without people like you. *
Now, I figured UMD movies were the biggest blunder Sony could have done with the PSP. The day I found out people were copying movies to Mem stick was the day it became even moreso. The fact that UMD movies were selling more than the games sounds like the PS2 launch when the best selling title for the PS2 was The MAtrix. Good riddance I says, another entry into the media format hall of shame.
@ Alex
"PSP will elevate portable entertainment out of the handheld gaming ghetto"
...and take it directly into the failed Sony formats whore house.
That's hilarious and so true.
@ Gamedeals.ca
I loved the Turbo Express. It was expensive, the screen was a bit dark sometimes and the battery life was suspect but it let you play your console games on the go. I used to love the tubrochip cards. Small, Compact, easy to carry and you could take them from the console straight to the portable.
rudimentalist @ Jul 13th 2006 10:21AM
You can rip your DVDs and convert the video to play directly from the memory stick. Does Sony expect people not to do that? When all such an intuitive person would have to do is search "psp video" in Google and get a converter that's totally free and easy as hell? But surely they'd rather buy 3 or 4 UMD's instead of a memory stick they could dump whatever movies on they want to. Again and again. Countless movies. Maybe the target market for UMD's is the people who don't have home PCs to manage their media? Which I'm sure are exactly the people who are buying a portable gaming system.
Philip Wesley @ Jul 13th 2006 10:33AM
That last bit.. with the titles... *tearful salute* Ah. PSP dissing is an artform. Oh, yes it is.
Although lately it's been getting too easy. :-( Maybe they should name the PSP's successor something embarassingly weird.. like "Wii" or "PooS".
Will @ Jul 13th 2006 10:34AM
@ #29
be glad you didnt get PSP katamari, without 2 analog sticks the game looses every bit of enjoyment I got out of the last two.
SymetriX @ Jul 13th 2006 10:38AM
Worlds most expensive emulator
Anticrawl @ Jul 13th 2006 11:00AM
kelekod, even though your basic and absurd logic may be true, and it could very well be, the fact of the matter is that you are forgetting one key thing. Revenue is entirely different from profit. While the amount of money spent on the consoles could turn out the same, the amount each company makes, profit or percent profit is going to be entirely different. At launch Sony will no doubt be selling the PS3 at a loss while Nintendo will be making a profit on each console sold.
Anyway I don't feel like discussing anymore on the matter,
Anticrawl
nick @ Jul 13th 2006 11:13AM
Regarding the comment about not breaking the $20 barrier on new movies...
I've seen it on multiple occassions at Frys, Best Buy and Circuit City, but only during the first week of the movie's release. Basically they have the full retail cost listed on the video, but then there's an additional discount applied at the register. There usually some sort of temporary price posted somewhere near the video.
There is a minimum suggested price from all the studios, but retailers can and do break that pricing all the time, usually during that first week. But to receive ad dollars, they can't advertise the price. This is done usually to bring traffic in, hoping to generate other sales.
O'Neill @ Jul 13th 2006 12:31PM
Another of Sony's format that is on the verge of dying. Poor Sony, all these formats like BetaMax, MiniDisk, now UMD(I knew it from the start that it will fail) never succeeded because they want there own formats. They will never bow to unify to become standard as others. No, they want to be unique, blah blah. They still can not understand that.
I don't even want to talk about Blue-ray....ohh boy....next BetaMax.....
No, thx Sony....not interested.
O'Neill::
kelekod @ Jul 13th 2006 1:56PM
Thanks Anticrawl for your comments. It was a basic comment to a basic-type post response. I'm just a little psyched each time I think about Nintendo's next system. I'm pretty confident that it will do well in terms of sales, units sold, revenue and profits. Last night I was thinking how much I want it. I know there will be the people that will buy the PS3, but I'm not sure if it'll sell out. It might go like the 360 where the first part of the launch sells out, then there will be some on the shelves for the 2nd shipment.
Back on point: I'm not sure why anyone would need the movies. Isn't the battery life of the PSP kinda small? I don't know for sure, but that's what I heard. With portable DVD players and Labtops, I don't see a purpose getting those movies. And now with the new cars/trucks/vans coming with standard DVD players, it would make much less use of a portable DVD player. Well I guess there's always the plane ride to have it though.
geekRECON @ Jul 13th 2006 5:16PM
BetaMax, anyone?