Buena Vista announces five titles for UMD, promises more to come

Five more movies will be available for the PlayStation Portable UMD format this spring, with Buena Vista Home Entertainment becoming the latest company to sign up to provide content to the new system.

The company - which is a subsidiary of the Disney media empire and responsible for the post-theatrical releases of titles from both Disney and Miramax - has promised five titles in the first few months after the PSP's launch, with more to follow afterwards.

The initial five films are Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Kill Bill Vol.1, Reign of Fire, National Treasure, and Chinese martial arts epic Hero - whose sequel, House of Flying Daggers, is already heading to the UMD format courtesy of Lion's Gate Films.

The announcement came with the obligatory soundbites from BVHE president Bob Chapek, who breathlessly commented that the PSP is "poised to revolutionise portable entertainment systems throughout the world," but looking beyond that, it's unquestionably an important step for the UMD format.

With Buena Vista - and hence by extension Disney and Miramax - on board, UMD is now looking like an altogether more impressive proposition than it was a few months ago. Assuming that the companies involved are actually committed to the format rather than merely sticking a toe in the water, the output of Disney and its subsidiaries, Sony Movies and its subsidiaries, and smaller firms such as Lions Gate Films actually adds up to a fairly significant majority of the film output of Hollywood.