By JENNIFER NETHERBY, SUSANNE AULT
Sony's PlayStation Portable isn't turning out to be the hot new movie platform many in the biz had hoped. With sales falling below expectations, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video are cutting back on movie releases for the PSP.
While comedies that appeal to the core young male gamer demo are doing well, execs say other PSP movies simply aren't selling. Sony handheld device plays games, movies and music.
In a bid to boost the format, execs from SPHE and sister unit Sony Computer Electronics America, which sells the PSP, are touting a new adapter that would allow a user to watch a PSP pic on a TV. If it's successful, that could overcome widespread criticism that consumers have to buy two separate copies of a movie to watch on PSP and TV.
Execs plan to visit other studios to tout the adapter in the next month.
"It would be a huge boost to (PSP movies) if we can arrange for the disc to play on TV players," said SPHE prexy Ben Feingold.
Most people who would be likely to own a PlayStation Portable already have a DVD player, and probably wouldn't relish the idea of connecting another device to their TV set. Once the novelty of playing movies on a portable device wears off, people catch on to the fact that a platform-specific version of a movie probably isn't the best investment. A DVD can be played on most newer-model PCs or laptops, a portable DVD player (some of which are less than PSPs), and a DVD player connected to a television, but the PSP disc has one use only.
The model of the future needs to a personal license to a given film (or TV show, video, etc.) which is independent of the platform. You should be able to buy the rights to say, 'The Island' and be able to download it to your iPod, your PC, burn it to a DVD, copy it to a PSP disc, or whatever else makes sense.
No comments:
Post a Comment