Sony not completely scrapping UMDs; more on Minis

Apr 17, 2009
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San Diego, CA
With the launch of the PSPgo as Sony’s first handheld device to scrap the UMD, the company recently said it is not completely disregarding the disc format. In an interview with Develop, Sony Europe’s Zeno Colaco said the company has “probably the best UMD line-up ever on the PSP this year.”

Games like LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo, Tekken 6, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, and Motorstorm: Arctic Edge will all be available on UMD, and most will be available as digital downloads. The idea, Colaco explains, is that Sony will stick with a two-SKU program to sustain both the PSP and the PSPgo.

As for the newly announced PSP Minis games, Colaco said we can expect a different experience compared to normal games. With a limit of 100MB, Minis are smaller game format than the typical 1.8GB UMD.

“The most successful Minis titles will probably transition onto UMD,” he said, adding that we may see multiple Minis games on a single UMD in the future.

“I think the key thing is that we’re not moving away from UMD just because we’re making strides in digital distribution,” he said.

He also said we may find Minis on other devices like the PlayStation 3.