UMD-DVD Bundles Finally Announced.

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09 Feb 2006, 10:55 PM
Jeremy

UMD-DVD Bundles Finally Announced.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=14604

Quote:

Sony Pictures has unveiled plans to bundle UMDs with DVDs and announced pricing for the Blu-Ray format, with new movie releases set to carry a wholesale price of less than USD 25.

From March 28th, PlayStation Portable owners will be able to purchase DVD-UMD bundles for movies The Grudge, Resident Evil, Underworld, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and The Terminator. April 25th will see the arrival of Ghostbusters, Mad Max, The Fifth Element and Snatch, and more bundles will follow in May.

The bundles will be priced at USD 28.95. This is a price point which is likely to appeal to consumers - in the States, new DVD releases generally sell for between USD 20-25, while UMD movies carry an RRP of USD 29.99.

Speaking to Reuters, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president Benjamin Feingold said: "A lot of people have DVD players and also have PSPs, and this way for one price they can get one movie and play it back on both formats."

SPHE has also announced that Blu-Ray versions of older films will carry a wholesale price of USD 17.95, while new releases will be priced at USD 23.45. The company has declined to set an RRP, leaving retailers free to determine their own profit margins.

SPHE's UK subsidiary was unavailable to comment on whether similar plans are in the pipeline for Europe.
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Maybe now these things will stop taking up PSP game space on the shelves.
09 Feb 2006, 10:56 PM
Glitch

It's about time. Now I can buy Doom.
09 Feb 2006, 10:58 PM
Razor Ramon

Isn't there already a thread on this?
10 Feb 2006, 12:31 AM
RoleTroll

That's very nice. UMD makes sense if you don't have to pay again for the same movie you can watch on your DVD player.
10 Feb 2006, 12:57 AM
gamevet

Quote:

The bundles will be priced at USD 28.95. This is a price point which is likely to appeal to consumers - in the States, new DVD releases generally sell for between USD 20-25, while UMD movies carry an RRP of USD 29.99.

Pretty funny, considering that most new release DVDs are sold for under $20 the first week. The UMDs are generally priced under $18 in most cases.

UMD:http://www.walmart.com/catalog/searc...&Continue.y=12
10 Feb 2006, 12:58 AM
kedawa

Does any store actually cahrge anywhere close to those prices?
I've never paayed more than $12 for a DVD and I've never seen a UMD movie for over $20.

Also, wrong forum. ;)
10 Feb 2006, 01:23 AM
EvilMog

Quote:

Originally Posted by kedawa

I've never paayed more than $12 for a DVD and I've never seen a UMD movie for over $20.

Also, wrong forum. ;)

well aren't you fucking special.
10 Feb 2006, 03:17 AM
TobalRox

Quote:

Originally Posted by kedawa

Does any store actually cahrge anywhere close to those prices?
I've never paayed more than $12 for a DVD and I've never seen a UMD movie for over $20.

Also, wrong forum. ;)

$12 for a new release is rare... and then the prices just go up. I dunno how it is in Canada, but most DVDs go for $15-20 MINIMUM.
10 Feb 2006, 03:55 AM
kedawa

Most major releases are ~$20, but I'm too cheap to buy them.
My main concern was with the UMD prices.
Any time I've seen them in stores, they've been $15-$18, which is nowhere near the US$30 price quoted in the article.
10 Feb 2006, 08:21 AM
Yoshi

This was already posted and not not in the wrong forum before.
10 Feb 2006, 01:16 PM
Korly

When they bundle stuff like The Grudge or Underworld which all have multiple DVD releases are they going to include the best, most recent DVD version, or are they going to give us the old, bare-bones jam?
10 Feb 2006, 01:32 PM
Jeremy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoshi

This was already posted and not not in the wrong forum before.

That's what I get for not not reading Cinemania. I didn't think this was the wrong forum, since folks certainly complain about the UMDs here, and they will only play on the PSP.
10 Feb 2006, 07:42 PM
Glass Joe

Quote:

Originally Posted by Korly

When they bundle stuff like The Grudge or Underworld which all have multiple DVD releases are they going to include the best, most recent DVD version, or are they going to give us the old, bare-bones jam?

This is a really good question and one that needs an answer soon!
13 Feb 2006, 02:10 AM
mollipen

Absolute proof of how much of a scam UMDs are.

Quote:

February 12, 2006 - On April 25, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the long-awaited sequel Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on DVD and PSP in a two-disc special edition. Described by SPHE, the feature-length film is "brought to life through 100 minutes of beautifully crafted visual content," and "revisits the rich universe and memorable characters of Final Fantasy VII, one of the best selling video games of all time." The two-disc DVD set will be available for the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of $26.95, while the UMD will be offered for the MSRP of $28.95.

The DVD bonus features include the following extras:

* Story digest
* Deleted scenes
* Featurette: "Making Of Final Fantasy VII"
* Footage of Final Fantasy VII at the Venice Film Festival
* A sneak peek of the games in the upcoming "Compliation of Final Fantasy VII" series
13 Feb 2006, 02:14 AM
ChaoofNee

...also proof of how much of a scam Sony is in general.
13 Feb 2006, 11:15 AM
Yoshi

DVDs are cheaper to produce and recoup their R&D more quickly than UMDs, since there are 10,000x more players out there. I don't see the scam. I don't buy UMD movies, but I understand economics and, thus, why they are priced the way they are.
13 Feb 2006, 01:57 PM
Jeremy

So help us understand economics and explain how UMDs aren't a scam.
13 Feb 2006, 02:12 PM
Rumpy

He just did.
13 Feb 2006, 02:12 PM
Dolemite

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy

So help us understand economics and explain how UMDs aren't a scam.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoshi

DVDs are cheaper to produce and recoup their R&D more quickly than UMDs, since there are 10,000x more players out there.

Duh, he did.

Not saying I agree with Yoshi saying UMDs aren't a scam, however- economics aside, you're paying prices comparable to a DVD for a movie with (usually) no special features, lower-quality video than DVD (but you don't notice because of the smaller screen), and plays in a very limited format player (it's not like DVDs that will play in any player and almost everyone on the planet has one or more).
13 Feb 2006, 03:04 PM
Jeremy

Yeah, I know he said that, but it didn't explain how they aren't a scam to consumers.
13 Feb 2006, 03:10 PM
Yoshi

ok, Jeremy. I'm going to try to draw a parallel here that takes the emotion out of the discussion.

Let's say you own a car that requires unleaded gasoline and a pickup truck that requires diesel fuel. Both types of fuel power vehicles, so some people might see them as a direct competitor. However, an oil company may have a harder time recouping their cost if they make diesel fuel, because there are less vehicles that use it. Thus, diesel might be $3 a gallon, while unleaded is $2.50. If you are buying diesel for your truck, which requires it, you aren't being scammed. You are paying a fair, albeit higher, market price for a product. Your truck in this example cannot run on diesel, just like a PSP cannot play DVDs, so a direct comparison isn't valid, even though it seems obvious to try.
13 Feb 2006, 03:12 PM
Jeremy

That works pretty well, thanks.
13 Feb 2006, 03:31 PM
Glitch

You kids...
13 Feb 2006, 04:12 PM
mollipen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoshi

DVDs are cheaper to produce and recoup their R&D more quickly than UMDs, since there are 10,000x more players out there. I don't see the scam. I don't buy UMD movies, but I understand economics and, thus, why they are priced the way they are.

First, there's no R&D costs. What R&D? Sony made the things anyhow for the PSP's games, and with wanting to get companies to release movies for the PSP, even if Sony does build in "R&D" costs, they can't be that much.

There's next to no development costs for the UMD movie wise, because almost all of that work was already done for the DVD version.

The fact that the DVD market is far, far larger is spot on, and I certainly agree that the cost of releasing these things is made back far sooner via DVD. That still doesn't excuse the fact that a two-disc special edition DVD costs less than the barebones UMD version, which itself is a lower resolution encoding of the movie.
13 Feb 2006, 04:16 PM
TobalRox

And thanks to Yoshi, Sony wins again...
13 Feb 2006, 04:21 PM
Yoshi

Quote:

Originally Posted by shidoshi

That still doesn't excuse the fact that a two-disc special edition DVD costs less than the barebones UMD version, which itself is a lower resolution encoding of the movie.

The encoding has no effect on manufacturing though. UMDs have to cost more to print than CDs. I'm not saying that UMD movies are a great deal. The only one I own is the Spider-Man 2 that came with my PSP, but they are also not the gigantic scam that you guys make them out to be.