PSP Movie Launch Line-Up Takes Shape

No official confirmation of region coding details but prepare yourself for sticker-shock.

After several delays, Sony is set to launch the PSP in Europe on September 1st. And while the company and third party publishers are sure to have dozens of games on shelves, movie studios are hoping to entice you with their wares as well.

Simply register your PSP in September and you'll get a
free copy of Spider-Man 2 on UMD

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox have both revealed their line-ups of movies on UMD that are slated to start arriving in stores from day one. Between the two of them, the companies are planning to release 24 UMD movies, most directly targeted at the young male early adopters of the PSP.

Don't expect the movies to come cheap though - SPHE has confirmed that it will be selling new releases on UMD for £19.99 while older movies will sell for £17.99.

Unknown right now is which region UMD movies will fall into. If, as it appears, Sony is sticking with the DVD region system, European UMD movies will fall into region 2, meaning that they will work on both European and Japanese PSPs, but not on US models.

UMD is not, however, the only way to watch movies on Sony's handheld. Several software providers are working on programs that allow you to rip movies from your own DVDs, which can then be transferred to Memory Stick Duo for viewing on the PSP.

If you're not sure whether you're ready to start re-buying movies you already have on DVD, you're in luck. Sony will be giving away copies of Spider-Man 2 on UMD to the first PSP buyers who register their PSPs at SCEE's PSP site.

The full UMD movie roster from SPHE and 20th Century Fox is set out below:

• 13 Going on 30
• A Knight's Tale
• Alien
• Alien vs Predator
• Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid
• Bad Boys
• Charlie's Angels
• Daddy Day Care
• Dodgeball
• Ghostbusters
• Hellboy
• Hitch
• Hollowman
• I, Robot
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• Once Upon a Time in Mexico
• Resident Evil: Apocalypse
• Spider-Man Animated
• SWAT
• The One
• The Punisher
• xXx
• xXx: The Next Level
• You Got Served

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games