Sony's umd movie sucker play not working.

[theWacoKid]

This was an easy one to predict.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2626&Itemid=2

When wally mart says they're out, you can tick a fork in it, because you're done.

Wal-Mart 'Quitting UMD Movies'

By Colin Campbell

Retail reports are suggesting that Wal-Mart may be about to quit the UMD movie market, following a downward trend in sales. Hollywood studios are abandoning the format.
Reuters reports Hollywood sources saying that Wal-Mart is pulling out of UMD. The reports adds that UMD sections at retail are shrinking fast.

One unnamed president of a major studio is quoted as saying, "No one's watching movies on PSP. It's a game player, period."

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has ceased UMD production. One exec told Reuters, "Sales are near zilch. It's another Sony bomb."

Paramount is also considering its future with PSP's format. An exec said, "We are on hiatus with UMD. Releasing titles on UMD is the exception rather than the rule. No one's even breaking even on them."

Image Entertainment has moved out of UMD while 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment have reduced commitment.

Another sony bomb?! Ouch! The only company making money on umd is sony who make the umds. The prices are outrageous, the quality is poor, substandard to dvd. Umd sucks as an optical format. What a slap in the face for sony, but then they shouldn't have tried to play so many parties as suckers.

[ThaMaskedGamer]

I said long ago the problem with the Sony empire is canabalism. You have the PSP with PSP games and PSP movies, then you will have the PS3 with PS3 games and blu-ray movies, gamers cannot support all of these media. When PSP first came out, gamers bought UMD movies because the games sucked or were scarce, but now that games are widely available these gamers can't support their gaming habit and a new movie format.

It is only going to get worse with the PS3. The system is going to be uber-expensive and then that is not even counting the price of the bundles. Not only will UMD movie sales drop off the charts when PS3 comes, I think PSP games will be hurt too, not this year due to the shortages but when the PS3 becomes widely available it is gonna hurt PSP. Blu-ray is going to suffer also, of course it will get off to a good start for the same reason UMD movies did, but once PS3 and its games become widely available when the choice on a gaming system is between movies and games, movies are gonna lose. You buy one PS3 game and one blu-ray movie you are out of $100! Well the game you can play for months, the movie is a coaster 2 hours after you watch it!

Sony is stupid, the Playstation division(even though i'm no fan) was a GEM a cash-cow. Now they have tainted that division to pick up the slack in their falthering consumer electronics business. It could be a ruinous move. What they should have done was solved the problems facing those divisions and not try and mix the two. If i'm a consumer electronics manufacturer why would I want to support blu-ray? I know many of them are, but it doesn't make sense, Sony is gonna under-cut your blu-ray player with the PS3.

This is what's wrong with a Sony dominated market, they are going to do all of this proprietary stuff, digital rights management, encryption(of CDs), they would have loved to have killed off the used-game market.

[trebor]

What a freaking shock. A proprietary format that can only be used in one device and one device only, that costs more then the most popular format with less features and poorer quality as well.

Plus, has anyone ever looked at what UMD movies are available? Talk about not knowing who your market is - like the tech-geeks and spoiled high school kids who have PSPs are really going to be interested in buying Cheaper By The Dozen 2 or Pride and Prejudice.

I'm salivating in excitement of Lastword's spin on this news too! Holy crap is he going to have to spin his little top faster then it's ever been spun before.

[Glockstar]

The only company making money on umd is sony who make the umds. The prices are outrageous, the quality is poor, substandard to dvd. Umd sucks as an optical format. What a slap in the face for sony, but then they shouldn't have tried to play so many parties as suckers.

Well, that's the whole thing.

First off, these movie studio execs are total #@$%ing idiots. Wal-Mart I don't like, but here cannot blame. But (when it comes to UMD movies) the movie studios want to charge consumers more money for less content?! What do they take us for?! Of course UMD movies are failures - we're not #@$%ing stupid!

So the question is: why are UMD prices so high? Is it Sony? Or is it all on the studios?

[Gadfly2317]

Plus, has anyone ever looked at what UMD movies are available? Talk about not knowing who your market is - like the tech-geeks and spoiled high school kids who have PSPs are really going to be interested in buying Cheaper By The Dozen 2 or Pride and Prejudice.


I bought some weird stuff when I found it cheap, or when I was in an airport and desperate. Kung Fu Hustle, Beavis and Butthead, Family Guy, some horror movie I don't remember now, and a couple anime things. Really, I always felt UMD was a rip though.

I still dont' necessarily see this as a negative for blue ray since it is a large storage format with applications for both gaming and hi-def movies. Most people don't watch movies on a little portable device, but they do watch movies on their TV at home. Having a hi-def player built into your Ps3 is still potentially an incredible value and purchase incentive.

[T.Tashi]

Man I hate vgr's ability to lose a post. Here we go again.

The problem isn't isolated to just Sony but a movie industry wide issue.

UMD movies cost too much and there are alternative means that I won't mention here (for obvious reasons) for getting movies on the psp. I've watched a ton of movies and anime on psp and I haven't paid for a one. Even dvd/umd bundles (too little too late) will not sway those savvy enough to encode their own dvds to psp.

Glockstar stated something relevant in that movie execs are idiots. Yep. Greedy idiots. They are desperately clinging to old, obsolete business models. Similarly theatres complain about simutaneous dvd/theatrical releases and piracy hurting their business without addressing the issues that are making visiting their theatres so undesirable.

There are some pretty stupid posts in this thread, but if you look past the fanboyism to the larger industry issues, this is something Sony and the umd fell into and contributed to for the worst.

Now the thing Apple is doing with downloading video and monthly passes for downloading TV shows to the ipod... that's a smart concept. Those videos are selling... I believe the stat I read was 8 million videos sold in the past year. What Sony should've done and what others are doing (some illegally) is offering movies for download at a per movie cost or subscription. It can be profitable, but obviously not as profitable as the movie industry bending you over would like.

[slade]

UMD movies cost too much and there are alternative means that I won't mention here (for obvious reasons) for getting movies on the psp. I've watched a ton of movies and anime on psp and I haven't paid for a one. Even dvd/umd bundles (too little too late) will not sway those savvy enough to encode their own dvds to psp.

Say, just an off topic question, but what do you store the movies on? I'd think a one gig stick would be a little low on the storage you need especially for anime. I'm not crazy about the harddrive either because I saw an ad where it cost three hundred dollars.

[Fivespot]

I still dont' necessarily see this as a negative for blue ray since it is a large storage format with applications for both gaming and hi-def movies. Most people don't watch movies on a little portable device, but they do watch movies on their TV at home. Having a hi-def player built into your Ps3 is still potentially an incredible value and purchase incentive.

Where it is a negative however is with the folks who make movies (besides Sony themselves obviously). Will other movie studios be quick to jump on the Blu-Ray bandwagon or will they approach the new format more hesitantly due to the recent Sony failure of UMD movies? I think the UMD failure will impact Blu-Ray even if only slightly.

How much are Blu-Ray movies going to cost? Anyone know?

[T.Tashi]

Say, just an off topic question, but what do you store the movies on? I'd think a one gig stick would be a little low on the storage you need especially for anime. I'm not crazy about the harddrive either because I saw an ad where it cost three hundred dollars.

I've been meaning to get a 2GB stick but I've been playing more games than watching movies lately (and I've seen all the initial Ds now) so I've been putting it off. Otherwise I have to swap video files all the time. Depending on the encode rate and the encoder I can store about 8 to 10 half hour episodes on a 1 gig stick and score a happy medium between file size and vid quality. You can get away with 512MB stick but you'll be swapping files in and out a lot more and you're pretty much stuck with the lower encode rates and if the encoder gives you audio options you could go mono if you don't care about stereo.

The hard drive and accompanying battery (if it's the one I'm thinking of) is too big and bulky for my tastes. I thought it was just a terrible design. So that and the price turned me off.

[T.Tashi]

Where it is a negative however is with the folks who make movies (besides Sony themselves obviously). Will other movie studios be quick to jump on the Blu-Ray bandwagon or will they approach the new format more hesitantly due to the recent Sony failure of UMD movies? I think the UMD failure will impact Blu-Ray even if only slightly.

How much are Blu-Ray movies going to cost? Anyone know?

Almost all the major studios are already onboard the bluray bandwagon. the supporting list is pretty easy to find. The guestimation is it'll cost $10 more than dvds cost now, and for video and audiophiles dishing out the bucks for HDTV and surround, that shouldn't be an issue. I think umds and bluray (and hddvd) are apples and oranges. Umds hold only 1.8 gigs, are totally proprietary with no means to operate in any other player. Bluray is expected to replace the dvd. Umd has no plans nearly as lofty.

[MoNkEy MaN X]

UMD was pretty much DOA... I can't believe somebody at Sony actually thought UMD was a good idea. I can't believe anybody thought UMD was a good idea. Most people own the movies they really like on DVD already, then to have to buy they again, thats no good. At least you can do the memory stick thing and still watch them. Still an Ipod video may be more attractive to people than a PSP, especially due to size.

Blu Ray is definately in a different line than UMD. Blu Ray's saving grace will be places like netflix and such. If netflix offers Blu Ray rentals for the same or comprable cost of the DVD rental packages I would definately be interested. Although, if netflix feels that they shouldn't bother because most people still just have DVD players, well then Blu Ray might take some time to catch on, if it even does.

[theWacoKid]

And just remember, that UMD is an anagram for DUM.

[shogun]

UMD was pretty much DOA... I can't believe somebody at Sony actually thought UMD was a good idea. I can't believe anybody thought UMD was a good idea. Most people own the movies they really like on DVD already, then to have to buy they again, thats no good. At least you can do the memory stick thing and still watch them. Still an Ipod video may be more attractive to people than a PSP, especially due to size.

UMD probably wasn't a bad idea for Sony at least. It can't cost much to port their catalog of movies over to UMD. I imagine that it's a different story with other studios who (probably) have to buy the proprietary discs from Sony.