The Rise and Fall of UMD Movies

When Sony Tried to Put Hollywood in Your Pocket

The lights dimmed inside the Pacifico Yokohama convention center. It was May 11, 2004, and all eyes were on Sony’s most anticipated reveal in years.

The father of PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, stepped onto the stage with a calm intensity, holding a black handheld that no one outside the company had seen before.

“This is the PlayStation Portable,” he announced.

By the end of the presentation, the message was clear. Sony’s new device was not just a game console. It was a media hub built around a new proprietary format called Universal Media Disc, with hundreds of movie titles already lined up. Kutaragi called it the Walkman of the 21st century. The UMD was designed to redefine portable entertainment.

But the future Sony envisioned for movies on the go never made it past the opening scene. And with hindsight, the signs were there from the beginning.