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The fact that the Sony PSP has been (at least a moderate...) success so far would not be credibly disputed by anyone. However the thorn in its side remains the dusty, creaky and under loved UMD slot in the devices posterior. Despite optimistic predictions of success after impressive early distribution figures for both UMD movies, and of lesser importance here, UMD games, UMD seems to have flopped just as the then cynics claimed it would. However, to me, what is more odd it the fact that Sony seem to be making moves in the market which are contributing to the downfall of the UMD. There has been more than one announcement or development of which Sony has been the driving factor which in an anonymous world may lead onlookers to believe that those moves had been made by a competitor, rather than an element within the Sony gates. Consider the evidence, if you'll allow me to call it that: 1. Portable movies bundled with Blu-ray - Acknowledging that this has not actually been qualified as motion directly implicating the PSP, it certainly doesn't help. 2. Rumours of a 60 GB equipped PSP2 - Again, rumours abound but still noteworthy. 3. PSP movie downloads - This time the news is solid and from the horses mouth, - why buy the UMD when you have a potentially more flexible digital copy and a new 60 GB (and ever increasing memory stick media sizes) to store it on. It should be noted that all these events, whether rumour or fact have come in the wake of a statement by Ray Maguire in which he refused to admit defeat on the UMD and commenting that Sony have only struggled in finding a decent proposition to PSP owners for full-length movies. At this point I would point towards the news not long before that Japan has seen a tenfold increase in UMD movies sales after prices were slashed. 4. Pro Pro Duo (not a typo) - Sony Computer President Kaz Hirai has already reacted positively to a suggested move from UMD to memory stick as a preferred medium of content delivery. From the other side of the fence however, an objective view may offer up some good foundations to dismiss the above. 1. The Blu-ray market, or to be more specific, the HD DVD market is hot right now as this generations potential Betamax faces VHS. Any help weighted behind the Sony backed Blu-ray format would be welcomed with both arms, especially if Sony has silently accepted the death of UMD. 2. Flash memory is not cheap and PSP users are vocal regarding this fact when purchasing additional Memory Stick Pro Duo media. Even though volumes are increasing while the form factor remains the same, the cost to volume factor of hard drive technology is something no PSP fan would ignore even at the expense of a portion of battery life. 3. Sony has to appease the film studios somehow, and this is a market with too much at stake to simply admit defeat from, even if this move suggests defeat has been admitted for all Universal Media Disc related. So short of slashing prices for a quick fix, where will the UMD stand in a years time or if/when the PSP2 hits our shelves? I'm off to charge my MiniDisc player.
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UMD Blog 
