UMD

Report: Sony Mulling Music Downloads for the PSP

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on May 21, 2009 - 11:46am.

San Francisco - Sony (NYSE: SNE) is contemplating bringing music downloads to its PSP handheld game system, music industry sources told CNET News.com. To date, Sony has only offered content for the PSP on its proprietary Universal Media Disc (UMD) format. Recent reports have speculated that Sony will do away with UMD in a forthcoming version of the PSP. The company is now reportedly considering offering direct music downloads, in a bid to compete with Apple's iTunes Store, iPods and iPhones.

tags: Games | Music | Sony | PSP | DRM | UMD |

Sony to Release Slimmer, Lighter PSP

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 12, 2007 - 12:20pm.

Tokyo - Sony Computer Entertainment on Thursday announced plans to release a slimmer, lighter version of its PSP handheld game system that also adds a video-out port.

tags: Games | Video | TV | Sony | PSP | E3 | Retail | UMD |

Sony Introduces $249 PSP Bundle with Memory Stick, UMD Movie

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 12, 2006 - 1:20pm.

Foster City, Calif. - Sony Computer Entertainment America announced on Tuesday a new $249 bundle for its PSP handheld game system, which includes a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, a copy of the film "Lords of Dogtown" on UMD, and the game "ATV Offroad Fury: Blazin' Trails." The PSP Entertainment Pack will ship to retailers tomorrow.

tags: Games | Sony | PSP | CE | Movies | Memory | UMD |

Weak UMD Sales Prompt Studios to Reconsider Release Schedules

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 17, 2006 - 7:26am.

Los Angeles - Sales of movies on Sony's UMD format for its PSP handheld video game have been weaker than expected, according to a report in Variety, causing studios including Paramount, Warner and Sony itself to cut back on future movie releases. The report said successful releases have sold upwards of 100,000 units, but average UMD titles topped off around 50,000 units; top-selling UMD titles included "Napoleon Dynamite," "Chappelle's Show" and "Beavis & Butthead." "We are re-evaluating our position on any future releases at this time," Jeff Baker, senior vice president and general manager of Warner Bros. theatrical catalog, told Variety. "We're looking at this on a case-by-case basis. We're disappointed with consumer demand at this time." Warner Bros. said it has cancelled releases for six planned UMD titles. In a bid to help increase sluggish sales, Sony has plans to release an adapter that would enable the PSP to connect to a TV to play UMD movies.

tags: release | UMD | Schedule | Reconsider |

Warner Home Video Announces Releases on UMD for Sony PSP

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 1, 2005 - 4:44am.

Los Angeles - Warner Home Video has announced that it plans to begin offering titles on the Universal Media Disc (UMD) format for Sony's PSP handheld video game device. The company plans to release 8 movies and episodes of Cartoon Network's "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" animated TV series, pricing new releases at $30 and library titles at $20. Movies released on UMD will include "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Batman Begins," "The Matrix" and "House of Wax." Citing DVD Release Report data, the Hollywood Reporter said Sony Pictures so far has offered 51 titles on UMD, compared with Disney's Buena Vista (30 titles), Fox (23), Universal (22) and Paramount (21); the only major studio still eschewing the format is DreamWorks.

New "Doctor Who" Episodes Coming to UMD for Sony PSP

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 6, 2005 - 9:18am.

London - 2Entertain, an entertainment media distributor jointly owned by BBC Video and Woolworths, announced that it plans to offer the updated production of the classic U.K. sci-fi TV series "Doctor Who" on UMD format for Sony's PSP handheld. The first three episodes of the series will go on sale on UMD later this month.

tags: Sony PSP | UMD | Doctor Who |