Film studios cut back on UMD titles
by Ross Miller 
{ Feb 16th 2006 at 2:30PM }
In
pre-Liberty City days, UMD movies were the shining star in
the PSP library--in fact, at one point movies comprised almost 50% of all UMD sales. That success, however, has either
not sustained or not increased enough to appease film studios. According to a report by Variety, key movie studios
(Warner Home Video, Paramount, even Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) have announced that they will cut back on the
number of films they release on the UMD format.Many factors have contributed to this decision, most of all sales figures ("the average release posts sales closer to 40,000-50,000"). Other factors include the sheer number of different formats available and soon-to-be-released disc options (DVD, UMD, HD-DVD, and the Sony-backed Blu-ray) that will dilute the market. Another reason cited is the inability to view UMD movies on a TV--a problem, says SCEA, that will be soon remedied by a new PSP adaptor.
The article notes that comedies are doing well, especially collections like Chappelle's Show and Beavis & Butthead, but the weaker sales of dramas have led to the cancellation of a Goodfellas UMD. One of the problems we've noticed with UMD's are the lack of special features compared to their DVD brethren. How do you feel about UMD, and what would encourage you to buy more discs?
[Thanks, Karsten, hoos30, and Kamalot]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Regula Blique @ Feb 16th 2006 2:42PM
I agree that these umds were highly overpriced since day one, I would buy them if sony lowered the price more than a bit. But in reality the best thing and probably only option for sony to do unless they wanna see there precious umd movies go bye bye is to release a couple of other umd video players besides the psp. Probably with bigger screens and functions like mp3 playback, this will appeal more than lugging a portable dvd player around with dvds. I think the sales would rise, because isn't the umd supposed to mean "universal media disc"? yeaahhh.. it is. so they should bring more to the table to really make these disc universal.
Regula
Tu @ Feb 16th 2006 2:43PM
I enjoy watching movies on my psp, but when umd's are $20-$30 for a stripped down version of the $15 dvd, then the portability factor alone doesn't justify the price of the umd...at least not for me. Plus, when you can rip your own dvds and put them on the duo card, it makes the price of a umd that much more discouraging. I'd buy into umd movies if they were $10 and less.
Kevin D @ Feb 16th 2006 2:45PM
Foreboding of Blu-ray?... Weak sales of disc's so everyone bails? (except Sony of course)?....
Hmmmmmmmm.....
DG @ Feb 16th 2006 2:47PM
What are you talking about? Who doesn't love paying more for something with less features and that is incompatible with other media devices that we own. That UMD movies aren't doing well after is a complete and total surprise!
Seriously, is anyone shocked to see that UMD movies are being scaled back?
SuicideNinja @ Feb 16th 2006 2:49PM
They already have TV adapters for the PSP, but they are made by 3rd part manufacturers. The complaint across the board is that the video quality takes a hit when used with a regular sized Television.
Although this may just be an issue with the 3rd party adapters, it makes sense otherwise. Compression really shows when a video is enlarged, so the adapter isn't likely to solve any problems, nor is a UMD player.
I also agree that the price of UMDs are too much. But I'm sure they cost more to manufacture than regular DVDs.
James @ Feb 16th 2006 2:49PM
What gets at me is the insistence that people would want to watch 90-minute movies on such a small screen. On video IPods, on the PSP (via UMD), whichever.
These are perfect products for road trips, or long air-flights, but really a poor idea for everyday use.
If their goal is to make it for everyday use, UMDs are just plain too expensive (as #1 has stated). You're paying for a lower resolution movie, on a smaller screen, with less than "home" quality sound.
A bigger screen for a portable device would just probably appeal to the "travelers" I've mentioned, but not really the mainstream.
kris Aubuchon @ Feb 16th 2006 2:50PM
UMD movies are overpriced. Pure and simple. I can buy a dvd version with more features for 1/4 the price sometimes. I do like the fact that they are offering DVD UMD bundles, this is a good idea, and they should of done it from the start. I would pay 5-10 more for a DVD with a UMD counterpart. I will not buy a UMD for over 20 bucks, I have better things to spend my money on.
Maybe UMD's will be rethought because now people don't have to settle for movies because the PSP has a few games worth buying.
Me @ Feb 16th 2006 2:50PM
Yeah the price is pretty steep and the few umd movies I bought i did find for a bargain at $14.99 and some how I still felt cheated because I could only watch them on my psp. I mean like everybody else has said why not just buy the dvd version and transfer it to the memory stick? Maybe if they included some extra exlusive content or even if somehow they were able to release umd movies before they came out on dvd would also have an advantage!
Bloo @ Feb 16th 2006 2:51PM
Hmm... buy a DVD for about $10 to $15 and watch it on my 60" SXRD with 7.1 THX Ultra Certified surround sound
- or -
Spend $20+ for the same movie and watch it on a 4" screen with a high ms response time and weak stereo sound
ANSWER: NO BRAINER!
Angel Hawk @ Feb 16th 2006 2:52PM
Heh, this was definetly not a suprise, you're right. Same thing happened with nintendo in a way, with the gamecube. It was a [partial contributor to the reason behind the lack of third-party titles. Hard to convert, lack of sales, people don't like to produce ofr them. Simple, really.
Anyway, HD-DVD all the way anyway. Sod off Sony-supported Blue-Ray, never liked blue anyway.
LJ @ Feb 16th 2006 2:55PM
Oh NO! that means sony may have to release games for the PSP.
Dane @ Feb 16th 2006 2:56PM
UMD's are overpriced and not worth the money. They simply don't have the features of a normal DVD. You can't buy a UMD without a PSP + can't watch them on a tv= the death of another Sony medium. If blue-ray fails, things aren't going to look too good for Phony Entertainment Corp. Kinda throwing this out there...support American Companies and not foreign ones. Its good for the economy.
Bascanuwegos @ Feb 16th 2006 3:00PM
A tv adapter is not going save the PSP and UMDs. Heck, they aren't even puttin a UMD drive in the PS3. How 'universal' is that? The PSP is beginning a slow death for Sony. . . if only it used SD cards. . . if only. . .
fable2323 @ Feb 16th 2006 3:01PM
Main problems with UMD movies:
1. Less features
2. Can only be viewed on your PSP
3. Cost more then DVD movies
4. No other players on the market, namely home players
5. Ipod video is far superior due to not having to carry around discs
6.PSP is supposed to be a gaming machine
7. No one but kids have the time to watch full length movies on the go (they arent the ones driving)
8. Cost of a PSP is still high, limited to adults (see#7)
ProjectGSX @ Feb 16th 2006 3:05PM
Id be happy to buy UMD movies for $10-$12 a piece. The prices they charge are just ridiculous.
AceMilo @ Feb 16th 2006 3:06PM
I feel that anyone buying these things is retarded. Why would I want to pay MORE money than a dvd for less features, only being able to play on a portable system, and get less features at a lower resolution? That doesn't make any sense for me. The ONLY way I would buy umd movies were if they started bundling them in with real dvds for free or at a slight markup (no more than $5). I don't understand why people pay such a premium for so much less value.
Zo?unami @ Feb 16th 2006 3:09PM
Well, I had a suggestion, but Regula already hit the nail on the head.
UMDs are plenty more portable than DVDs, their popularity unexpectedly skyrocketed after their release, and there's quite a library of cinema and television out there on these little discs already. Why hasn't Sony made the format TRULY "universal," yet?
Just think... you could carry around a portable movie device not much bigger than a GBA SP with the potential these things have. I think Sony is dropping the ball here if they let this market slide away from them just because their only UMD player has more actual software to run on it now.
m3mnoch @ Feb 16th 2006 3:11PM
heh. exactly. big surprise.
http://m3mnoch.wordpress.com/2006/02/16/umd-sucks-what/
even if sony makes them play on bigger tv screens with an adapter, it's the the niche-within-a-niche issue.
you have to:
1) be a portable gamer to own a psp.
2) be a gamer with tastes outside of fart humor because they won't port movies to umd that won't sell.
3) own another piece of sony branded hardware to move it to the big screen.
let's see. who buys dvds?
1) have any number of different manufacturer branded dvd player for 1/3 the price of a psp.
2) uh. i can't think of a number 2.
heh. i mean, worst case scenario, you spend 1/3 of the price to get a portable dvd player instead of the psp.
look! instant dvd library backwards compatibility on the road!
umds are stupid.
m3mnoch.
Jared @ Feb 16th 2006 3:14PM
MAKE UMD USER BURNABLE!!!!
Sony needs to place the UMD format on the new PS3, with both movieplaying and BURNING features.
A solid way to open the PSP up is to allow users to burn their own content on to the UMD.
PSP as a music player becomes a viable option if you could burn your own music on to a UMD.
Sony also needs to support DVD burn direct to UMD, even if it had a limit of buring 2 UMD's from one title. Then you can put the movies you own directly on to the PSP.
The next PSP needs harddrive built in and UMD burner built in. If you do that it goes from a small sell item to pretty awesome machine boosting sales.
Mabey someday...
murph @ Feb 16th 2006 3:16PM
Sony's UMD to TV adapter isn't going to save the studio's butt's either. UMD's are still low quality. i'm sure they'll look like shit on my 42" TV.
as a PSP owner, i haven't once thought about buying a UMD movie. i'd rather buy the DVD and rip it to a memory stick. Sony's DVD+UMD strategy *might* get me to buy a combo pack so i have both formats, but as a standalone, no frickin' way.
Jason W @ Feb 16th 2006 3:17PM
I only have 2 UMD movies. Spiderman 2 (bought it used for $7.00 at ebgames) and Wedding Crashers (9.00 at Game Stop used with the extra discout card) When the movies are less than ten bucks ill be interested, until then, used all the way. The PSP is starting to come into its own when it comes to games (used ones that is). Now you can get them for less than 30 bucks the perfect price for portable games.
Anthony Zinni @ Feb 16th 2006 3:17PM
I would never buy a UMD. I cant legitimize buying another proprietary format from Sony. I think they need to learn their lesson and stop trying to release these things that never catch on (cough*#& Cough# MiniDisk in the US)
Mike @ Feb 16th 2006 3:19PM
Price, price, price. I can't say it enough.
If I already bought a movie on DVD, why would I pay MORE than the cost of a DVD when the disc has fewer features... not to mention no surround sound?
UMD's would sell like hotcakes if they were priced LESS than their DVD brethren. Most people (myself included) probably own many of their favorite movies on DVD, making the PSP purchase far from a necessity. I have bought 3 movies because I liked them enough and the price was reasonable (i.e.
Thundercizzle @ Feb 16th 2006 3:19PM
Could someone please start a petition saying that we'd buy more UMD's if they put effort into making them. WE WANT SPECIAL FEATURES!! What's the point in buying it if we get more on dvd?
sdwells @ Feb 16th 2006 3:21PM
one thought, blueray-umd,
it should have been that from the start... making up for the smaller platter size by increasing the amount of data able to be stored on it! duh. but no they had to create a format that is so prioritary meanwhile debuing with old tech on the brink new higher capicty formats.....
oh and i agree, top price i could imagin paying for a umd would be 7.99 and only an aditional 5 bucks when bundled with the regular dvd virsion of the movie
Tucker @ Feb 16th 2006 3:23PM
Give me a DVD and a UMD in the same box for a MINIMAL - you hear me? freaking MINIMAL - price premium and I will be very happy and buy them up. Not this "oh, you can buy them both for $40" crap. As everyone else has already said, UMD is (for all intents and purposes) useless and I would have no motivation to actually purchase UMD titles but for the one or two times I'd take my PSP somewhere without a DVD player and TV.
neale @ Feb 16th 2006 3:27PM
include them with dvds, so a dvd here in the UK costs about £15 on release. charge say £19 for a dvd with included UMD in the box and then just maybe, maybe they will sell
what does a dvd cost to produce, quarter of a pence or soemthing along those lines? close to £20 seems reasonable for both together
mike @ Feb 16th 2006 3:28PM
They still plan on making umd adult videos, right?
I mean its much easier to take my psp into the restrooms.
LunarDuality @ Feb 16th 2006 3:28PM
How will Sony continue to push the UMD format when their own high-def Blu-Ray discs are due out later this year? The marketplace is currently crowded with (or soon to be crowded with) formats (including DVD, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, UMD) not to mention the increasing popularity of streaming or downloading movies from the internet to your computer OR to your iPod.
How will UMDs survive? How will Sony make the UMD marketplace attractive to studios? They *are* offering DVDs and UMDs in combo packs for $28.95 (slightly higher than a stand-alone DVD) which may make the format more attractive. However, as counterpoint, how can Sony expect us to pay *more* for a DVD release when they are releasing their High-Def Blu-Ray discs at a premium price? I imagine most people think the release of Blu-Ray *should* cause a drop in the price of the "weaker" format -- DVD.
And what is more bizarre is (like stated above) UMDs cost *more* money and provide *fewer* features that DVDs. High cost + low value + strong competition = Death of UMDs.
Oh yeah, and they are finally considering an "out to TV" peripheral -- how will that catch on considering the high cost of a PSP, the peripheral, and the UMD compared (as stated above) to the cheap, tried, and true DVD ecosystem. Not gonna happen.
The1 @ Feb 16th 2006 3:30PM
Yes, this is a failure, sony must think their sh-t does not stink. I only have two UMD movies for my PSP; Spiderman (came with PSP) and Air Force One (got it for 8 bucks). If Sony wants people to buy UMD movies they need to decrease the price.
Now, if Blu-Ray is coming out for $34.00 a movie, will the consumer bite?
Freak @ Feb 16th 2006 3:32PM
Talk about an obvious failure. UMD was doomed from the start. Hey folks buy another copy of your movie to watch on the go. We'll even charge you full price again.
Oh and if you don't have the DVD already, well no problem, you can buy the DVD for full price in addition to the UMD so you can watch at home.
UMD was never going to have mass market appeal.
The Ipod showed the future of movies on the go. IT's a hard drive or flash memory device.
Anthony Zinni @ Feb 16th 2006 3:33PM
I would never buy a UMD. I cant legitimize buying another proprietary format from Sony. I think they need to learn their lesson and stop trying to release these things that never catch on (cough*#& Cough# MiniDisk in the US)
Spartacus @ Feb 16th 2006 3:34PM
Hey m3mnoch, when are you going to fix your shift key? Lol, just kidding.
Anyhoo, yeah, it's all been said. UMD is yet another Sony media format in the long history of Sony media formats that was met with limited success. Expect more in the future. Not that anyone should really care about this news, I mean, the PSP is a game device, right? That said, I really don't know how a company with such a massive library for one product (PS2) could suck so bad at creating a decent library for another product (PSP). Of course many people have argued quality>quantity (which is arguably not the PS2's philosophy), but even here the PSP is lacking. Exciting times for Sony fans indeed...
Neko Tsukimi @ Feb 16th 2006 3:38PM
I didn't feel UMDs from the beginning. At best, they're very gimmicky. For a little bit more, I can buy a real DVD that I can watch on my TV in comfort. And If I want to watch it on the go, I'd much rather carry a small, cheap portable DVD player and I can use the same disc at home and while I'm out.
I totally wouldn't be surprised to see UMDs disappear totally.
Thundercizzle @ Feb 16th 2006 3:41PM
Could someone please start a petition saying that we'd buy more UMD's if they put effort into making them. WE WANT SPECIAL FEATURES!! What's the point in buying it if we get more on dvd?
Willykyu @ Feb 16th 2006 3:47PM
Eevryone's comments make sense.
Too expensive, and limited.
What would be cool with more storage capacity to hold the same contents than a DVD (I mean exactly the same, as full TV resolution, and multi channel sound), media content especially available through psp menus, like film music in MP3/atrac, movie set pics, and even game demos. Then the idea of linking the psp to TV could be interesting, and no use of bying a dvd. Then they could sell small UMD players for TV, and add a UMD entry on PS3... but as UMD are not meant to be played on TV, as Ipod videos as well (pixel compression feast on big screen yeehaa!) and don't produce any Dolby digital sound, I don't really see the point in selling a TV adapter...
The bundle DVD/UMD solution is good, but they should have done this from the beginning!!!! (they exist in Japan... but for animation only, and very few titles... maybe just one...)
The only good solution is buying/renting videos/movies, in excellent UMD quality from the future connect store (if it is good) containing the excact same features a UMD can offer: original version and subtitles, chaptering, etc, etc. They have to upgrade the video section in future firwares to have more managing options (subfolders, genre/artist/name search etc.). It would be simpler to carry a movie just copied before getting in the plane/train etc. and without carrying 3000 UMD (game included).
I'm optimistic about this.
But SONY must increase the capacity of UMD. It'll be good for games also; lower UMD prices, and above all: LISTEN TO CONSUMERS!!!!
Mike @ Feb 16th 2006 3:58PM
Without fail, Sony ALWAYS manages to screw things up with their proprietary formats. Look at what happened to MiniDisc. Great idea, but greedy Sony wouldn't share and we see the results (or lack thereof).
Blu-Ray discs are going to retail from $25-40! Meanwhile, HD-DVD discs can be produced for about 10% more than current DVD's. Which format will be cheaper? The answer.. HD-DVD. Which format will win the war? Answer: The cheaper one.
Riddle me this... which format was superior: VHS or BetaMax? Which format was less expensive (for the recorders and the media): VHS or BetaMax? Which format won that war?
Do you see where I'm going with this?
Neko Ewen @ Feb 16th 2006 3:58PM
Personally, all the times when I could imagine actually watching videos on the go also happen to be times when I could use my laptop (you know, the one with a 15 inch screen) for that purpose. On a train, bewteen classes in college, on an airplane, etc. All with (from what I understand) better battery life. Still, I am eyeing the next generation of video iPods... ^_^;
I never understood why anyone was bothering with UMD movies in the first place (and it's ludicrously easy to get DVDs converted to a video iPod BTW), and I remember in an inverview a Japanese developer saying he was really surprised that they were selling in the U.S.
Scott @ Feb 16th 2006 3:58PM
The UMDs are too expensive. $9.99 - $14.99 is the destination price. However, the breakthrough opportunity exists in download purchase. Develop a compression program that will enable me to download movies directly. Cuts out the effort of transferring DVDs.
Plus, for god's sake...learn from Xbox Live. Sell some cheap downloadable games that can be played while you're on the subway, in traffic, or waiting for your wife a the grocery store. Who wouldn't like to download Rolling Thunder for $8?
Ian @ Feb 16th 2006 4:08PM
They are overpriced for no good reason and they should put out more TV series on UMDs cause its a better thing to pick up and watch. But after releasing all these movies from even the 80's and they've been flooding the market with them.
Michael the Great @ Feb 16th 2006 4:13PM
sure everybody bought a couple UMD's.. It was just cool to watch a movie on your psp for a day or two. Then the novelty wore off and you realized that you were being s|-|!t on by both $ony and the Movie indu$try. They say "let's offer less features in a smaller format that's easily lost only on one video game system that will only be around for a few years". Brilliant. Too bad we're the suckers!!!
dwarpdesign @ Feb 16th 2006 4:32PM
And yet UMD Movies were the best thing going for the PSP...
another nail in it's coffin...
well, I guess I'd better run back to DS Fanboy now...
Gareth @ Feb 16th 2006 4:36PM
I don't see the point in them myself. Why pay more than the price of a DVD to get a UMD when you can simply encode your DVDs and get them onto memory sticks?
Or better yet, why not keep the PSP for games and use a proper movie player to watch your movies on? Namely a portable DVD player with 7+ inch screen, which plays media that can be played on virtually every other appliance in your home?
Yellow Texan @ Feb 16th 2006 4:44PM
33.) Umm...I think the reason why Blu-Ray's are expensive because they cost more to produce which is the argument not being proprietary format.
The Blu-Ray is not "propreietary" in fact it is still have more supporters than HD-DVD. It is not being created only by Sony. Sony is just a supporter and pure more cash on it than the rest of the Blu-Ray companies such as Philips, LG, Samsung. I'm tired people don't do know some basic knowledge of the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray before spewing onto blogs/message boards.
m3mnoch @ Feb 16th 2006 4:50PM
spartacus:
shift key? huh? where?
holy crap! THERE IT IS!!!
oh. wait. that was just the caps lock. damn. got excited there for a minute.
heh.
m3mnoch.
supersloth @ Feb 16th 2006 5:10PM
I only have one UMD movie and that's cause my boss let me have it after buying it for their kid for Xmas and then realizing that their kid had a DS (smart kid)
I've never been able to convince myself that a movie was worth the 25 bucks when it was same price (or cheaper!) on DVD. hell, even then the dvd will be 12 bucks or less in 3 months or so, and I can watch it on my 56in tv from my couch. If they started to price UMD's at 10 bucks or less I would probably get a few for road trips and the like. that's probably about it though. What I am really hoping for is them giving me the option to get the UMD WITH my DVD's for an extra 5 bucks. I would have no problem throwing the extra 5 their way, and I know those disc's cost less than 5 bucks to manufacture.
Garold @ Feb 16th 2006 5:47PM
Who the heck wants to buy an overpriced movie (with no special features) that will play on nothing but a tiny screen with several dead pixels?
32_Footsteps @ Feb 16th 2006 6:19PM
Flipping over to Best Buy's online site, I can apparently buy a portable DVD player for $80. Doing so would let me watch movies on the go with a larger screen, on a format I already own, and said format being compatible with machines I have in my own home. Heck, you can get a portable player with a 7 inch screen for less than $150.
Why should I bother with UMD movies, now?
Andy S. @ Feb 16th 2006 6:37PM
I can't honestly say that I'd pay more than $5 for a UMD movie, if only because I don't need or plan to watch movies that often when I'm away from both a) my computer and b) a TV.
However, this rumor(?) that UMD movies will be packed in with DVDs and Blu-Ray movies for only a couple of dollars over the price of the standalone DVD or Blu-Ray disc is very enticing. I've not bought a UMD movie to date, but this is a deal that would most likely change that.
Navstar @ Feb 16th 2006 6:40PM
I think the whole PSP concept is dead. UMDs are overpriced and there are no games for it.
Give me a DS and an iPod with Video and I'm happy d00d.
DS ($129) + iPod ($299) = $428