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… the UMD movies section in the average store is bigger than the Nintendo DS games display.
Really, how many people are buying UMD movies? Last time I heard, the format was dying (has Netcraft confirmed it yet? 
)…
But I guess that retailers just see the fact that it has “PlayStation” in the name, so it must be a huge success… except that it isn’t.
Or… scary thought… could I be living in the only country in the world where people actually buy UMD movies?
(Note: I’m not talking about the PSP itself, or PSP games, just movies in the UMD format, which for some reason have huge displays in most stores here in Portugal.)
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Hear hear! I’ve tried to find out a couple of GC games during the weekend and it’s just pitiful.
Was it you who said that Amazon.co.uk no longer ships video games to Portugal? Apparently it is so, so how do you manage (if you manage at all) to buy GC video games?
They ship games to Portugal again. They just had that problem for 3 weeks or so.
GameCube games are indeed rare here, so Amazon.co.uk (either new, or 2nd hand) is your best bet.
I still wonder, though… in a relatively poor country like ours, with a huge tradition of piracy, where most people these days have Internet access just so they can download movies and TV series… does anyone at all buy UMD movies, which are more expensive than DVDs, and are playable only on one device (”Universal”… yeah, right)?
Actually, the PSP has more sucess in Portugal than the NDS and yes, UMD Movies still sell. I’ve seen a price drop in UMD Movies from 20€ to 9.99 and at this price I will get some more UMDMs (I bought The Terminator btw lol). Sony is working on a way to connect the PSP to a TV, if they manage to pull this stunt and drop the price of the UMDMs you might see even more UMDs selling…
Not for long, I believe.
We Portuguese tend to be last when changing things, but we eventually learn. If the DS is successful everywhere else in the world (and it is, increasingly), we won’t want to be left out. It’s a dumb reason, sure, but…
Yes, the PSP is more popular here, for now. But (you, yourself, seem to be the exception
) everyone seems to use it as a PDA (plus Lumines), or to watch movies ripped to memory sticks. I really don’t see many Portuguese buying UMDs, when we are already so reticent about buying DVDs… (I buy them, but I seem to be in the minority: every day at work I hear my cow-orkers telling each other about what movie or series episodes they downloaded yesterday)
If they’re on the shelf, maybe that means people don’t buy them… maybe they even buy more Nintendo DS games that UMD movies… (wishful thinking, i know…)
Another thing I can’t understand is the number of movies sold at iTunes… who’ll spend money on clips to watch in a tiny screen like that? Honestly… The only reason I can find is that they want to (re)watch some episodes of they’re favourite show and aren’t able to purchase them anywhere else, for a regular sized screen multimedia platform (pc, dvd, etc.).
Regarding GC games, they are hard to find but Media Markt used to have lots of them for 9.99.
Following a long hiatus in my console gaming (since my 8bit NES), I bought a Gamecube last xmas at MM for 50 euro, and been buying games there since. Luigi’s Mansion, Ocarina of time, Wind Waker, Pikmin 1 and 2. I’ve grown a very respectable set of games for peanuts
Why even bother pirating at this price?
Here in the UK UMD selections are much higher than DS and even near the PS2 amount…
Matt: and do people actually buy them?
I’m not saying that the UMD is failing (it is, they have admitted it) but all the articles you poster were from slashdot which has become fairly anti sony and three of them were posted by Zonk, who admits to being anti sony. There is good news about the PSP and UMDs out there, but you won’t see it on slashdot
I couldn’t agree more! I’m going stark raving mad with the “selection” of Gamecube games here. I’m in Evora and I can’t find a new GC power cable if my life depended on it. Could you guys tell me if the Wii is coming out 8th Dec ANYWHERE in Portugal? I’m not a native Portugese speaker and nobody understands me shouting Wii Wii through the store. If anyone reads this I’d GREATLY appriciate it if you’d give me a page on max_donkers@yahoo.com! Thanks!
Max: every ad says that the Wii will, indeed, be released on the 8th of December here. I believe it won’t actually sell out, as we’re too Playstation-obsessed around here (unfortunately), so I expect to get one on day one.