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
(Page 1) Reader Comments
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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.
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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.
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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.
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ipodfanboy:
UMDs are a great way to show off to your friends. UMDs are the new Timberlands.
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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.
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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.
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If the PSP goes down the DS will too... Just only figuratively.
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1st 30%, then 50%, 75%, then 90%.
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...and take it directly into the failed Sony formats whore house.
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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!
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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?)
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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???
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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.
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Anticrawl
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Although lately it's been getting too easy. :-( Maybe they should name the PSP's successor something embarassingly weird.. like "Wii" or "PooS".
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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.
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Anyway I don't feel like discussing anymore on the matter,
Anticrawl
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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.
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I don't even want to talk about Blue-ray....ohh boy....next BetaMax.....
No, thx Sony....not interested.
O'Neill::
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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.
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