Ladic Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 UMD Goes The Way Of BetamaxA year after it was launched in the US, the Sony PlayStation Portable's days as a hand-held movie-viewing device might be numbered reports Reuters. Disappointing sales have slowed the flow of movies on the proprietary Universal Media Disc to a mere trickle, and at least two major studios have completely stopped releasing movies on UMD, while others are either toying with the idea or drastically cutting back. Retailers also are shrinking the amount of shelf space they've been devoting to UMD movies, amid talk that Wal-Mart is about to dump the category entirely. http://www.darkhorizons.com/news06/060330e.php Quote
Zentrandude Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 Not a huge surprise, plus it didn't help most the of movies pushed out these days are utter junk. I wonder if this is related on the heavy psp commerical airings this year. Its like almost very hour theres atleast 1 commerical of eithere those dustballs or squrills. Quote
Mr March Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 Not really surprised. The format always struck me as a novelty more than anything else. Laptops can already play DVDs and I doubt Sony would find many consumers willing to buy a PSP just so they can buy their DVD collection all over again in UMD format. Why my friend ever bothered with the format I'll never know. Quote
JsARCLIGHT Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 Three words: Sony Mini Disc. I bought a player/recorder in the early '90s and have felt the Sony Sting ever since. The Sony Sting feels almost like the Sega Sting, just more expensive back then. Quote
the white drew carey Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 The problem is that all of the gaming companies are trying to make their new systems into the "Multiport" of the future, which does everything. The PSP was even worse. For the love of God, people, just give me a video games system which plays video games! Quote
Flaming Guantlet Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 (edited) I'm not surprised at the least. I always wondered why the botherd creating movie UMDs to begin with since we have DVDs avalible of the very same movies as Mr. March said. That and they are priced a bit higher than the same DVD movies without the extras. Its a novelty indeed, one that won't be missed I imagine. I wonder what this could mean for the PSP... Edited March 30, 2006 by Flaming Guantlet Quote
Ginrai Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 The real problem is that I have a PSP, right? I can just rip a DVD and put it on my memory stick. What the hell do I need a UMD for? The only UMDs I have are games. Quote
eugimon Posted March 30, 2006 Posted March 30, 2006 I would get them if they came bundled with DVDs for a few extra bucks... paying 20 dollars for one is just nuts though. Quote
ychanus Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 (edited) I would get them if they came bundled with DVDs for a few extra bucks... paying 20 dollars for one is just nuts though. 385918[/snapback] I agree.. whoever came up with this idea and set the price range was *&@^#4! Edited March 31, 2006 by ychanus Quote
bandit29 Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 Not to surprised. Mostly crappy movies and way overpriced. Some cost more than the movie on DVD when first released. They should have been 9.99 MSRP. Plus the fact you can rip your own movies to a memory card make UMDs just about worthless. Unless there's a movie you really love. Sony is/was considering a download service for movies. Quote
wolfx Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 Apparently its doing pretty well in japan though, with new anime being released in UMD format. Quote
jwinges Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 I just bought a psp (had to downgrade it to firmware 1.5 ) and I'm happy with the news. Maybe now they can make it read some sort of mini dvd you can burn at home. The whole UMD thing was stupid anyway. Maybe if you could easily hook the psp up to a TV via s-video so you could still watch the movie at home but to spend that kind of money on a movie that you'll only watch on the occasional trip...I can rip them and put them on a memory card for that. BTW Gundam battle tactics for psp rocks! Quote
Radd Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 You mean, people aren't willing to buy the same movies and shows they already own on DVD in a more expensive, yet lower resolution format just so they can play it on their PSP? WHO KNEW?!! Quote
Rocket Punch Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 The real problem is that I have a PSP, right? I can just rip a DVD and put it on my memory stick. What the hell do I need a UMD for? The only UMDs I have are games. 385916[/snapback] Exactly. Quote
promethuem5 Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 The real problem is that I have a PSP, right? I can just rip a DVD and put it on my memory stick. What the hell do I need a UMD for? The only UMDs I have are games. That's always been my feeling as well. Quote
Rocket Punch Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 That's always been my feeling as well. 386026[/snapback] Exactly. Quote
Hikuro Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 : / after I bought my PSP on release day, I think within 2 hours I went ahead and got rid of Spiderman 2.......I mean why? why do I wanna watch a 2 hour movie in a lil itty bitty screen when I can buy the DVD and watch it on a BIG screen......? why? Jesus doesn't love us anymore or something Quote
Gaijin Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 UMD's main problem is not so much the fact that people don't want portable video but more to the fact that they are horribly overpriced. The other factor is mass market wants to view them (the UMD's) on their TV as well (this was actually the number one complaint) even if they had the DVD. Quote
myk Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 On that note, I just don't get portable game machines, either. Squinting into a miniscule screen trying to play a game that should be viewed on a 52" HD monitor doesn't make sense... Quote
Veritas Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 (edited) I really hope as a result of this Sony will start to invest more money in developing and getting other developers for that matter to make better and simply more games for the system. The PSP is first and foremost a portable gaming console and they really need to stop trying to do everything with it and just stick with making games. Edited March 31, 2006 by Veritas Quote
Radd Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 On that note, I just don't get portable game machines, either. Squinting into a miniscule screen trying to play a game that should be viewed on a 52" HD monitor doesn't make sense... 386140[/snapback] Is this sarcasm? Just so hard to tell online. Quote
Macross73 Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 The end of of th UMD. It wasnt going to last and it wasn't a suprise. Watch a movie on your Portable DVD player or your PSP? Tough choice little screen or tiny screen? The price $10.oo for a regular DVD disc or 20 for a UMD? Another toughy. PSP = Portable Game Machine thats all it needs to be. Quote
Metal_Massacre_79 Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 Another problem with the PSP is it's lack of web browsing capabilities. It's a bitch trying to view web page on that thing when most PDA's (or whatever the hell they're called now) can open nearly anything quicker. Haven't bought a movie for it, but the games I have are quite fun. Even on a tiny screen. Great for passing time when you're passing a log. Quote
Apollo Leader Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 For the love of God, people, just give me a video games system which plays video games! 385908[/snapback] That is why the inferior Nintendo DS has been in a lot of cases outselling the PSP... it focuses on being a solid game system and nothing more. As for UMD movies, if these discs were compatible with DVD home systems, I could see these movies selling like hotcakes if yould play them on BOTH on your home system and your PSP. Unlike Blu-Ray or HD-DVD which is a move forward, UMD is a move sideways. Quote
eugimon Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 The UMD movie playback doesn't require any compromises from the the PSP hardware.. I don't see what all the fuss is about concerning how the PSP is not focused on games... this is just content. I choose not to watch movies on my PSP, specifically because I think the prices are a joke. Quote
bandit29 Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 Â The other factor is mass market wants to view them (the UMD's) on their TV as well (this was actually the number one complaint) even if they had the DVD. 386134[/snapback] Which is something I don't understand. The purpose of UMD movies is that they are portable. Also I think they would look horrible on a big TV. Sony wants to fight piracy but yet they make CD/DVD burners, recordable CD/DVD media etc. I did pick up Sin City on UMD for 9.99 at Sam Goody. Alot of those stores are closing. DVDshrink wouldn't rip Sin City Recut(the original release of Sin City did rip when I rented it) so I said "who cares 9.99". Of course later that night I found a program that would bypass the copy protection lol Quote
Rocket Punch Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 On that note, I just don't get portable game machines, either. Squinting into a miniscule screen trying to play a game that should be viewed on a 52" HD monitor doesn't make sense... 386140[/snapback] If you do a lot of travelling portables make a lot of sense. Quote
Sundown Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 The UMD movie playback doesn't require any compromises from the the PSP hardware.. I don't see what all the fuss is about concerning how the PSP is not focused on games... this is just content.I choose not to watch movies on my PSP, specifically because I think the prices are a joke. 386239[/snapback] Exactly. I can see UMD dying as a media for movies, but let's not fault the PSP itself for being able to play movies that no one wants to pay for. The platform still remains an excellent portable gaming system. It does however, need more compelling games. The DS's success isn't that it focuses on games. It's because it simply has better games to play, more of them, and they're marketed much better. Quote
mikeszekely Posted March 31, 2006 Posted March 31, 2006 On that note, I just don't get portable game machines, either. Squinting into a miniscule screen trying to play a game that should be viewed on a 52" HD monitor doesn't make sense... 386140[/snapback] Because a 52" HD monitor isn't very portable. I mean, I can't even get mine into the john, let alone outside the apartment. And see, portable movies wouldn't be a bad idea, either... but you can either pay $30 for a UMD that you can ONLY watch on the PSP (and only if it was fully charged first, and only if you don't want to use the PSP after, since watching a movie totally drains the batter). Or you can pay $15 for the DVD and watch it when you get back. If UMDs were cheaper, or if they came bundled with the DVD for just a few bucks more, then it'd be totally worth it. Of course, the tech savvy will just rip the DVDs they have, then encode them for a variety of portable devices. I mean my PSP and my iPod can both play movies... not to mention that I just discovered theirs a version of VLC media player for PocketPCs... Quote
big F Posted April 1, 2006 Posted April 1, 2006 (edited) The real problem is that I have a PSP, right? I can just rip a DVD and put it on my memory stick. What the hell do I need a UMD for? The only UMDs I have are games. That's always been my feeling as well. 386026[/snapback] I got one Umd movie for mine ( Sony sent it to me as a promo) nice idea shame that the price is steep. Just buy a 1 gig memory stick and use the correct software to rip your DVD to a file and transfer to the memory stick. How hard is that. Basically they killed there own format. A friend of mine uses his on the train to work everyday. He never actually watches t.v he just records it to his memory stick and bungs it in the PSP and watches it on the way to work. The shops in my town that sell them are putting them out for really low prices now. I think they are trying to get them got rid of. Edited April 1, 2006 by big F Quote
yellowlightman Posted April 1, 2006 Posted April 1, 2006 UMD. Sony Memory Stick. Mini Disc. Goddamn Sony rocks. Quote
eugimon Posted April 1, 2006 Posted April 1, 2006 what's the line from Ghost in the Shell... specialization leads to extinction... Sony needs to learn that locking consumers into a dead end propietary techcnology is only going to hurt them in the long run. Quote
Wes Posted April 1, 2006 Posted April 1, 2006 It maybe more the fact that portable DVD players are so much cheaper now, even if they're bigger than the PSP. Now people can take their favorite DVDs with them for about $100, instead of paying $250 for a PSP, not to mention another $20 per title. The reason why the PS2 did so good was it had the games AND the DVD player at a pricetag around that of stand-alone units. Quote
Dat Pinche Haro! Posted April 1, 2006 Posted April 1, 2006 well the price for memory sticks is going down...just a few months ago a 2gb stick would cost you at the very least 200 and now it's easy to find 'em online for a 100 or less Quote
Mislovrit Posted April 2, 2006 Posted April 2, 2006 what's the line from Ghost in the Shell... specialization leads to extinction... I thought the line was "Over specialization leads to extinction?" Quote
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