Dave Perry has spoken: UMD a dead format

Shiny Entertainment founder and Project Top Secret leader David Perry has expressed his disdain for the Sony PSP’s UMD format, saying that the small disk is “waste of money, time, and investment”.

Perry has his own ideas for the PSP, saying that if he were in charge of PSP development, he would take out all UMD mechanisms and make all existing UMD games available for download so that PSP gamers can still play their UMD titles. He also gave his own ideas on how gamers can give proof of purchase of the PSP UMDs that they own in order for them to get the downloadable versions of their games.

This is Perry’s impression of a UMD-less PSP:

That will make it even more sexy-looking, because it will be thinner again when they get all that junk out. Then, hopefully, the platform will actually get enough interest so that people will make a game specifically for it.

If UMDs had feelings, they must feel a bit bad after being referred to as “junk”.

Perry also went on to say that the UMD-less PSPs may be very beneficial both for Sony and retail stores, since costs of shipping, insurance and warehousing are eliminated. Retail stores would also get their valuable shelf space back.

Well, that certainly was some radical concept from Perry. But considering that his former studio created the offbeat Earthworm Jim franchise and that he is the director of the innovative Project Top Secret, it’s really no surprise that he managed to come up with those ideas.

Via Games Industry

Shiny Entertainment founder and Project Top Secret leader David Perry has expressed his disdain for the Sony PSP’s UMD format, saying that the small disk is “waste of money, time, and investment”.

Perry has his own ideas for the PSP, saying that if he were in charge of PSP development, he would take out all UMD mechanisms and make all existing UMD games available for download so that PSP gamers can still play their UMD titles. He also gave his own ideas on how gamers can give proof of purchase of the PSP UMDs that they own in order for them to get the downloadable versions of their games.

This is Perry’s impression of a UMD-less PSP:

That will make it even more sexy-looking, because it will be thinner again when they get all that junk out. Then, hopefully, the platform will actually get enough interest so that people will make a game specifically for it.

If UMDs had feelings, they must feel a bit bad after being referred to as “junk”.

Perry also went on to say that the UMD-less PSPs may be very beneficial both for Sony and retail stores, since costs of shipping, insurance and warehousing are eliminated. Retail stores would also get their valuable shelf space back.

Well, that certainly was some radical concept from Perry. But considering that his former studio created the offbeat Earthworm Jim franchise and that he is the director of the innovative Project Top Secret, it’s really no surprise that he managed to come up with those ideas.

Via Games Industry