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The Omniscient
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Apr 1, 2006, 9:45 PM
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PSP UMD's to be Cancelled
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Capcom just jumped on board, but too little too late, only one year after Sony launched the PSP in the U.S., rumors are brewing that production of feature-length movies based on the PSP's proprietary UMD format will end.
Since the launch of the PSP, sales of UMD movies have gone from underwhelming to almost invisible, prompting experts to predict that the end is near. The lackluster response to UMDs already has prompted two major movie studios to discontinue their UMD movie releases and left others contemplating following suit or, at the minimum, scaling back the number of UMD titles slated for releases.
In addition, Universal has bid farewell to the format. A high-placed executive at Universal, in an interview with Reuters, said, "It's awful. Sales are near zilch. It's another Sony bomb -- like Blu-Ray." In stark contrast to these recent moves, initial sales for the format were strong, with two productions from Sony Pictures selling more than 100,000 units within two months. But it wasn't long before sales of UMD movies sank.
At the time, industry experts said that Sony had given consumers too many choices. During the first five months following the PSP's launch in March 2005, some 239 movies and TV shows were released or scheduled for release on UMD.
Apple's debut last fall of the video iPod further cut into the PSP's
appeal as a video-watching device. While videos purchased from Apple's
iTunes store can be viewed either on the iPod or on a computer, UMD
movies can be viewed only on the PSP.
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