US PS movie store update, November 7

Oh fantastic!!!

Oh wait, Q1 ’09

Hey Christmas Tree!!

Any word on when this is coming to Europe yet? That list just get more and more ridiculous with every update.

Sony’s going to give a new definition to the humble home entertainment system at this rate, a console will be a hub of entertainment, instead of just games alone. In some ways, that’s a good thing.

Anyway, it’s nice to see Falling Down in there. I can’t say so much about the other two, but as a movie, Falling Down was art, it was beautifully done.

Only in the US though.

That’s true.

From what they say, it’s mostly due to licensing laws and how they differ from nation to nation, and it seems that GameTap/Netflix have this problem as well.

What I’m curious about is what, precisely, makes the UK (at the very least) so inhospitable to this kind of market? They say it’s just the licensing but is that the only reason behind the stigma? It’s mildly annoying to say the least, and the notion that Britain is behind the times and that our nation would probably be widely alienated by online distribution services becomes all the more pragmatic when the aforementioned stigma is fueled by companies who are unable or afraid to roll out such services here.

It’s times like this that I wish I knew a law student who could possibly look into the real issues here, and perhaps present an understanding of the obstacles that would stand in the way of Sony or whomever would bring a system like that to our shores. And then if no major issues are uncovered, at least the ongoing excuse regarding licensing laws can be put to rest.

At the end though, I’m just really curious about all this. From where I sit, the UK seems the perfect place for this market. It’s not like we haven’t ever made use of online distribution services and rental services, to the contrary, everyone I know loves them.

I’d guess the problem isn’t just one of licensing although that’s a thorny problem in itself. But the logistics of storing movies in each and every european TV format must be a tad offputting too. If we were all HD owners it wouldn’t be a problem – but SD tellies ( mine included ) are still what the vast majority are watching ( iirc ) and so Sony would need to encode in all those different formats.