Then add some freeware Dvd Decryption Program and HEY PRESTO!…

You have your entire DVD colllection on your PSP.

Better no?

I do agree that buying a movie on UMD is pretty silly. Most people have DVD players nowadays and if you had to choose, I think you’d buy a movie on DVD.

I used to be a supervisor at a movie theater and coming into a theater to shine a high beam flashlight in a guys face is the best part of the job. But very rarely would i get a complaint until AFTER the movie. By then its too late to do anything and the customer’s day is already ruined so whats the point.

I’ve seen customers many times just walk up to a group of talkers and politely/impolitely just tell them to shut up. Most of the time it works but why more people don’t do that is something i’ll never understand. You paid $10 to see a movie so take 20 seconds to report it to an usher or deal with it yourself.

I definitely see your point, but Sony is doing something devilish to ensure UMD’s become a successful format. And unfortunately, it seems to be working.

(Begin Conspiracy Theory)

75% of PSP owners are like me. We bought this thing thinking it was the best thing in the world, yet half a year later we own less than 2 games. Sony is INTENTIONALLY holding back games in order to push UMD movies. Sure, they couldve treated this like a “Portable Playstation” and set a small team to port the best of their PS2 library. But thats what the customers would expect, and it would cannibalize their UMD movie angle. So instead they held back on games and flooded the stores with overpriced UMD movies.

Now, this is why this move works so well. A PSP owner goes into a store with $50 to get a game for his cool toy. Looks at the shelf and there’s about 10 crappy games to choose from that he doesn’t want. A smart consumer would go put the money in the bank, but he’s an american and he’s going to waste his money so… well look here on the next shelf. King Fu Hustle? XXX? Hey, Sin City! Well, i have $50 bucks so i could buy Sin City AND Kill Bill! What a bargain.

You may think this theory is crazy but go hang out at a best buy and watch people sift through the PSP games. They will ALWAYS drift to the movies. Once you see someone do that then you’ll understand how easy it is to take the next step and carry “Resident Evil:The Movie” to the register.

Personally, i hate that its successful because they now think “why develop 10 games when you can develop 5 and release 100 movies with a greater profit margin”. I’ve tried to watch Spiderman 2 on UMD and i couldnt get past the first few minutes. Why would I watch on a 4″ screen when my 40″ TV is right here? Plus, there’s something very “loser-ish” about some guy who is so addicted to movies that he buys a 2nd copy of Hitch so he can hunch his back over a PSP and feel cool as people stare at him on the subway. No thanks, I’ll go read a book instead…

Cheers!

If you are looking for ideas for future ‘casts one of my big regrets is that podcasting did not come into my radar until recently. I would really like to hear your thoughts on the LOTR trilogy and the EE of these movies.

Any chance?

Keep up the great work!

As for UMD’s.. SOny is just gonna keep pourin` money in until they find something that clicks… So a fad? I don’t think so personally,

you made a very good point that if they were 5$ it would help a lot, and Sony is gonna realise this and lower the prices, helping UMD’s stay around for a while.

Ray`

Hitch is one of the big ones being promoted.

House of Flying Daggers – huh? good movie, but not suited to sit holding in front of you for a period of time. if you want to watch movies portably get those 6 inch portable DVD players htat are a little bigger.

bottom line – fuck UMD!