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Sony ponders PSP-TV connectivity as UMD support slows

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Mar 30, 2006 3:30 pm PT

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Universal and Paramount have ceased making movies for the PSP, quotes Sony executive as saying TV playback "may" happen.

When the PlayStation Portable went on sale just over a year ago, the movie industry embraced it. Major studios saw the device's proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) format as a way to wring further income out of their vast film libraries.

And attempt to wring they did. To date, 239 movie and television-show UMDs have been announced or released. The list is a mismatched mix of independent films (Hustle and Flow, The Brothers Grimm) and big-budget flops (Stealth, Lord of War, Rent), along with occasional blast from the past (Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip) and television offerings (Beavis and Butt-head). However, as was the case with DVDs in the late 1990s, many films with the potential to mint money (Star Wars, anyone?) remained unreleased on UMD.

Over the past few weeks, there have been increasing signs that Hollywood is now much less bullish on UMD movies. Last month, Variety reported that Paramount Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, and even Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, were scaling back on UMD releases because of poor sales.

Today, the Hollywood Reporter ran an article claiming that two major studios have ceased releasing UMDs altogether. Citing unnamed executives, the paper claims that the home-entertainment divisions of Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures have "completely stopped" shipping titles on the format. "We are on hiatus with UMD," one anonymous executive told the paper. "Releasing titles on UMD is the exception rather than the rule. No one's even breaking even on them."

Perhaps worse still, the Reporter reports that the nation's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, will likely soon "dump the category entirely."

That said, the article also holds out some hope for the UMD as a viable home-video format. Currently, one of the biggest reasons consumers don't buy films on UMD is because PSPs cannot play video onto televisions. But that may eventually change according to Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Feingold told the Reporter that Sony is "hoping the format's going to be reinvigorated with next-generation capability that may include living room or normal television playback," he said. Sony reps declined to elaborate on Feingold's comments.

Even if Hollywood does cease releasing films on UMD, Sony will continue to ship games on the format, even though the company has announced plans to digitally distribute original PlayStation games directly to PSPs later this year.

100 Comments

  • technopirate

    Posted Mar 19, 2007 8:30 pm PT

    I love the umd for games, but movies...eh...that's why I've got DVDs. Why should I fork out $15 for a new release DVD but then anywhere from $19.99-$24.99 for a new release UMD movie? It just doesn't make sense to me. I totally agree with BionicCommando2, if there were some way to watch UMD movies on my home tv I would be much more inclined to buy them, but for now it's converting my DVDs to mp4 and saving them on the memorystick. Come on Sony, we still love ya but you gotta love us back.

  • SnakeEater187

    Posted Jan 31, 2007 5:21 pm PT

    About time they realise this

  • MikeL2u

    Posted Nov 1, 2006 7:21 pm PT

    I honestly can't understand why it's taken this long for SONY or any other company for that matter to realize this. I mean it's not that hard to make a small set-top box that plays UMD videos... It could be the size of a MD player and connect to your TV/PC. Even better... Just release some PS2 software that uses the USB connection and then play it through your PS2 or PS3. It's not that hard SONY!!! Meanwhile I wont buy movies on UMD until SONY fixes this, as it's just a waste of money when you have DVD.

  • BionicCommando2

    Posted Oct 3, 2006 11:56 am PT

    I geuss the whole idea is people aren't buying UMD because they cant watch them both on the go and at home on their tv's. I know I've skipped on buying UMD movies because I knew I wouldn't want to watch it solely on the PSP screen. So I just buy the DVD instead. Sony thinks that if you can watch it on both the psp screen and TV that people would then buy the UMD because it would be all purpose. That's what I gather from it.
    In my opinion I would make them about 10 bucks a shot and then people would buy them one way or the other.

  • gaiden1024

    Posted Jul 18, 2006 7:33 am PT

    I own a psp and I truly cannot belive this device does not have tv out... it has great picture fidelity and when i choose to sit in a tv room and play i would not mind one bit being able to throw the pic onto a tv (the best solution would be wireless , so that the psp is still a kick ass controller)

  • comthitnuong

    Posted Jul 14, 2006 12:43 pm PT

    i guess connecting the pssp to the tv would have some value....

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Apr 11, 2006 3:49 pm PT

    94

  • Jeff_Blaze

    Posted Apr 10, 2006 4:27 pm PT

    That might be the only reason i buy a damm PSP...cause them games, they'r not even all that!! Ninteno rules

  • Naruto-freak

    Posted Apr 9, 2006 6:18 pm PT

    why does the psp even need movies?
    CAUSE IT SUCKS!!!

  • gatsbythepig

    Posted Apr 6, 2006 11:17 am PT

    love it, now

  • sda3

    Posted Apr 2, 2006 11:44 pm PT

    Yipee, now they can make us buy that 2 gig memory stick to be able to play those games to. Come on, flash media is not the way to go unless the prices drop drastically

  • nev70

    Posted Apr 1, 2006 9:59 am PT

    what rubbish psp 2 ,tv people have consoles under their tv + dvd players who the FFFF wants to play ported ps2 games on a psp via their tv ? sony you r ................

  • Enigma2K99

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 11:20 pm PT

    Gee, this will probably bug the ones who bought the blasted thing to do something besides play games...

  • Cobalt_Strike

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 6:07 pm PT

    If people care so much about watching movies on the go, just go out and buy a portable dvd player with a 7-8 inch screen. Its cheaper in the long run. That 100 bucks you save on the PSP gets you a handfull of movies or so.

    As for hooking up a PSP to a tv to play games, thats a good idea. But its still cheaper just to buy a PS2.

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 5:00 pm PT


    what kind of parallel universe do you have to live in to think that Fonys handheld could have clobbered the DS ?? ..evidence speaks for itself, i think you'll find. Once they steal Nintendos touch screen gameplay, well that may help a little bit, but i think we all see the winner in the handheld war already. ...also, Paul Is Dead.

  • oddworld7

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 2:03 pm PT

    No, No, its not why we can't watch the movie on TV, but why do we have to buy a crippled DVD movie?

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 1:18 pm PT

    I don't see how being able to play them on a TV will help anything. Who would WANT to watch them on a TV?
    They cost more and have lower quality than DVD. Why don't I just buy a freaking VHS tape?

    Sony's attempts at creating new media formats have historically been poor. Here's another one to toss on the pile.

  • masiisam

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 1:17 pm PT

    sony's history and there lost media concepts slips one more notch...

  • b214

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 11:31 am PT

    This might help sony a little, but still. who would buy a more expensive and restricted umd over a dvd and soon to be Blue Ray/HD DVD

  • ocdog45

    Posted Mar 31, 2006 10:17 am PT

    this story is more about there sales than the t.v. thing. i have zero movies to this date. i have a bunch of clips i ad on there. but not movies. what was even worse was the t.v. series. i got the chappelle season 1 dvd. didn't have the entire season (of course) so why sell it.

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