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Sony Says UMD Is Here To Stay
PlayStation Portable senior marketing manager John Koller spoke with the Pocket Gamer site about the much-maligned UMD format. The disc used in the PSP for both games and movies, few stores carry UMD movies any more. Just the same, says Koller, Sony supports it 100%. From the interview: "'UMD possesses many strengths, from size to form factor to portability,' he says. The same can easily be said of the UMD's cartridge counterpart on Nintendo DS. However, ease of UMD manufacturing is seen as a winning benefit. 'Duplication of UMDs is much easier, cheaper than cartridges,' Koller adds. 'We've really optimized time and cost by going with a disc-based format.' On the topic of UMD weaknesses, Koller is candid: 'There's no question the biggest weakness is related to porting games from other platforms. Publishers are concerned about the size of UMD because they can't cram a DVD game on to it.'"
"Sales in Japan, however, have been astronomical - in autumn of last year, UMD movies underwent a 1000 per cent jump in the region as a result of deep discounts by retailers." Well, yeah. That's an easy way to get sales. My local Circuit City blew their discs out fast when they were discontinued and marked down to $2 each. Last I knew, most movie distributors other then Sony had stopped releasing UMD movie titles due to poor sales. Sony just needs to let the format die, everyone else has.
Sony making more optimistic claims trying to force another unwanted format?
I just don't understand why they even need to, are there any advantages that other formats don't (and wont) have?
If this were really happening, what would you think?
Minidisk, Memory Stick, and now this. Sony seems to have its mind set on producing a medium that is more expensive than any of the competition, doesn't add anything significant feature-wise and is totally incompatibile with the rest of the world.
In one hand, this is kind of lock-in, buy ours, not the competitor's. In the other hand, the Memory Stick was a deciding factor in not picking a Sony when I was buying a camera...
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It sounds like Sony put all their eggs in one basket and are not willing to claim that UMD is a failure. Had they gone with the same small form factor that could hold as much as a dvd, had fast reads, and was on a device capable of tv-out... then the format might of had a future. At this point, Sony actually has sold a lot of PSPs and the device is a complete success if you ignore the existence of the gameboy. If Sony had done any sort of QA on the PSP, they would of realized what a liability UMD was. Basically, they focused on things "not gaming" for a gaming device and got burned. UMD works great for watching movies "on the psp", but sucks as a format for distributing games.
Every time I saw UMD movies, they were more expensive than the DVD version. This probably hurt sales of the PSP as well.
It's typical Sony. Make your own format and charge extra for it. They never learn.
They forgot to mention that's quite insufficient. Stores don't support it. Content producers (except Sony) don't support it.
And not to mention, consumers don't support it. Who'd pay almost the full price of a movie just to watch a downscaled version on his psp.
comparing it to DS cartridges is a bit odd for gaming too... you can't write to a UMD can you? (i don't own a psp so i don't know, i just thought it was the case)
a price standpoint umd is outright weird, movies three times the price of a normal dvd which are not copyable (face it even illegal dvd backups are the norm not the exception) from a technical standpoint a mixed bag, they finally added caddies to improve the lifespan, but they left out a hole the size of a finger, so the caddies are outright pointless. The medium itself is a nice extension to dvds, but since they are not writable they serve only one purpose, customer lock in! Besides that 2 gig sd cards are now somewhat 10 dollars or so, so even if sony would bring out writable umd drives, they would be bound to fail, the next medium which will go the way of the dodo will be dvds (and their rw incarnations), 4 gig memory cards soon will be in the pricerange of a no brainer!
UMD possesses many strengths, from size to form factor to portability,
That's not many strengths; that's one. It's SMALL. Also, this attribute is not necessarily a strength. It could have many downsides too.
Allow me to add one more bullet:
Anyone have a guess about tomorrow's headline?...
Not only that. It's also rather small, its dimensions are less-than-huge, it fits inside a reasonably sized box, not much space is generally taken by these disks and you can put many of them in one standard shirt pocket. Not to mention it's engineered not to be very big and there are lots of objects that take much more space. Geez, know your product's strengths man.
"Sony says UMD is here to stay; consumers not buying it."
That said, a UMD disc is just a minidisc (sans cover) using DVD technology rather than CD technology. It won't be long until BluMD is here folks!
Same deal. Actually, it was even heaps better than UMD. Great concept, way ahead of its time. A rewriteable, portable medium that could store heaps of data long before the advent of the DVD or the price landslide of the solid storage. Yet a desaster. Why?
The reasons are similar to UMD: Sony's attempt to corner the market, rely on vendor lock-in and a DRM system that made it unusable. It's a no-brainer that you cannot force the market to use your proprietary format that none but your own hardware can read. And that's what Sony is trying (again). There is only ONE SINGLE platform for UMD. The PSP. And, let's be honest here, PSP sales weren't that great to begin with. PSPs are also not really the primary platform for watching movies. Far from it. And I think it's safe to assume that you have to pay Sony if you want to release a movie in UMD format.
Could anyone, or everyone, with at least a hint of a background in business think of a reason why UMD fails?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Umd movies didn't end up how they wanted it but they'll probably continue to support it for years for whatever reasons(?) just like they did with their memory sticks and minidisc and beta. All these things never really went mainstream but had niches and were still officially supported.
Why do people keep saying the UMD is small? It's not, its physical size is way bigger than it should be, for its storage capacity. You can get 2 gig SD cards dirt cheap already, which are smaller, technically hold more, more energy-efficient, and probably load faster, too.
It's a proprietary, unwieldy format (can't display UMD movies on a tv, can't get writers or blank ones), but it's also bulky compared to alternatives (hell, i'd rather carry USB sticks), and small storage compared to alternatives.
UMD - its like drugs.... just say no!
It was fine for the game platform, im reality it was nothing too different from a cart - but i do wonder how long it is before someone comes out with a handheld gaming platform that aims to do at least some of these things:
- Linux based
- open cartridge interface
- the ability to plug in your own/code games.
cause if you can make that, then its only 1 step to linux console, and only one step to mythtv as well... I can understand why companies dont want to do it, its a brave move amongst other things (like drm and copy protection) - but not that different from a ps2/ps3 really.
Then maybe, just maybe, the big gaming companies will start going "hmm, maybe we should use opengl instead?"
im living in a dream world of course, im well aware of that...
Sony is learning the same lessons Apple learned. Until very recently, and even still to this day to a lesser extent, Apple tends to lock-in their formats and protocols to only work with Macintosh computers. Sony does the same thing with the PSP, with the Playstation 3, with their Vaio computers, and their camcorder/still camera lineup. It's become even more detrimental in recent years though, as people become more aware of interoperability and open standards. But I think Sony's intentions aren't entirely greed; partially I think they want the same thing Apple wanted: to offer users a simpler, more streamlined experience by having everything line up perfectly. Once you take this a step too far, though, you turn simplicity into slavery.
-dKL
Well, since there is news that the latest PSP firmware already has a built-in ISO loader, I hope Sony would make the PSP to cache the UMD on the Memory Stick. And by cache, I mean rip/copy the whole UMD to the Memory Stick. I don't care if that copy will be locked on a parituclar PSP (you still have the original UMD anyway) as long as I can rung the game that I bought from the Memory Stick so that games would load faster and that my PSP would have longer battery life.
In the other hand, the Memory Stick was a deciding factor in not picking a Sony when I was buying a camera...
Add to the list the format of the battery. My first digital camera was a SONY. Two lessons learned.. Interchangable parts are a must. Otherwise you are required to overstock seldom used items.
One memory card and one battery is OK for the occasional shot of the kid but useless when taking in an auto show, wedding and reception, parade, etc. Either I had a full memory with lots of useless CF cards nearby, or a dead battery with lots of NiMH and alkaline batteries nearby also useless.
I have standardised as much as possible. Everything uses either CF or SD cards and AA or AAA batteries. I have enough of both to get the job done. For a big job, the cards get pulled out of the MP3 player, the GPS and the hand held computer. A 2 week vacation to Hawaii did not mean running out of supplies. When I ran out of batteries at the cultral center, I broke open some alkaline batteries and kept shooting. I was not held hostage to a propritory battery format. It's nice that my flashlight and camera share batteries.
The truth shall set you free!
Actually Sony licensed the technology to numerous companies, but once MP3 players appeared this made the Minidisk even less attractive, of course the MP3 player also killed off the cassette player as well.
Besides price, the copy protection was a turn-off for many. Having 2 non-interchangable format players and disks didn't help either (Data or Music). The CDR came along without Serial Copy Protection and the same disc could do Music or Data in any player/recorder except a stand alone music recorder which used Serial Copy Protection and wouldn't write to Data Discs. Needless to say, that recorder was stillborn.
Mandating restrictions on a music recorder is the kiss of death by failing to recognise the laws of commerce. The DAT suffered the same fate for the same reasons. MP3's showed how it's done without the restrictions. Now the industry is trying to put the genie back into the bottle.
The truth shall set you free!
Is this really even a story? As long as they continue to make and sell the PSP, the UMD disc is going to be made, too (note, we're not talking about UMD movies). Were you guys expecting them to suddenly release a PSP that uses a different format and is totally incompatible with all previous games out there? Didn't think so. So why is this a surprise?
This guy's the limit!
They're right you know; I can definitely still remember what UMD was.
Yeah, UMD movies are here to stay. Stay on the shelves of the retailers, that is. There is no space on the market for a format that costs more than DVDs, has less content than DVDs, and can only be played on one single device that isn't selling particularly well.
Having said that, I will admit that I have actually bought about a dozen UMD movies. Many of the major retailers are or were getting rid of them, and it was possible to buy them for a few bucks. So I have a bunch of unwatched UMDs I can watch if I'm going on a longer train trip. The main issue with that is, of course, that watching UMDs drains the battery much faster than watching movies from the memory stick. On the other hand, they look better...
"... on store shelves."
Agreed. Allthough its getting to be less on an issue. Memory-cards are getting cheaper faster than the pixel-count of cameras are growing. (and for many people there's no reason really to go higher than say a 5-8Mpix camera)
For many people, this means memory-capacity is essentially infinite. A 1GB memory-chip that costs perhaps $20 will hold aproximately 1000 pictures taken with my wifes point-and-shoot. That *is* enough for most people, even for an extended vacation. And if it wasn't, a 4GB card ain't expensive...
You want to upload sometimes anyway, if for no other reason, to guard against the possibility of broken, missed or stolen equipment.
Batteries are more of an issue, if you're away from mains for longer periods. With my DSLR I can take about 150 pictures on a charge, which is decidedly not enough for say a week of backpacking.
Remember, they're universal! They can play in your PSP made by Sony, and also can play in...
um...
well, an entirely different PSP, also made by Sony!
Universal!
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
My mother (being the nice person she is) got me a PSP through her work's reward program a few weeks back. And, while I have a DS to tote around my college campus, I'm loving the PSP. For being a portable system the games have great graphics and music. The down side, most of the UMDs for games I've tried don't seem to have file placement optimized very well. You can hear the system constantly accessing information and having to search the disc. Add the constantly start and stop of the disc drive to the short battery life and you get the biggest downside of the PSP system and the UMD format. 6 hours of battery life is the most I've gotten out of my PSP, when I can definitely say my DS can get around 15 hours. I use my portable systems as a way to pass time between classes when I may only have a half hour to do something, not enough to start on homework or read a chapter and remember it. The PSP battery just isn't reliable enough for me. The DS I can close and put into sleep mode, open it after class and pretty much be sure I can play even after a long week of use. The PSP on the other hand I either have to turn it off and go through all the BS to start it back up, or leave it in sleep and hope the battery doesn't die(which it has done already).
I will have to say, I'm quite impressed with the format itself. It's small, fairly easy to carry, and from what I understand holds about as much info as a GameCube disc. It's the system, it's lack luster battery life, and the horrible disc optimization I'm not to impressed with.
$500 is better than $600, but it will still buy me ten games for my Wii, or even more for my DS.
Of course, if they actually start releasing GOOD movies on Blu-Ray, instead of crappy back-catalog bombs, then I might actually buy one to watch movies. But as long as The Criterion Collection stays on DVD-ROM, no PS3 for me!
UMD is here to stay like BETA. Some will use it but will not be effective in the mainstream like they are pushing.
"Here to stay" : "We can't *give* the damn things away"
You realize there was always a $500 PS3, right? The problem with this price cut is that Sony didn't lower their bottom line, they just dropped the price of 40gb of extra hard drive space $100 and offered a new $600 SKU. Sure, you ARE getting 40gb of extra hard drive now, but how much more does this cost Sony? $5-10? This is called marketing. You're not really getting a price cut as much as you're being subjected to a marketing tactic.
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
Sony seems to totally overlook the negatives to the UMD format. Such as horrendously slow load time and bulky media. Many games are frustratingly slow loading and actually kill the fun of the game. Who wants to wait for fights and stages to load that long? The bulky media is more difficult to take on the road and you definately don't want to just stick a UMD in your pocket. I have no problem doing this with my DS games. The only negative I have with my DS carts are slight space limitations; however, without streaming audio in games this is rarely an issue.
If UMD's are cheaper, why are the games more expensive? Also, why do we need an optical disc for movies these days? I can put a perfectly great looking DIVX file on a cd and play it on a large tv. Couldn't you just as easily use something similar to a cheap 512mb SD-card and get the same quality?
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
Only 150? What DSLR do you have (so that I never buy from them)? My Nikon D70 can take around 800 pictures on a single battery charge. If you use the internal flash and the LCD a lot then it could go down to 200, but that's not really normal usage.
ET is also here to stay, doesn't mean anyone is ever going to use it in a meaningful way though.
Non-rechargeable alkalines are wasteful and damaging to the environment. You were of course speaking of rechargeable Ni or Li batteries right? You dispose of your used batteries properly right? Your point that proprietary batteries are inconvenient is valid, but there's something to be said for not creating more waste than necessary.
"Nothing is better then getting paid for simply controlling the underlying media format."
*sigh* Slashdot, slashdot. Sony doesn't control Blu-ray.
Non-rechargeable alkalines are wasteful and damaging to the environment. You were of course speaking of rechargeable Ni or Li batteries right?
Um no. Spending $50 for 4 extra sets of batteries that will rot in a drawer is a waste of resources. The extra batteries is for when you run completely through your regular stock of rechargable batteries on a high demand job.
Having an overly large stock of rechargable batteries is a total waste. You toss them into a charger and when needed you find the set of 4 doesn't work because one died 6 months ago and you didn't catch it. In the field you miss the shot trying to sort out the dud and finding a working replacement.. Not a good idea. I work with a smaller pool of batteries that get regularly rotated, tested and known to work well. Even single cells are in the rotation. I feed them to my MP3 player. When on a shoot, I can depend on them. When a surge in demand exceeds my supply of charged cells, regular disposable batteries is better than being dead in the water. Even these if not used can be used in low current applications such as the clocks arround the house, pagers, TV/VCR remotes, standby flashlight by the electrical panel, and other items rechargable batteries are poorly suited for due to their self discharge. A secondary stock of regular batteries is cheap, pretty foolproof, and can be easly adjusted to match the anticipated job in a pinch.
A 36 pack of AA's at Costco is under $15. It's cheap insurance for a long shoot. Having that many NiMH cells is a total waste of money.
As I stated before, my trip to Hawaii used quite a few alkaline batteries. Since then, I haven't needed any in several years. I got my shots. I don't have a large surplus of NiMH batteries expirieng.
At work they recycle all types.. Li, Carbon-Zinc, Alkaline, coin Lithium, NiMH and Lead Acid.
The truth shall set you free!
If someone would come out with a phone kit for the PSP? Then the PSP could compete with the iPhone. There's already GPS for it.
I used to feel the same way; until I bought some last year.
New rechargables are awesome. The ones I own (energizer 2500mAh) have _dramatically_ outlived and outpriced buying new alkalines all the time. They're only about 3x the price; but they (a) perform better than alkalines (b) live long enough to pay for themselves many times over and (c) are smarter for the environment.
Seriously, give them another chance.
They're also bunk on the voltage: they register 1.2V, as is often the case with rechargables. I picked some up for Wiimote controls, and their usable lifetime is crap. Either the voltage drops below threshold quickly, or the voltage regulator is causing large inefficiencies. For batteries marketed as useful for electronics, I find the shortcoming less than applaudable.
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Sorry, but this is BS. Alkaline batteries have a known discharge curve which brings their voltage below 1.2V about half-way through their lifetime, declining until they're burnt out. OTOH, rechargeables, such as NiMH, have a much flatter discharge curve. Of course, this has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, you get more consistent performance during a given charge cycle. On the other, it's more difficult for devices to determine the charge state of the battery, since it can't use voltage drop-off as an indicator.
You deserve a +1 insightful just for not saying "That means that they sold 10 UMD movies". The inability of smart, at-least-theoretically-mathematically-literate people to comprehend the reasoning for why it is 11 movies, not 10, fills me with despair. Actual quote from a discussion I had a few years ago with an engineering boss:
"Boss, we increased the throughput by 200% relative to [the baseline]"
"Good. See if you can jigger something and get it up to triple."
I of course took the next hour off and then said:
"Hey boss, it took some doing, but we now have triple the performance of [the baseline]."
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
There's only two significant players in the DSLR-for-prosumers market. Both have similar battery-life for similar cameras. I never actually tested the battery-life. My stated number was just based on impression, and certainly included lots of flash-use and LCD-use. (It's one of those DSLRs where the LCD can be used as a viewfinder)
UMD has a capacity that remains constant over time. The capacity of MicroSD card technology, on the other hand, grows over time. If Sony had used MicroSD cards, someone could today be releasing better (well, more flashy) games for the PSP that make use of today's 2GB capacity. Instead, Sony risks being rushed to release a new console and a new disc format---just for the increased capacity---rather than being able to milk the existing cash cow until its marketing department thinks it's a good time to start pushing something new.
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Yup, "Stay the Course" it worked for Bush, it can work for you. Doesn't matter that it's a sinking ship, and you're going to drown in the end, and no one's going to care about you any more, but it's the honorable thing to do.
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
All I really know is that even Nintendo discourages the practice. Perhaps its because of the difficulty in estimating remaining charge -- who knows? What I do know is that rechargables START at 1.5V and only drop from there, even if it's a much more gradual decline. Meanwhile, the electronics still requires 3V and you're supplying 2.4. I don't have datasheets, but I'd imagine that you can't drop very much lower before the whole thing simply fails.
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