Boulevard Entertainment: UMD isn't dead, just needs right price |
So the fat lady hasn't sung yet for the PSP's UMD format yet, despite some very public proclamations that it has joined the ranks of the dearly departed.According to Boulevard Entertainment's sales director Marc Goldberg, the UMD format could be revived if it was only sold at the right price - at least, for UMD movies.
According to Goldberg, Boulevard introduced new UMD movies and has introduced price cuts as well, both to good results. Goldberg has this to say when Boulevard introduced a GBP 5.99 (about US$ 11) price range in the UK:
Major High Street game retailers, traditional entertainment retailers, online retailers have all enjoyed incremental success with the format and are delighted with the results.
[...] When we went out to retailers with the initial concept of selling this product at these prices their were eyebrows raised, particularly as the PSP market seems relatively stagnant.
But coming from a film perspective we saw the value in UMD over and above getting involved in Blu-Ray for the time being. There are far more PSPs in the UK market than Blu-Ray capable machines, giving us a much bigger audience where we can offer them quality product at affordable pricing.
Since the success of the product in the market we have been commended by certain retailers for revitalising the PSP market.
Related Articles:
- Dave Perry has spoken: UMD a dead format
- Industry experts foresee touch screen operable, UMD-free 'PSP2'
- UMD Fallout - Universal abandons format
- Media Create Japan: PSP still hogs top spot, reaches 2 million sales mark
Via MCV UK
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Comments [refresh]
because with the fat psp, you were limited to seeing the movie on your psp. who would buy a $20 umd movie to just see on their psp. if it was released now for maybe $10-15, people would buy it because the psp slims can connect to the tv. it may also increase the sales in the slim psp.
now that the psp can also see files of movies and play backups of game people just what to buy the psp and not he game because they know they can just download them another thing is its better for sonny because they don't loose money they actually make more by selling more psp's
I would buy them. 'nuff said
I would buy UMD's when I had the money if they were , US of course. They are not worth paying as much as a DVD. I would rather get the DVD then convert it for my PSP. But half the price would do good. Also they should concentrate on shows more than movies I believe. For those who travel and happen to have a PSP so they can catch up on there favorites.
BTW it's "Don't count your chickens till they hatch."
movies but its hard wen you dont even got $10... so i just download em into my CFW psp..
but ill still most likely buy some.. all though over here they are only $5-$8 for a umd eccept for the brand spankin new ones .. then thos go for 15-$20
Look the UMD is just as good as DVD, back in the day, if you wanted to watch PSP on tv that bad, you had to pick up PSPonTV from your local retailers. I popped my old UMD movies into my brand new slim and lite and hooked it up to my hdtv and the quality is super. UMD is just as good as DVD. Bottom line.... Shut up.
Yup if they can just lower the price for UMD then it would be awsome if the price was like 5 bucks :)
The resolution on a UMD is exactly the same as a DVD, which is 720x480 or 720x576 depending if it's NTSC or PAL.
The downside to buying UMD movies is that they have very few extras (if any) due to the 1.8GB size limit, but as the article says, at the right price they will sell.
Ya QJ... lets make fun of the fat ladies. inconciderate
If all PSP games are no more than 12.99 per game new I don't mind getting a few serously
yes UMD isnt dead, but the price is pretty high, and ALSO, if sony would release them empty with UMD burners, i would get them, it would be kewl to make my own UMD music disk if possible.
The thing is, is that UMD's are cheap, made very small with easily breakable plastic, my socom FTB2 case broke because it was cheap:( And UMD's are pretty expensive, you dont want a cheap case with a $30 to $50 game or movie. if sony lowers the price tag on UMD's i would buy more of them insted of sticking to homebrew apps and DOS games.
To top it off, UMD's are NOT dead YET, but they will die faster with a high price. If sony lowers UMD prices, it might even reduce piracy, but i wouldn't know for sure...
Just like omegaridley said, the UMD's are REALLY cheap.
I have about 18 UMD's that broke thanx to that stupid plastic thing holding the UMD's disk in >_>
It's like flushing money down the toilet -_- Luckily i ripped the ISO from my FFVII: Advent Children UMD before it broke -.-" Now Sony, your ripping ppl off with these crappy UMD's
Make 'em better! C'mon its not that hard is it??
i mean you made your own system! Have the balls the make a better UMD! >_>
sony will not release a blank umd with a burner for the simple fact that almost every psp out there is hacked, that would just lead to users burning games on umds and not using memory sticks, it'd end up being cheaper and the games would run faster.
I consider the umd no better then a rental.
I wouldn't pay more then $2 for a rental.
And while we're at it ...
Why wouldn't I just buy the real movie ... and then rip it to a memory stick where I could have many many movies on a postage stamp size media. Screw umd!
Under $10 would work for me. I own 3 UMDs. One Advent Children and the other two I got for $5 at walmart
yeah i loved Advent Children. i got that UMD movie before i played any of the FFVII games. then i beat Crisis Core, and Played through part of the 1st disk of FFVII on my PSP.
I used the playstation GUI beta v300 or w/e its called for the converting. But for some reason, after i beat the Demon Gate, i woke up in Gongaga and the Tiny Bronco wasn't anywhere to be found. Some ppl told me that it was because i ripped the iso with "ImgBurn"
If anybody can help me with this problem, you can reach me at:
AIM: lightside legend
or
email: devin.robertson@yahoo .com
thx so much! =D
yeah thats probably true, unless UMD's are encrypted with something, either way why would anyone want to make backups of UMD games or vids? its still slow
oh well, i know they wont release them blank, it would be kewl though, they would be my ultimate small storage:)
Excellent, the idea of blu-ray universal media discs in the last part of the article really sparks a lot of interest. Things like a larger capacity for developers to create awesome games and supremely high quality films all in your hands! Can you imagine?
Seriously... What the hell are you doing to your UMD's? I've had my PSP for 3 years now and haven't broken a single disk yet.
Perhaps you should learn to invest in a separate case for your UMD's? They make some that hold the disks in sleeves so you don't have to use the original game cases if those are causing you so many problems.
I bought a couple UMD movies at full price when I first got my PSP. That was back when 1GB memory sticks were still usually well over $100. Ripping movies to the memory stick wasn't a great option then. Still, I realized that the price for what you get wasn't a great proposition, so I quit buying at full price. Now, I either rip my own or I'll very rarely buy when I find one on clearance or a used copy at GameStop for $10 or less. Still, I have to say that in my experience, the quality of the UMD video compared to ripping my own is *very* noticeable to me. And I've noticed much less ghosting going on when playing UMD video.
Unfortunately, there's no UMD video version Star Wars: Episode IV to compare to, but the opening scene where Vader boards Leia's ship is damn near unwatchable in the rips I've tried. I don't feel like eating up half of my 4GB memory stick to try to replicate the resolution and quality settings that would have been theoretically used on the hypothetical UMD version.
On main topic: Selling UMDs for the same price as full DVDs is a rip-off since UMDs are too small for all the bonus content we have come to expect on most DVD releases. Sure it's portable, but I'd rather A) be able to play it on my TV as well which I can't do with my fat PSP and B) have the bonus content I can get for the same price. Now if they were $5-$10, about half the price for half the content, I'd be more likely to buy.
I have to agree with du.der.icio.us, I'd rather buy a real DVD and rip it to PSP if I want to watch on the go.
@jera27: Sony takes a loss on every PSP they sell. They make their money on the licensing fees and software sales. Furthermore, if you only buy a PSP and pirate all the games you want to play, you aren't supporting the studios that actually produced the games. That is not good for anyone because if a game you like doesn't sell well there won't be a sequel or the studio will not make a game similar to it in the future.
Piracy is bad, pure and simple. Don't steal games.
UMD is supposed to stand for "universal media disc."
Nothing but a PSP plays them, so it's far from universal.
A lot of DVDs are $5-$10. Few people will pay $15 for a PSP movie.
By universal, they mean the disc itself plays "universal" media, which is true since a UMD can hold photos, music, videos, games, etc.
This is it: Sony lowers general UMD prices, and their sales spike up and piracy reduces.
Everyone wins.