PSP World

Sony Continues to Support UMD Format with New Pricing

Last year it was announced that Sony would discontinue support for movie releases on UMD, with poor sales and a lack of quality control cited as the major reasons for the move. However, the most attentive fans have noticed that Sony continues to support the format even after the supposed cancellation. The company now says that it will focus on releasing 5-7 new titles per quarter, as well as additional titles from Sony-owned studios. That actually sounds like a considerable amount of support, after all.

In a recent interview with reporters from Video Business, the company laid out a new plan for the diminutive format. According to company spokesperson and director of hardware marketing John Koller, one of the main barriers to sales of UMD movies was the price. This is something that Sony has taken steps to address with their new approach. Movies will now retail from between $10 and $15, Koller said. Besides their high price, the other major issue facing UMDs when they first launched was the glut of films not targeted toward the male teen demographic.

“The biggest issue with UMD was the lack of creating for a targeted demo,” Koller told reporters, “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.”

While the UMD format will compete directly against downloadable offerings from the PlayStation Store, there remains some reluctance by studios to release content digitally. The potential for piracy of digital content has led some studios to prefer the more secure “legal alternative” offered by UMD, Koller said.

[Via: Video Business]