When the PSP was launched, the games on it were made on an exclusive format invented by Sony; the Universal Media Disk otherwise known as the UMD.
While the format was good for games, the sales of movies on UMDs slowed to a halt and were finally dropped by many of the movie studios.
Two reasons were attributed to the failure of the UMD as a movie playback medium–cost and lack of content. UMD movies were retailing for up to $29 a piece and many PSP fans couldn’t swallow the bitter price pill.
John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony said:
"The biggest issue with UMD was the lack of creating for a targeted [demographic]. When we first launched, it was a difficult sale. I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say that a 16-year-old doesn’t have a lot of discretionary income. … We were offering UMDs that were more expensive than DVDs at the time. And we want content that is in line with what the demo is asking for, action and comedy … not romantic dramas."
To entice gamers back, Sony is offering new release movies at $9.99 to $14.99. This is a drop in price from the previous ones of $19.99 to $28.99, respectively, for new content. Sony is also trying to urge movie studios to come aboard the UMD ship by promising to take care of all the logistics of UMD sales such as licensing, manufacturing, and distribution.
[via dvdtown]
