UMD Movies a Surprise Success

Sony's new media format shocks all by actually selling despite being, some may say, overpriced.

Many considered movies on UMD, Sony's proprietary PSP disc format, to be dead in the water when it was revealed that they would costs just as much as movies on DVD. But UMD movies are catching on, and in the US the top titles are already selling more than 100,000 copies a piece.

More Milla can only be a good thing, right?

Five of the six big studios in Hollywood are now actively supporting UMD as a movie format, with Sony seeing the best success to date. Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse and House of Flying Daggers have both sold more than 100,000 copies in less than three months, reaching the milestone three times faster than the first 100,000 copy-selling DVD, Air Force One.

And for once Europeans will not be left out, as Sony has already announced a solid movie line-up for the launch window of its portable later this year. When the PSP hits the Europe on September 1st, you'll be able to pick from a 19-strong movie roster, which is expected to grow to around 45 by the end of the year.

Unfortunately (and rather disappointingly, considering the world-friendly nature of PSP hardware and games), movies will largely be tethered to regions in which they're sold, meaning that, unlike games, you'll only be able to watch European-bought UMDs on a European PSP. If the same region coding used for DVDs is kept, you will, however, be able to play European movies on Japanese PSPs and vice versa.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games