PSP's UMD Support Dwindling

Early last year, Sony's movie format known as UMD (universal media disc), a variant of the standard form of digital media, was still largely viewed by North Americans as a gimmick enabled via the PlayStation Portable with few supporters. But soon after Sony themselves transfered their own films to the small discs, movie studios began believing it financially foolish not to do the same. The UMD format was their ticket to ride the speculated success of the PSP, thus the handheld was launched with a wide array of movies within its media library.

But the present tells an alternate and unforseen story. Contrary to the hopes of the studios involved, sales of UMD copies have been slowing to a crawl. "It's awful. Sales are near zilch," said a high-ranking executive of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "It's another Sony bomb..." As such, Universal Studios has recently opted to cease releasing versions of their films in the seemingly unfavorable format as a response to the slouching business. Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, another studio that's chosen to currently halt UMD production, states they will continue with the format if and when doing so again proves to be a lucrative move.

It's even been rumored that Wal-Mart retailers may soon refuse to stock UMDs.

Not all is lost, however. Although a vindication attributing to the format's lapse in appeal has not been pinpointed, the president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Benjamin Feingold, does recognize a few of the glaring issues behind the nosedive in sales. All the same, he persists as a strong supporter of UMD movies. "I think a lot of people are ripping content and sticking it onto the device rather than purchasing," Feingold said. Additionally, eye strain resulting from viewing films on the handheld's small screen for hours on end could pose as a sales-deteriorating threat.

Source: GAF