It was announced today that Sony has decided to open up the UMD format in limited fashion as a formal standard. According to a PC World article, companies interested in releasing movies and music on UMD may soon be able to do so.
Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi revealed today that the format will be open to other companies as well. This strategic move has been made to encourage hardware manufacturers to make UMD-compatible media players that will extend its use outside of the PSP.
A UMD disc is very similar to a Mini-Disc, aka MD. The MD format in Japan has been popular in Japan mainly for audio, but some data recording hardware does exist. Currently, content on UMD is limited to games, but Sony is hoping that this will soon change. Square-Enix has an upcoming movie called Advent Children which will not only be the first UMD movie, but also the first movie for the PSP.
By opening up the format, Sony is banking on other manufacturers and content developers to not only create movies and music, but also devise UMD players which will help champion the format. Obviously, by not releasing the UMD's gaming format, Sony can prevent 3rd party software developers. This move is very smart on Sony's part as this can widen the acceptance of the format in companies around the globe. As to who or when the format will be available for others is currently unknown.
The move is interesting, but will be sure to dissapoint those who were hoping for an all-out disclosure. Many were hoping to one day develop their own 3rd party applications for the PSP -- browsers, chat programs and more. While that may still one day be possible, it's doubtful that Sony will officially allow such development.
That is great... if they make UMD Burners. How cool will that be to take a 1 gig of your MP3s and Burn them onto a UMD or Burn a DVD onto your own UMD for later use. I am going to keep a lookout for that!!
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