The end of the PSP UMD movie?

When the PSP first came out, UMD movies were the bread and butter of the system. More UMD movies were sold than games. Remember, though, just after the launch of the PSP there were few games and gobs of UMD movies. One year later the story has changed, and despite the great variety of UMD movies sales have slumped. Many studios are trimming back UMD movie releases, and some studios are considering dropping the platform entirely. Wal-Mart has begun slashing UMD movie shelf space, and may stop selling them all together. So what went wrong? It's pretty simple, really. Many studios saw the UMD as an arena to sell old swill. If I wouldn't buy a 5 year old movie on DVD, why would I buy it on UMD? Then there was the "fairness" issue. Just as consumers don't want to have to pay for digital music they already own on CD, and visa-versa, many did not want to buy UMDs of movies they already owned, or planned to purchase on DVD, especially as they could transfer the films, albeit illegal under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, from DVD to the PSP's Memory Stick Duo, (side note, it is not illegal, however, to back up an analog VHS tape to a digital format - thank Congress). In the end, many wondered why Sony didn't give the PSP AV outputs, so UMD movies could be watched on a TV. Sony has, unfortunately, been suffering from internal strife, as it not only makes tech, but movies and music as well. This internal struggle has led to an emphasis on proprietary formats and locked technology. Rumor now has it that Sony is showing off a device that allows for PSPs to show UMD films on TV, in an effort to convince studios to keep supporting the format. Time will tell if the "PSP to TV" device ever reaches the consumer, but they need to do something as studios are diving off the sides of the USS UMD as she sinks. I love watching movies on my PSP, but they need to make UMD movies are more viable format by reducing prices, putting appropriate content on it, and shipping the PSP-TV device ASAP. [Source: Reuters]