Film distributor Lions Gate Entertainment has announced that it will be releasing 12 movies on the PSP's UMD format - the first non-Sony owned company to do so. Among the selection will be new releases such as Open Water and The Punisher, and back catalogue wares like Total Recall and Rambo. It seems Lions Gate has a very clear idea about the sort of people who are going to buy Sony's handheld console...
These movies join the list previously announced by Sony, and it's clear that a reasonable if not particularly representative selection of releases will be available.
But the key question remains - will anyone buy movies on UMD if the same movies are available more cheaply on DVD? Presumably, if you want to watch films on the go, you'll be able to download movie files from your PC onto a PSP memory stick. In which case, why buy the DVD and the UMD of the same movie?
In the past Sony has hinted at providing exclusive extras on its UMD movie releases, and this may well boost interest in the format. A movie release that comes with a selection of playable mini-games, or files that unlock elements of the tie-in PSP title, would be welcome. A UMD movie could also download its soundtrack to your PSP's music folder as a bunch of MP3s. The problem is, how many third party studios are likely to plow the extra costs and resources into developing unique content for UMD releases?
There's a familiar Catch 22 possibility: consumers won't buy UMD movies in siginificant volumes until the discs begin to feature exclusive extras, but movie studios won't see the benefit in providing those extras until more consumers start supporting the format.
We may have been here a few times before...
