Breaking news: Sony's UMDs aren't selling well
By Ryan Block 
posted February 16th 2006 4:52PM
posted February 16th 2006 4:52PM
Sony, you
think just because you (half) invented the CD you're entitled to foist upon the world format after crappy format, but
how long until you listen up? MiniDisc, and Memory Stick (Pro, Duo, Pro Duo, M2, etc.), there's a good reason they
didn't stick like you'd hoped and still arouse the ire of consumers everywhere. But please, just don't act all
surprised that the UMD isn't taking, and that studio after studio
is cutting back UMD releases, according to Variety; Warner's nixing six future UMD titles, stating they're
"disappointed with consumer demand [in UMD] at this time." Virgin, UMD's biggest buyer to date, isn't making
more room for new UMDs, either, stating "the overall impact of the format has still been nominal." You
guys want to know why though? Here's some free market advice: UMD only plays in one device (the PSP), and the format is
so closed consumers can't even buy recordable UMDs (and never will be able to), let alone play them in other devices.
Where's the "universal" in this media disc?P.S. Variety mentioned a couple of time's SCEA's plans to move more UMDs: a Sony TV adapter for the PSP. Sounds like a natural fit (after some especially unnatural hacks), but we have a feeling perhaps Variety might just be confusing this with the PSP's newfound ability to play LocationFree TV streams.
Preview of BlueRay any one?
>:-D
I'm really suprised no Korean outfit has made a MiniDVD drive to compete with UMD.
They would be a perfect order of magnatude replacement for Floppy disks. Could theoretically fit in a 3.5" drive bay, and offer a nice smaller form factor for tiny laptops.
I like to hand them out as business cards.
This does not supprise me. Yawn over the arguement of Sony does it suck or not suck.
Here's the thing:
1.Sony has this stupid overwhelming phobia with that copyright infringment thingie.It's kinda time to learn - but the answer is still to sell (supposed) UMD-RW drives and blank UMDs.I imagine that the sales would be hyper. Just think of the business opportunity - UMD-RW drive for the PC...what did DVD-RW drives cost when they hit the market...ike,300$-400$? People still bought them.
If Sony won't reconsider this ban-the-blank-umd idea,they will practiaclly get f-c-u-k-ed.
Though i don't own a PSP just yet,i have ordered one (white japanese gigapack) just to play one game (you know which).I'll get it play that gazme till my eyes bleed,surf witht he free wi-fi in my sollege and i'll still be satisfied
And the final word about the piracy : every single console gets hacked.PS2 got hacked,XBOX got hacked,i bet 360 and PS3 will follow.And it doesnt matter if it is a firmware or a chip hack. They just have to know that there are people,who think (and sometimes they are) that they are too smart to pay for software. It's just the way of things in life
I think the UMD/DVD box set would be a good idea I would pay an extra say 5-10 to get the UMD in the same box if I was bying the DVD anyways. UMD's are simply too expensive new releases are 17.99 here in the UK, DVD's are not even that price anymore.
I think UMD is a good format and I do like to watch movies on my PSP on a long journey, they just need to stop being so greedy.
1 small point.
Sony did not invent the cd... Philips did that ;)
Haha, you people are really funny. We are talking about pioneers of electronics here, not just any old company. UMD's have their problem, but they aren't surprised that UMD's didn't do well... It wasn't more than a damn experiment. Handhelds aren't exactly going to do that well with data now being stored by memory, and not actually discs anymore. Do you see any other manufacturer creating anything more revolutionary at the moment?
Exactly...
Also, Do you all realize that whatever medium sony uses in its next console release(blu-ray) will be THEE medium for the future? Mark my words, quote them, whatever. Videogames are LEADING ALL of electronics sales all over the world. Just don't let me say I told you so with the way the current playstation is outselling EVERY single other console including Xbox 360 with it's not-so-triumphant release with mediocre launch numbers, and medicore graphics being shown.
Don't doubt sony. I am sure the same people have done it before, and look what they have, the best marketing in the leading electronics sales division - videogames.
Not that I support UMDs in any shape or form (i completely agree with the article) but I think the "Universal" in "Universal Media Disc" is actually refering to Sony being able to put any type of media (i.e. universal media) on the disc rather than being able to be played universally.
Actually, after looking at all the stats this year, I don't think a stand alone UMD player will come out of Sony anytime soon. It will kill PSP sales even further, and will not boost UMD movie sales any further, as the devices will probably end up competing against each other. And sony will never allow a recordable UMD format right now because it will hurt game sales even further if they don't lock it up properly and still make it user friendly - a really difficult task to accomplish. If they did this on the get go, things would probably have looked alot different today.
i hope sony to reduce the price of umd movies or sell dvd w/ it...
----------
http://www.cdfreaks.com/news/13044
For what it's worth, I'm also perplexed about the "UMDs are selling really well" hype from a few months (?) ago that was mentioned in an earlier comment. Sony PR-talk to get Joe User doing a "me too!" and buying up? Perhaps. It pays to build buzz for a new product, obviously.
M$ is going to make sure that game and movie distribution does not include any media at all. No disks of any sort. Just downloads over the net. They only care if one of these formats succeeds, but even then it will only delay the inevitable.
Disks.....Ha!
Mark
The only was Sony can recover their investment with UMD is to create a UMD writers and sell UMD writable media.....they'll make a fortune,
Users will be able to put all TV, DVD and other games and software onto a mass storage space to view and use on a beutifull PSP screen.
Remember more razor blades that razors get sold...get the picture?
As I said on /.: The problem with UMD movies is not the content by itself. The problem is that it's got to do with the pricing. $20 for a UMD is ridiculous, and people look for replayability when it comes to dropping $20 for a tiny disc on their PSP. People on the go want to watch something they can watch over and over (hence why Napolean Dynamite is so popular). If I had to choose to spend $20 for a comedy vs $20 for some other movie that isn't a comedy, then I probably would buy the comedy. I won't buy the other movie because I would be likely to watch it over and over less. Sony should learn it's lesson and drop the price point on these movies. $20 for a disc is too much. $10... now that's a sweet price point!
I think Sony shot them-selves in the foot with UMD. They are trying to introduce it too soon before they unleash Blu-Ray on the world, and I'm sure one or the other will fail so I was hoping it'd be UMDs.
I like the UMD format. It does what it needs to do, store 1.8Gb of data in a small durable form factor. Lower the price of the moives and I'll buy all that you have. Extras? I don't even watch them on DVD, so I don't miss them in UMD. If Sony would release a UMD-RW, I'd be first in line (regardless of cost). Just so i could rip my existing DVD's (with no extras), music, and photos. New movies would be bought on UMD. They probably would lose some money in the UMD movie sales, but I would be buying a TON of blanks UMD's, and keep the MS for saved games and homebrew (stuff that needs R/W access).
Just a side note, i don't think that DVD-RW's hurt the DVD sales that much, so i don't think UMD-RW would either.
that's how Sony works, 99 Cents is all I willing to pay for UMD movie, waiting for them to hit the bargain bins. why would I pay for $20 UMD when I have the DVD. I can convert them to pmp format stream it to my psp with pmpmod (homebrew). nice app.
Sony doesn't care, they just don't. Even if the entire psp line completely dies of a horrible death, sony won't care. You know why? It's simple, cause sony has their hands in to many things. They're making so much money that they can take hits without sweating. Look at that stupid sony bean player with the connect software. It just proves they don't care.
If this was nintendo where the psp and ps2/3 were their lifeblood then they would approach it in a different manner. But this is not the case.
And I'm sure there's a ton of bickering and in house politics that goes on with sony. What one department wants gets can by another department. It's weird.
To their credit
DAT and Beta became professional formats.
Even still, some people at Sony need to get their asses fired for this kind of non-sense in the consumer market.
My opinion is that Sony has to drope the price of PSP's games and UMD. Some games are around $50 same like the PS2 but with less feature. Maybe the high price for a PSP Game would be $40 US. And for UMD it has to be $10 because a DVD is around $20 in Suncost.com or Suncost Video. A DVD is 720 x 480 vs 480 x 272 (PSP). It is less quality although in the PSP it look good. The DVD can be watched in a TV and for that many people can watch a movie. In the PSP only 2 can watch a movie, maybe 3 maximum. For that I say that UMD has to be not more than $10 each.
For one person watching movie I have to say that a PSP is like a LCD or Plasma TV for these reason: When you watch a movie in a TV it is around 6 feet or more far of you. You'll see the screen of the TV around 4 of 5 inch at that distance, same as the PSP size. The PSP is around one foot far of you. Sorry for my English
What kind of idiots spend double the price of a dvd to watch a movie an a little screen & spend money for extra memory for their portable device. Sony knows threre is lots of idiots out there & they make millions putting out devices that requires to spend extra money to put them to use {games,memory,movies etc} PSP a ripp off.
Like others have said, I can't justify paying $20-$30 for a UMD movie, when I can just buy a DVD for $20. Then, if I want to watch a particular movie on my PSP, just put it on a memory stick. If they sold the UMD's for $10, they would sell. This price shouldn't hurt them as the UMD movie's can only be viewed on the PSP only and can't be copied....vs....a DVD that can viewed on multiple devices and can be copied.
"Do you all realize that whatever medium sony uses in its next console release(blu-ray) will be THEE medium for the future? Mark my words, quote them, whatever."
Oh yeah? I sumbit for your recognition, SONY's failed proprietary formats:
1) Beta
2) MiniDisc
3) DAT
4) Memory Stick Duo, Pro, Pro Duo
5) UMD
6) Blu-Ray
Tip: Never bet on SONY's media formats.
Sony is slow to recognize trends and capitalize on them, instead they're more content with feeding consumers what they think they want, instead of what consumers actually want. And somewhere in the process, Sony manages to muddle things.
UMD movies are too expensive. They lack additional content found in cheaper DVDs. And the movies are limited to the PSP only (HUGE mistake on Sony's part). And what's with releasing movies already available? No way am I'm going to buy movies I already own.
Creating your own UMDs with a RW drive on a computer would have been desirable, but no such option exists.
I've found the PSP far more interesting to use with content I've recorded from my DVR. It's great when traveling or commuting. Again, Sony didn't capitalize on this really cool homebrew feature.
I think $5-9 UMD movies would have been the sweet spot.
Suncoast is dumping UMDs right now for 30-50% off. Even at those prices ($15-$20) I'm still not interested.
ONE THING AGAIN. Tell me what you think. Many people talk about nobody like to watch a movie in a 4" display. But think aboutit. At the distance that you have your PSP, the display is like a 32" tv display wide screen. You can not wath a movie in your Plasma at 1 ft. far. You watch your plasma around 6 feet or more far. If you get the measure with a rule at the distance that you see your plasma, maybe it would be 4" like the PSP. Think about it.
Here is what I'd like to see.
Something about 1/2 the physical size of a DVD but encased in a protective shell like the Sony MiniDisks are.
I deployed to Afghanistan couple of years ago and most of the CD's/DVD's I had were pretty messed up after a couple of months.
The only thing that never gave me any prob's were my MiniDisks and the Player.
Sure its old tech, crappy looking and sorta clunky....
So what?
It kept working and playing music LOOOOOONNG after other peoples CD players and Ipods went tits up.
Imagine a 3 inch by 3 inch disk with 2GB's (or so) of capacity and a protective shell.
That'd be quite usefull.
We're wayy to hung up on "cheap", "trendy", "cool" and crap like that.
Give me something;
FUNCTIONAL,
UTILITARIAN,
and,
DURABLE.
But maybe I've been a "grunt" for too many years.
WTF do I know?
LOL
Later.
I love my PSP to bits and use it every day but I don't own a single UMD movie for one reason. THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE! 20 for a film that I will watch once in an hour and a half and not watch again for months. A game costs 30 and you get 100 times more usage out of it.
As for the lack of players for UMD discs, why not solve that by adding a UMD slot into the PS3?
Come on Sony, sort it out.
I thought about getting UMD movies when I got a PSP... but they're way overpriced. They're more expensive than actual DVDs, which typically contain features, and can be played everywhere. The UMD only works on the PSP, and they probably don't have any features.
-- Elias
It's a lie anyway. UNIVERSAL media disc? What universal about a disk that runs on ONE piece of hardware? Oh, perhaps Sony are confused because the disc can hold different media types... whoopie doo, what other disc doesn't?
You guys are crazy. No one ever said, "Boy! Those GBA cartriges aren't selling very well!" Aren't UMDs made specifically for the PSP?
Some of you guys really aren't all that smart. In no particular order...
1)DAT is most definitely NOT a proprietary format, and no-one can say it was a failure (even if it's not used much these days)
2)MiniDisc was/is not a failure. Millions of Minidisc players/recorders have been sold, mostly in Europe & Asia since it was introduced almost 15 yrs ago. For some odd reason the Yanks prefered to stick with audio cassettes. Hardly surprising in a country that loved 8-track cartridges, but anyway...
3) Beta was not a failure. There had to be one winner in the consumer market, sadly it was VHS, but in the professional video market beta's professional offspring have been the most successful video formats EVER.
4) Memory Stick is not a failure. Millions of people use Sony digital cameras, all of those people are happily using Memory Sticks.
I'm very glad UMD is dying off though. Anyone wanna buy a UMD Testing Tool computer? I doubt we'll ever need it again. I really pray that Blu-ray will die off too. It's so ridiculously over-complex. But then again...so is HD-DVD...maybe they'll both be a failure.
you know i really admired the capabilities of the psp and all but i sure wished that other companies could make other devises capable of playing umd games and music that would really boost the UMD and PSP marketing.
it's not only that it cost alot it is also that they break easily
Sony is a disaster waiting to happen.First it was BETA vs VHS, and Sony lost. Now it is Blu-Ray & UMD vs HD & normal DVD. Who will win? I own a PSP and i think that UMD's are just wasting the companies resources. Their not selling well, are crap and can only play on a PSP console. If they loose this latest battle, then Sony is finished. (i hope so)
What I don't get is why Sony has not learned from the many lessons of their past. Most on this thread probably aren't old enough to remember BetaMax. It was released at the same time VHS was, and by all accounts was the far better product of the two. However, Sony (as Sony always does) made the technology proprietary and wouldn't allow anyone else to produce players for Beta. The result? Look around. Try to find a Beta tape or player anywhere.
So fast forward 25 years, and where are we? Now we have a phenomenal media device ... the PSP. What does Sony do to ensure critically confined market share? They make is capable of playing movies on UMD only ... another proprietary media that only plays on one device, the PSP. Even the other optical disk players made by Sony (DVD, Blu-Ray, PS2, PS3, etc., etc., etc.) don't play the things. Who made that decision? Do they still work for Sony? If they do, then there are at least 2 or 3 other folks that probably need to be fired as well. Why doesn't Sony use something like a mini-DVD for the PSP that users can get writable versions of and will play on other optical players? Obviously the lesson was not learned with Beta. Just making a great product doesn't mean it will succeed. VHS was very user friendly, and yes, people used them to copy movies extensively, but the medium is still around despite other advances affecting the market like DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-Ray.
Allowing the features in a product or medium that users want will not kill your product. I would propose that quite the opposite is true, limiting the features of a product that users want to see available will kill your product. Eventually someone will learn from your mistake and take your market.
Here are the three things Sony needs to do right now before digging this hole any deeper:
1. Either find a way to make UMDs much much less expensive (anything more than $5 - $10 is not going to sell ... just look at your own sales data), or change the PSP to accomodate a media that will play on other optical players (If I pay $15 for a movie, I'd better be able to watch it on my TV also, with at least the same kind of quality as a regular DVD).
2. Stop making so many games, and make some good ones. Quantity will not overcome quality issues. Making more games just gives a greater variety of garbage, and I, for one, think it gets even harder to find a game you will enjoy when you have to sift through so many bad ones. Eventually I'll lose interest and but a PC game instead.
3. Use the opportunity to enhance the features of the product when you update it. Just making it slimmer is no great gain. How about better power usage and longer battery life? How about a good Internet browser to take advantage of the WiFi capability? How about an internal 30+ Gb hard drive that you can use to rip DVDs and watch at your convenience (e.g., the Zen Vision)? These are just a few of what I want to see in my device.
Sony, you continue to bookend creative inspiration with jaw-droppingly bad product life cycle decisions. If you need a good consultant to help you trim the weeds and get to a place in the market where you dominate again, give a holler ... I can help you.