Sony's Maguire: UMD 'wasn't brilliant' for third parties

Just take a lesson from the PS3. Let gets be installable but take it a step further and not require the UMD in too. Put in some DRM or locking doohicky to stop piracy.

A 1.5gb file would take a long time to get on my connection and many people don't have the speeds to download full sized games. By all means go the way of DD but don't remove physical media.

I prefer my games on disc, actually.
I hope there's at least the option of some sort of disk or cartridge drive on the PSP2.

OK, I don't have a PSP so I may be showing some ignorance here...

(1) Why are people so excited about a "UMDless" PSP? Wouldn't it be much better to have a PSP with UMD along with a commitment that every game will be released for download as well? That would allow current UMD users to play their old games still...

(2) Why does anyone want download only? I despise the idea... IF the downloads are tied to one machine (which they obviously would be). While servers may not be needed to play a particular game, in 10 years if you want to rock some classic PSP games and you need to replace your system, you won't be able to redownload. And that's if Sony even provides a way to do it now.

(3) The used game argument also applies. Though I pretty much never buy them. Why do I want to save $5 on a $60 game with no instructions that looks like some kid ate a pizza off it? Please. Obviously this is a win for the studios.

(4) Pricing argument also applies. One person above claimed it's easier for them to reduce pricing for online games. That may be, but the counter issue is that it's no longer necessary. With no limit to shelf space, there is no reason to "clear out" the old games. This is a win-win for the studios.

(5) Most likely rentals would go the way of the dodo as well. Very little incentive for them to offer it if.

I sure wouldn't buy a download only system that wasn't "open" as far as drm is concerned. And no major company will ever release one of those.

If Sony is actually going to go through with this unnecessary killing off of UMD, then the only fair thing to do is to release a reasonably priced external device that hooks up to the PSP2 and lets you copy your UMD games onto memory sticks/HDD and run them from there. Piracy should not enter into this discussion as it is already so widespread on PSPs and because new games will not be released on UMD anyway.

That is the only fair way to handle this.

So naturally it will not happen.

what if sony created a mini-blue ray disk that could fit into UMD cases so the psp2 can play old UMD games and new disks with the same space.

BS!!! I smell Piracy all over this, as well. For those who are afraid to install a custom firmware on their PSP, they were forced to buy the game. Now a PSP that's only downloadable, with no cartridge? How many IPOD owners do you know actually buy MP3's from iTunes? I personally don't know any! Apple is ok with that because they're mainly a Hardware Sales Company.

Sony on the other hand needs people to buy software for them to actually turn a profit. This will work well, but it is not an end all solution to the problem of piracy or an end to a Brick and Mortar store for games. Sony isn't denying that the new PSP will not have a UMD drive, however that doesn't mean that it won't have some form of physical media such as a memory stick for games which would be great, since they come in a variety of sizes so developers won't be restricted to an amount of data. Just think, games can be as small as 512MB, or up to 8GB should they choose to! Although I doubt someone will make an 8GB for a portable game console, but you never know!

I like being able to buy games in a store. If those games come on UMD, memory stick, or some kind of cart I don't really care.

I think it is important to enough people to be able to hold a physical product in their hands that there won't be only digital distribution in the PSPs future. Not yet anyway.

I think it's too early.

What i would like Sony to do is to give me a UMD drive that I can use to Install a game onto internal memory. Make it use the drive only for verification but then shuts itself off for the rest of the game, pulling data from the more energy efficient memstick.

I'm down with that. You'd have to have the physical media to play which helps cut pirates out of the loop, increases battery life AND ensurers backward compatibility.

Come on Sony, surprise me and improve your system in a way that makes sense for a change.

For handhelds the time has come for the end of physical media but for home consoles we still need discs.

I'm confused why the removal of UMD would prevent them from putting in a second memory stick slot, along side the internal memory slot for games? Just because the UMD is removed it doesn't mean they can't add something else.

Also for backwards compatibility I don't really see the need, perhaps a system where you can plug your PSP and PSP2 and copy stuff across would be nice, but don't see the need, I mean you do own a PSP if you have a load of UMDs, I can't imagine there are many people who buy PSP games without one. Lack of backwards compatibility would simply mean you have to stick both machines in your bag before you head out until you've finished your PSP1 games and they end up your cupboard gathering dust.

I think I'm cool with a UMD-less PSP, as long as I create my own archive copy to keep on another medium - that way I don't have to be concerned with servers or connections being down.......

I'm totally ok with the demise of UMD. In fact, I'll be there with a sign 'Good Riddance'

Movies in the format were too expensive for what was being offered.

Games in the format were initially slow and if you have a number of them, they're not fun to carry around. And anything that makes a bulky unit smaller is a GOOD thing in my opinion.

Cheap media with a decent capacity, I'm alright with UMDs. My only complaint is at those developers who have done a poor job masking the load times. God of War is beautiful and lacks any noticeable loading, granted it's linear, but some of the earlier games you could down an entire beer waiting.

As for the the PSP2, I'm anxious to see what the distribution style will be. I used to loathe the idea of digital. You know, can't trade it, can't rent it, can't sell it, can't borrow it etc. but the more I think about it, it'd be hella convenient on a portable. I have around 30 games for the PSP, the thought of having them all ready to boot is awesome. I'm just hoping if they do go this route, they go big, like 100GB+.

Also, this alleged new model better not render all my games obsolete. I happen to like them; something like that could be an instant deal-breaker.

Digital distribution for portables would be great. I wouldn't miss the UMD drive much (unless it made my psp games obsolete. Then I'd be hesitant to even buy the psp2)

Home consoles on the other hand, not so great. I don't want to download tens of gigabytes of data. My ISP probably wouldn't care for that either.

A common argument in all this is the backward compatibility argument. However, the only people who would care about it are those who have a PSP currently, since there is a lack of noteworthy titles for newcomers to go "OMG MUST HAVE!!!!11". So why not just KEEP your old PSP?

I honestly don't understand why pulling the UMD drive out will all of a sudden make people love the PSP. So the device can get a little smaller. Big deal. It's still limited in size by the screen and the hand-held controls.

Why in the world would someone buy a PSP that could NOT play the current UMD game library? Look at how people screamed when the PS3 dropped PS2-back-compat. Even Nintendo fans were lamenting when the DSi dropped the GBA slot. But that's not even as bad as the UMD-less PSP concept.

Can you imagine if the DSi did NOT have a DS-cartridge slot?!?!?! It'd be the joke of the industry, instead of a best-seller in Japan right now.

IMHO, the only way a UMD-less PSP is going to sell is if it's a COMPLETELY NEW PLATFORM. I.e. new processor, graphics chip, dual sticks, etc. I.e. built for new software and games and completely breaks software compatability with the PSP. I.e. a true PSP2. (Obviously, I don't see Sony doing that anytime soon, with their current financial situation, lack of competition in their top-end handheld segment, etc.)

Hmm. Not sure if this is a good thing or not. Assuming PSP2 is backward compatible, how do I get all my games on UMD to work on the new device?

Don't leave me in the lurch, Sony. I still haven't forgiven you for removing BC from the European release of the PS3.

I'm cool with the possibility of a new PSP and all, but the whole "download only" thing is keeping me from being completely sold on it.

I live in a Third World country without much broadband penetration and relatively low connection speeds. I'll admit, the PSP store is fantastic, but I really wouldn't want to rely on it exclusively as a source of games. And finally, as a matter of personal preference, there's just something about having a tangible copy of something you own.

101, haha.

Noshino,
C'mon, you're clearly pushing something here with your adament defense of Digital Distribution. I mean, you think comparing a Walmart missing disc scenario can be comparable to the plethora of issues that occur from server overloads? That's like me comparing a genocide to the once-in-a-blue-moon homocide taking place in some of the safest cities in the world. Yes, things can go bad both ways, but there's no bloody comparison how often they go bad with digital distribution.

As someone already pointed out: One needs a hardware medium to confidentally know that they own that particular software - not to mention, some people don't always want to be tethered to the net - oh yes! I ain't bashin' DD, but it's gotta' go both ways. You'll need both, and that's the end of the story. People who prefer to buy used games will just stop buying, because budget will remain budget. Until and unless this DD is so bloody easy and cheap that it becomes a non-point, it will not trump or negate physical media, and we know that is NOT going to happen.

Later.

I hope its not just DLC, I'd rather have the case on my shelf.