UMD
Latest
Sony America scraps UMD-to-PSP Go conversion plans
Sony director of hardware marketing John Koller mentioned shortly after the E3 "reveal" of the PSP Go that the company was considering a "good will program," which would allow UMD owners to trade in their physical games for digital versions. However, yesterday at the Tokyo Game Show, an SCEA spokesperson told Kotaku, "We were evaluating a UMD conversion program, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time." That's quite a blow to the base of American PSP owners with large libraries of UMD titles looking to upgrade to a PSP Go -- a blow significantly worsened by the European "PSP Go Rewards" initiative, which grants three free games to PSP Go purchasers who register for the promotion using an older PSP model. This same promotion will not be coming to the US. "SCEA region will not offer a UMD rewards program at this time," due to the fact that the company has a "dual-platform strategy," an SCEA spokesperson has explained to IndustryGamers. Ironically enough, we have a "we'd rather not purchase our PSP games again to play them on a new version of your handheld" strategy going for us. It's working out pretty well so far.
PSP Go upgrade incentive rewards 3 free games to UMD owners
Sony has finally figured out how to incentivize the UMD-less PSP Go for those who possess a towering library of tangible titles for the original models of the device. The company recently announced the "PSP Go Rewards" program for European territories, which offers three free games to anyone who registers the flip-screened handheld before March 31, 2010. To access these titles, users must first connect their older PSP models (which must have a UMD in the drive) to the PlayStation Network, and activate the promotion. The full list of 17 titles, which users can choose their three free games from, is posted after the jump. No, Pocket Pool isn't on there. We know! It's like, what's the point, right? We've contacted Sony to see if the same promotion is coming to North America, and whether this unforgivable oversight will be fixed on its way over.
PSP Go refused by game retailer as Blockbuster fiddles
Do you run a brick-and-mortar store that primarily sells media? Yeah? Then lean in real close, we've got a little trend that you may have overlooked. The physical media you carry -- be it films, music, or games -- is going digital and moving on-line for direct-to-consumer downloads. Still, Dutch gaming-house Nedgame has a statement on its website saying it will not be selling the UMD-less PSP Go. It lists six reasons framed in a way that makes them sound like they're fighting for the rights of the consumer. However, as a seller of gaming media that boasts two new store openings on its home page, the primary beef likely stems from the shop's inability to sell physical media to the download-only PSP Go. Maybe a search on the tag Blockbuster could help with expansion planning?[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
PSP Minis on UMD 'real possibility,' could appear on PS3, Sony says
Given that they're being tailor-made for quick, digital distribution on PSP Go, Sony's "Minis" will probably be released on UMD, the company tells Develop. "The most successful Minis titles will probably transition to UMD," SCEE head of developer relations Zeno Colaco said in an interview published today."I think that a package of multiple Minis games on a single UMD is a real possibility at a later stage, where even a studio or publisher will put a collection of their own games on a single disc," Colaco added. "We'd be open to that."UMD might not be the only destination for Minis. Responding to a question about Minis making the jump to PS3, Colaco said, "I do think there's a possibility that Minis could find themselves on other consoles down the line." So, Maximum Minis, then?[Via MCV]
Gran Turismo PSP bundle arrives October 20 for $200
Click to embiggen. SCEA has announced yet another addition to its growing lineup of PSP "Entertainment Pack" bundles. The upcoming Gran Turismo pack joins Rock Band Unplugged and Hannah Montana this October by packaging a "Mystic Silver" PSP-3000 with a UMD copy of Gran Turismo, downloadable white Corvette ZR1, 2GB Memory Stick, and vouchers for movie and music downloads from the PlayStation Store and Sony Music Pass.At $199, the limited edition bundle seems like quite a bargain, especially when you consider how much cheaper it is than a PSP Go. The announcement of yet another PSP-3000 package reaffirms Sony's stance on supporting UMD as a format -- but also places into doubt the viability of ending PSP piracy any time soon.%Gallery-64985%
Android-based ODROID handheld gaming concept debuts, hurts our eyes
The gadget underground has been buzzin' with clandestine chatter relating to Android MIDs lately, and now a company called Hardkernel is concocting a handheld game platform and media player based on the open source OS and the same processor as the iPhone 3GS. And you know what? This is a pretty cool idea for a device, even if the company's website leaves us frightened and confused. ODROID is a 3.5-inch (320 x 480 capacitive touchscreen) concept that sports a 600MHz Samsung S5PC100 ARM Cortex A8 CPU, HDMI output (720p), composite video output, microSD and SD card slots, and WiFi b/g. We're not entirely sure when (or if) this thing will see the light of day, or for how much, but you'll know as soon as we do. Promise. [Via SlashGear]
Keepin' it real fake, part CCXXXIV: JXD1000 PSP clone has no UMD drive, shame
Sony may or may not have given up on the UMD format, but it's safe to say that KIRFsters never really got on board in the first place. There's a long and storied line of PSP knockoffs, and none have had room for little spinny discs. This latest one doesn't either, but it will play 720p video in a slew of formats, serve up game ROMs in a variety of flavors, tune in FM radio, and take two megapixel pictures. It sports a 4.3-inch, 480 x 272 screen, which won't do much justice to those 720p vids, but with only 8GB of storage there's not much room for high-def content anyway. Just $88 gets you one, but if you order 15 you can save a whole buck![Via PMP Today]
Seemingly solid PSP-4000 rumors give new hope for UMD fans
Put away black mourning clothes, PSP owners, there's life yet in them thar UMDs. When the PSP Go was announced it seemed like there was little time left for the plucky (and generally disliked) format, and indications that Sony had planned to ditch it "since the very beginning" were further nails in its apparent coffin. But now, according to a particularly reliable tipster (who accurately predicted the PS3 Slim in June, right down to the inclusion of proper buttons), there's a PSP-4000 inbound that will still sport a UMD drive. According to the tip this new machine will live along-side the Go, but little is known beyond that... other than it's apparently "nothing to actually get excited about." Tell that to the kids with the Lumines discs rattling away in the spokes of their bicycles.
Undead Knights to rise on PSP this September
Tecmo has been pretty quiet about Undead Knights since we last saw it at E3. That's about to change, as Tecmo has announced an unexpectedly soon release date for the PSP exclusive: September 29th. Finally, the team is ready to take the wraps off the zombie-infested gameplay -- and it looks markedly improved over our less-than-stellar E3 encounter. We'll be getting our non-rotting hands on a preview build soon, so stay tuned for our updated impressions.%Gallery-65172%
Beaterator is actually coming out -- and soon
You may not remember Beaterator, Rockstar Games and Timbaland's unique PSP collaboration. Why? It was announced over two years ago, in March 2007. Originally a Flash application on the Rockstar website, Beaterator allows players of all skill levels to create "professional-level music" through the thousands of loops and sounds included in the application. The PSP version of Beaterator is being developed by Rockstar Leeds, the team behind the PSP and DS Grand Theft Auto games. In preparation for the launch of the all-digital PSP Go, Rockstar will be releasing Beaterator on both UMD and PlayStation Network on September 29th in the US and October 2nd in Europe. This is actually the first of two PSP games expected from Rockstar Leeds this year: a PSP version of Chinatown Wars is also planned for release this holiday. Check out the trailer above, and the box art after the break.
Mytran Wars not canceled, coming soon
Do you remember Mytran Wars for the PSP? If you don't, we don't blame you. The PSP-exclusive strategy game had been often-delayed, from 2008 to early 2009. When it didn't make retail release, we assumed it was dead -- but a recent NYC hands-on proved us wrong.Publisher Deep Silver is planning on bringing Mytran Wars on PSP via UMD next month. When grilled about a downloadable release, the publisher couldn't confirm any plans to release the game on PlayStation Network. Our brief hands-on with the game revealed truly impressive production values, with fully-voiced comic book-styled cutscenes that really bring the world to life. The gameplay should be familiar to anyone that's played Advance Wars: it's classic turn-based strategy with fog of war. Unfortunately, the game moved very slowly, with animations taking much too time. Hopefully, the sluggish pace won't prove to be a game-breaker, when it finally launches on PSP next month.%Gallery-30245%
Persona to launch simultaneously on PSN and UMD
Persona's September 22nd release is awfully close to the release of the all-digital PSP Go. So, what's Atlus to do? Release Persona on UMD and PlayStation Network simultaneously, of course! This will be the first PSP title in America to simultaneously launch in both physical and digital forms. Atlus' dual-format release circumvents Sony's earlier policy to disallow PSN/UMD releases until October 1st.While we're entirely supportive of PSN releases, we recommend you buy the retail version if at all possible. Why? Only the retail version will include the bonus two-disc soundtrack; a digital version won't be bundled with the PSN game. Considering both the UMD and retail versions will cost the same at launch, it's a no-brainer as to which version of Persona you should buy.For a full rundown on what's new in Persona, don't forget to check out Atlus' walkthrough video.%Gallery-65849%
Harry Potter briefly resurrects UMD with new boxset
Warner Bros. didn't get the memo about UMD and death, apparently, as Siliconera reports the studio is set to offer the first five Harry Potter films in one UMD package. This five-disc UMD bundle is hopping a broomstick and heading to Europe only, and likely won't see a huge run, because, uh, common sense. If you're a collector or have a Region 2 PSP, have at it, but if you've got the standard Region 1 PSP, know that you wouldn't be able to watch these if you bought 'em.
White PSP Assassin's Creed Bloodlines bundle to sell for $199
Did anyone else think that Sony would have finally killed off the UMD movie for real by now? Guess again, suckers. The company just spilled some more details on that Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines PSP Entertainment Pack, and in addition to that sexy white PSP-3000 and 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo, your $199 will get you an as-yet-unnamed feature film on UMD. Yes, even as Sony tip-toes into the future with the PSPgo, it's still trying to peddle movies on a garbage proprietary format no one ever really wanted and that most studios have stopped supporting. Old habits die hard, we suppose. Video after the break.
Sony exec says UMD-less PSP was "always the plan"
Well, it's no secret that plenty of folks have been talking about a UMD-less PSP since day one, but it looks like that's been the case behind the scenes at Sony as well, at least according to the company's head of product planning, Naoya Matsui. Speaking with GameBusiness.jp, he said that Sony has "planned to release a PSP model without a UMD drive since the very beginning," but that if "we'd simply released the hardware, there wouldn't have been much for everyone to enjoy," adding that Sony "needed to prepare the right environment for it first - things like the transferal of content with the PS3 and PSN, and PC software to manage content like music and movies such as Media Go." Matsui further went on to explain that Sony also had to wait until the "delivery of digital content was on par with the delivery of physical media," which it obviously thinks has now finally happened.[Via Joystiq]
Sony: PSP without UMD 'always the plan'
During an interview with GameBusiness.jp, Sony's product planning division head honcho, Naoya Matsui, commented that Sony always had plans to go UMD-less, and that the PSP Go is the fruition of all that planning. "We'd planned to release a PSP model without a UMD drive since the very beginning," Matsui said. He further makes his case by stating, "But if we'd simply released the hardware, there wouldn't have been much for everyone to enjoy. We needed to prepare the right environment for it first - things like the transferral [sic] of content with the PS3 and PSN, and PC software to manage content like music and movies such as Media Go."Matsui explains that part of the progression of the PSP to the PSP Go is that Sony had to wait until digital content was on par with physical media, and that the timing now is right. That's one of the reasons Sony is still selling the existing PSP alongside the Go. Well, that, and it's probably not a good idea to have a single handheld that costs as much as a Wii.[Via Edge]
Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! becomes a download-only game
There are multiple reports (on IGN and Siliconera) of pre-orders being canceled for NIS America's upcoming PSP game, Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! What Did I Ever Do to Deserve This?. When we contacted NIS America for comment, the publisher noted that "the game will be coming out," but didn't provide specifics. Today, we can report that Badman will be releasing exclusively as a PlayStation Network download for $19.99. Considering the unique pick up and play nature of Badman, coupled with the upcoming digital-only PSP Go, it makes a lot of sense why Badman will release as a downloadable title.While Badman makes sense as a downloadable title, we're a little surprised that the UMD version had to be canned. NIS America told us that "we wanted to make UMD for it, but Sony doesn't allow dual release (UMD & PSN) until Oct. 1st. We are super bummed about it!" Well, now you know who to blame.Check out gameplay footage of the unusual game after the break.%Gallery-63011%
Sony considering UMD game trade-in program for PSP Go digital versions
Sony's John Koller, director of hardware marketing, stated in a recent interview that the company is considering a UMD game trade-in program for PSP Go customers. Speaking with Gizmodo, Koller stated the company plans to unveil a "good will program," allowing customers to link digital copies of their games to their Go.Koller stated that in the past the company has seen a 20-25 percent "trade-up factor" among PSP owners. The company is apparently still in the "planning stages," but we contacted Sony to find out if there were any further details or timetable.
Sony working on "good will" program to give digital copies of your UMD collection
We just sat down for an interview with Sony's John Koller, who among many other interesting tidbits and factoids (more on those later) assuaged fears that our giant UMD library would be entirely forsaken. While light on details -- they're still figuring it out, he said -- there will be a "good will" program by which owners of current disc-based titles will be able to obtain digital copies for use on the PSP Go -- "a set number of titles for a set period of time," to be exact. He couldn't confirm all games, or at least all your personal collection, would be transferrable -- that might have to do with the number of digitized games they'll have at launch, which will be at least 300 but not the whole back catalog -- but despite calling it a short-term program he did say, should you receive a new UMD game later down the line, you should still be able to make the digital transfer. As for price, we're still looking to confirm something there, but they wouldn't be putting so much effort into the program if it wasn't at least for a discount, if not free. If you happen to like your discs, Koller said UMDs aren't going by the wayside so long as the PSP is still around, but he expects digital to start taking an increasing share. Looking to the future, he confirmed all first-party titles and most third-party titles (by the developers' own volition, not a mandate) will be available as digital downloads day and date with the UMD hard copies, and yeah, despite the reduced shipping and manufacturing costs, it'll be for the same price, too.
Sony PSP Go announced -- $249, no UMD
Just as expected, Sony just announced the PSP Go at E3 just now -- Haz Kirai called it the "worst kept secret at E3." The slider handheld has a 3.8-inch LCD, built-in Bluetooth and 16GB of internal storage, all in a case 50 percent smaller and 40 percent lighter than the original PSP-1000 -- a weight savings we're guessing is directly attributable to the loss of the UMD drive. That's right, the Go doesn't have a UMD drive -- games will instead load in through the Memory Stick Micro slot or over PlayStation Network. That's not the end of the classic PSP, though -- Sony says it will "live on." New PSP titles will be distributed through both UMD at retail and online simultaneously -- Sony's beefing up the desktop client and renaming it Media Go for easier access and syncing with Playstation Network media, but you'll be able to get PSN content directly from the Go as well. The PSP's music features have also been beefed up with a new auto-playlist feature called Sense Me, which sounds a lot like Pandora or iTunes Genius playlists, and there's a new video delivery service being rolled out.Don't expect the loss of UMD to lower the price, though: the Go will be $249 when it launches on October 1 in North America and Europe and November 1 in Japan. Sony's showing demo videos with both black and white versions, but that's not confirmed yet -- we'll let you know.Update: Check the full PR here.Update 2: Sony has just blasted out the detailed specifications. Here are the highlights: Approx. 128 x 16.5 x 69 mm (width x height x depth) Weight: 5.6 ounces (including batter) CPU: 333MHz 64MB memory 3.8-inch display (480 x 272 resolution) Built-in stereo speakers and microphone 802.11b WiFi Bluetooth 2.0+EDR USB 2.0 Memory Stick Micro slot Analog video out 16GB storage
