Topic: 3DS films

[jackbolbery1]

I'm wondering whether you will have to buy them via an online shop or buy them in an actual shop like the Old PSP.
Which do you think would sell better?
I think that if they are in an actual shop they would be able to sell more as not everyone will have their 3DS's hooked up to the internet.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Could movies show up on Proprietary 3DS carts?

That would be pretty cool as I've though for a long time that a much smaller form factor would allow people to carry around more movies with them, but that was before the explosion of 160GB iPods that can store entire series of TV shows and a nice collection of music and movies all in your pocket with you wherever you go.

And we've already seen with the PSP that a proprietary format for storing video that can only be watched on a singular device doesn't have a market big enough to sustain interest from the studios to bother supporting it. So unless Nintendo strikes a deal with Samsung/Panasonic/LG/etc to make 3D monitors that support the format, I wouldn't see a retail 3DS movie cartridge taking off.

I think it's more likely to see Nintendo go with some heavily DRM'd Digital copies of movies tied to your account (and your registered 3DS') that you buy/rent and store on your own HC-SD card. I'm not sure if Nintendo is interested in physical movie distribution, but it's a possibility. It might be something they start off with at launch and see how it goes, but I would expect the focus to be on DD.

As far as not having you 3DS hooked up to the internet and therefore not being able to download stuff....
I imagine that StreetPass would take care of that for you if you just traveled with your 3DS on you. You can goto the store, who should have a 3DS kiosk that provides the connection to content.

[Kytim89]

Nintendo would have been smart to include a mini-USB port on the 3DS that can hook to a USB port on the Wii 2 and some how allow movies from the 3DS to be played on the Wii 2, or visa versa.

[BlackNMild2k1]

or they could communicate through an obscure piece of technology called wifi or maybe even bluetooth

but yeah, a mini usb wouldn't be a bad or expensive idea.

[nickmitch]

I think half the problem with movies on UMDs was that not enough people owned PSPs for that to work, but I think Nintendo can sell enough 3DSs for that to work, they just wouldn't be available at launch. Otherwise, the digital download route would be the way to go. The resolution doesn't have to be any higher than 480p, so hopefully they won't take up too much space. Then again, we may have Netflix on the 3DS, so who knows?

[TJ Spyke]

Enough people owned PSPs. The biggest problem was that there was no reason to buy UMDs. Movies/TV shows released on UMD cost more than the DVD version (sometimes double, the DVD version of a movie might be $15 while the UMD was $30) but almost always had fewer features.

[Flames_of_chaos]

I remember where there were some cartoons distributed on GBA carts, and I don't think those ever caught on. I think movie publishers would probably go for a digital route especially how everyone abandoned ship on UMD movies including Sony. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw movies from Sony Pictures on 3DS.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I remember where there were some cartoons distributed on GBA carts, and I don't think those ever caught on. I think movie publishers would probably go for a digital route especially how everyone abandoned ship on UMD movies including Sony. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw movies from Sony Pictures on 3DS.

I actually heard that those initially sold better than you think. I just think they came out late in the GBA life and the DS was on the horizon(or already out?). UMD picked up on that idea and ran with it, so Nintendo likely abandoned it since Sony was obviously doing it better(higher quality movies and whatnot).

[NWR_insanolord]

Releases on 3DS cards would do better than UMDs did because they offer something you wouldn't get from buying the DVD (or, in a lot of circumstances, even the Bluray). They would let you watch the movie in 3D, which isn't possible any other way without spending thousands of dollars for a setup capable of it. With UMDs, it was cheaper and easier to buy the DVD and rip it into a file you could play via memory stick than to buy separate UMDs; this would give you something not available otherwise.

As I was typing that I thought of something. You know how some DVDs include a DRMed digital copy, available through iTunes or some other thing? What if Nintendo partnered with the studios to package a digital file with their 3D Blu-ray movies that you could copy to an SD card and watch on a 3DS?

[nickmitch]

A lot of those say that you can put the file on your iPod/iPhone, so Nintendo could easily just get the 3DS added to that list with some emphasis on it being in 3D.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'd assume the 3DS would require a specially-formatted file in order to take advantage of the 3D, so Nintendo would have to get the studios onboard.

[MaryJane]

No, the 3DS would simply need a media player to play any movie file type the movie studios give Netflix, Blockbuster, On Demand services etc. And movie trailers were played in 3D on the 3DS at E3, so it seems that studios are already on board, and why wouldn't they be? Digital distribution is easy money for them.

[TJ Spyke]

I think movie publishers would probably go for a digital route especially how everyone abandoned ship on UMD movies including Sony.

Not quite. Almost every new release from I see from Sony still includes a UMD version. They are pretty much the only ones that still support it though.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I think movie publishers would probably go for a digital route especially how everyone abandoned ship on UMD movies including Sony.

Not quite. Almost every new release from I see from Sony still includes a UMD version. They are pretty much the only ones that still support it though.

That's odd, because according to Wikipedia, the last UMD movie released was over a year ago. But even then, Sony was practically the only one supporting the format (12 of 15 movies in 2009)

[TJ Spyke]

Maybe it meant in stores. Michael Jackson: This Is It was released on UMD in January 2010 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002UD56HW/ref=nosim/?tag=sonypicturese-20). There are probably others too, that Wikipedia list is incomplete as it didn't include that release (I just added it now).

[leroypantweather]

digital distribution for the win and if there is no netflix from launch iwata is getting his dick kicked off

[nickmitch]

Um. . .yeah.

Anyway, rereading the thread made me think about what made UMDs so unsuccessful compared to the videos on GBA carts. I think that market just wasn't matched up. I'm not trying to say that Nintendo systems are for kids, but a good chunk of GBA owners were kids, the same kids that would want to watch Nickelodeon cartoons on the go. Meanwhile, UMD movies and shows kind of ran the gambit. I mean, how many PSP owners really wanna watch Twilight and The Incredibles on the go? A hadfull of cartoon episodes is a much easier sell.

[BranDonk Kong]

The problem with UMDs is that people who own PSPs don't buy games and movies. Why would you buy the UMD version when you can just copy a DiVX encoded version onto your Memory Stick and watch it?

[BlackNMild2k1]

because 98% of people aren't that technically inclined and 70% of the people who are, are usually too lazy to bother.

[Stogi]

In this day and age where youtube tutorials can tell you how to hack a PS3 with an iphone, I'm betting more people are willing to learn how to fully exploit the hardware they have. The economy is also a great motivator.

[nickmitch]

But YouTube wasn't as big when the PSP came out, so it's not like just anyone could learn how to pirate and port movies to their PSP. Ther had to be some market dissintrest. Though, it could've been as simple as people not wanting that yet. I mean, watching movies on your phone is a pretty standard feature these days.

[Stogi]

Yeah you're probably right about that one.

[Kytim89]

Considering all the Resident Evil love that the 3DS is getting, Capcom would be smart to have Resident Evil: Afterlife pre-installed into the system as some kind deal. That movie would be great on the go with the 3D enabled screens of the 3DS. Avatar would alos be a good inclusion as well.

[MaryJane]

Avatar would be especially huge, because Panasonic has an exclusive contract for the 3D version of the movie. It is only available buy buying a Panasonic 3DTV and is selling for over $150 on ebay.

If Nintendo could find a way around that exclusivity (maybe it's only for disc release... do they stream 3D movies yet?) it would be huge for the system.

[Kytim89]

Avatar would be especially huge, because Panasonic has an exclusive contract for the 3D version of the movie. It is only available buy buying a Panasonic 3DTV and is selling for over $150 on ebay.

If Nintendo could find a way around that exclusivity (maybe it's only for disc release... do they stream 3D movies yet?) it would be huge for the system.

Now that I recall, Sony Screen Gems had something to do with the production of RE: Afterlife, so if they want that movie on the 3DS then they had better get it fast.