Sony Sticking with UMD
Just as it did with MiniDisc (remember that one?), Sony is sticking with the UMD format, even while its prices remain at clearance levels at many stores (say, $5 at Fry's?)...
From
the article on Pocket Gamer:
Quite frankly, the PSP's Universal Media Disc format is one big contradiction staring at all of us. For several times already, various sectors of the video game industry told Sony to abandon the format because of several limitations like its size.
Sony, however, has remained adamant all these years. This stand was recently echoed by PlayStation Portable Senior Marketing Manager John Koller as he reiterated the different strengths of the format. He mentioned,
UMD possesses many strengths, from size to form factor to portability. Duplication of UMDs is much easier, cheaper than cartridges. We've really optimized time and cost by going with a disc-based format. UMD is a unique medium to create games and developers need to understand that when tackling the system.
It seems that Koller really believes his own statements because he wasn't afraid to point out the weaknesses of the UMD as well - implying that Sony is not just being stubborn about it. He added, "There's no question the biggest weakness is related to porting games from other platforms. Publishers are concerned about the size of UMD because they can't cram a DVD game on to it".
Given all these, the marketing manager explained that Sony really believes in the format and is not going to drop it. Koller shared, "We'll never walk away from our base. Whether it's movies or game content, third parties have an incredible opportunity to utilize it. The future of UMD is bright".