Usually when I head over to my local Gamestop these days, I see a bargain bin full of UMD movies at discount prices set up conveniently and pervasively to impede my path to the register. It’s really quite a somber sight; it’s like a product graveyard with assorted UMD movies just screaming to be rescued from the grasp of Hades. It reminds me of those stuffed animals that are stuck in claw games waiting for the off chance that maybe, just maybe, a sucker will be suckered into playing to win and take one home. Well like the sucker that I am, I rummage with my hand claw through the piles of endless copies of Kill Bill Vol 1 and Spiderman 2. Granted after the initial shock of decent movies for cheap discount prices, rationality begins to set in again. Is the PSP really the kind of experience I want when watching a movie? When will I ever want to watch this movie on the go? Should I just grab the DVD and watch it on my HDTV? At least when I put the UMD back into the pile I can feel good about myself because I know, for a brief moment, the UMD movie got to experience what it is like being held by human hands.
Is there hope left for this waning format? Tech and gaming blogs suggest that the UMD format for movies is on its last leg of existence. But when I made that initial investment in a Playstation Portable back in ‘05 I had a lot of hope for UMD movies, and I still do.
Price Point and Positioning
Currently I can go on Amazon and purchase National Treasure on DVD full of the normal special features: commentary, trailers etc. I can also purchase, for the same $14.99 price, the UMD version — a version that does not contain any special features at all. So other than the portability factor of the UMD version, I see no other comparable competitive advantage. If you ask me, the portability of UMD movies does not warrant a similar price especially since the UMD version is a bit lacking.
I believe the “sweet spot” price point, so to speak, would be in the $4.99 to $7.99 range. It is at this price range that I believe UMD movies can re-position itself as an impulse buy for consumers who lets say are at the airport, not particularly interested in special features, and just looking for a movie for their 3 hour plane ride. Let’s face it. Due to the technical limitations of the optical medium, I don’t believe movies on the UMD format can compete with high definition Blu-Ray movies nor do I think Sony wants its own technologies competing with each other; rather the two formats should serve different market segments. UMD movies with a rental-like price point could serve consumers who are perhaps not interested in special features and just want a simple movie watching experience while the more traditional DVD and Blu-Ray movies can serve consumers looking for a more complete — with high definition, surround sound, and special features in all — movie watching experience.
Stand Alone Set-top Player or Playstation 3 Attachment
With the release of the new slimmer Playstation Portable and component cables, Sony finally conceded to the seemingly arcane and obscure concept — to Sony at least — that consumers might want to watch their purchased UMD movies on a television set. It’s a step in the right direction. But I believe that PSP needs even more avenues for watching movies not just on the go but also in a more traditional home viewing experience.
The cross functionality between the Playstation Portable and Playstation 3 is without a doubt getting more robust with every iteration of Sony’s firmware releases — whether it be remote play or downloadable games. Why not add even more connectivity between the PSP and PS3 by allowing UMD movies to be played on a television set via a PSP connected to a PS3? This would give consumers options. Not only can consumers watch UMD movies on the go, but they have the option to connect it to the PS3 for a simple viewing experience — not to mention the added portability and convienence of having a very capable UMD movie set-top-like player and the option to experience Blu-Ray movies if the consumer so chooses to.
I must admit buying a PSP just solely to for the benefit of viewing UMD movies might be an expensive investment to the average consumer. It also suggest consumers who purchase a PSP are looking for a gaming and mobile media player experience. This is where the fabled and rumored stand alone set-top player would come into play. I see a stand alone set-top player as a very viable way of opening a growing library of UMD movies to consumers who are perhaps not interested in a PSP. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this indeed happened. But there is also another alternative taken straight for the playbook of Microsoft: Sony should create a UMD movie player PS3 attachment. Again this would give consumers options and a relatively cheap — though I’m speculating — add-on player.
I did, however, conveniently leave a facet out which is the selection of movies themselves. It goes without saying that Sony should seriously court studios to release movies on its format. But that aside, I believe if you couple the fact that the UMD format for movies can position itself as a cheaper alternative to DVDs and Blu-Ray movies with many avenues, including mobile viewing, to watch them then the UMD format for movies seriously has breath left in it –enough to make Sony some serious cash.
Colin
March 17th, 2008
Sean
March 17th, 2008