Since the time that the first PSP was introduced, what has captured the interest of many people is not the games that it offers, but rather its PSP UMD movie capability. Just consider that there are more of these movies available than there are games and other PSP stuff. This has also led to the creation of software related to these movies such as PSP Movie Creator and other converter programs.
But by early 2006, sales of PSP UMD movies and other similar products had decreased so much that the big manufacturers were slashing their production, selling the movies at a lower cost and even giving them away. What was the reason for this sudden drop in sales? The reason is quite simple really. The situation is quite similar to downloading songs and movies for free instead of buying the disk. Why pay good money for something that’s freely available online?
Sadly for the PSP UMD movie manufacturers, they seem to have overlooked this rather critical aspect of producing digital products. Just like the music industry slumped when digital downloads gained in popularity, the same has happened to PSP movies. The increase in concealed and unlawful websites for PSP UMD movie pirating is the primary cause of the industry slowdown.
Some manufacturers have created promotional items such as older videos that were previously available only in obsolete formats such as beta, and offered them at a reduced price. Some companies resorted to creating websites where movies can be viewed by streaming for a small price. But there are still many people who will find a way to make the movies freely available.
There is a huge amount of sites out there that convert movies into PSP formats that are easily downloadable to your console. And along with this easy accessibility to free movie downloads, there are also conversion programs you can buy that make it easier than ever to convert movies you already own into UMD format. Even though this is technically illegal, it’s still a popular practice. And of course these files are shared freely on the internet. With this choice, what’s the point of purchasing them when they can be found for free?
The only solution to this dilemma would be to have an online watchdog agency that traces these unlawful downloads. Large companies might be interested in taking part in this sort of undertaking. Additionally, it is important that the laws against piracy are implemented more forcefully with wider coverage. But certainly all of this is much easier said than done, so for those of us who enjoy watching a PSP UMD movie, we can help the industry by buying them rather than watching them for free.
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