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Sony UMD movie format failing to excite gamers

Posted by Stuart Miles

31 March 2006 - Sony's Universal Media Disc used in its PlayStation Portable handheld console days look to be numbered as a movie format if reports in the Hollywood Reporter are to be believed.

According to the magazine, Hollywood support for the format as a film medium are waning.

The article says that Paramount, Universal and Imagine have dropped UMD releases completely, with one Universal exec saying: "Sales are near zilch. It's another Sony bomb - like Blu-ray".

20th Century Fox and Buena Vista Home Entertainment have drastically slashed release schedules.

"We continue to evaluate the PSP platform for each title, and if it makes sense for business reasons and the target audience, we will release them", spokeswoman Brenda Ciccone for Paramount told Reuters. "Our focus right now is much more aimed at HD (high-definition) at the moment, though."

Rumours are also rife that Wal-Mart is about to stop stocking UMD movies in its stores however there is no official word as yet.

Observers say one of the problems is that studios have released too many movies in too shorter time.

source

Thank god! Anyone who bought UMDs over DVDs are a fool,

good riddance

Someone had to appease the Sony God. I never had a PSP and never used UMD, but I can see the novility in the whole idea. From the people I know to have used them though, they weren't real impressed.

As I've said before, I cannot stand Sony products and for that reason above all else, I will not be supporting BLUR-ay.

I literally ripped the Xplod headunit out of my car last week due to frustration with it (the mounting kit is in four pieces, and I have a hole in my dash). I also recently found my Sony digital camera, which never work well or right either, and gave it away. With those gone, I *might* have some DVD movies by Sony, but nothing else.

i agree with you. i wish Sony would turn their creative juices to "mainstream" products and not things they want to try and push on everyone else...

I hope this shows Sony that people care about playing games to watching movies on game systems.

If sony understood that, then maybe they wouldn't use blu ray technology on the PS3 and cut the price by 300 bucks