In the portable arena, Nintendo with their updated DS Lite and their line up of games have been getting the lion’s share of the attention. Any mentions of Sony’s PSP seem to be associated with bad news. Gamers have been crying out for quality game releases. Others have proclaimed the format “dead.” Target recently pulled UMD movies from their store shelves, selling out the remainder of the discs online. High profile Hollywood studios have scaled back their UMD release schedules. UPI’s Tech File recently caught up with Peter Dille, Vice President of Marketing at SCEA to talk about the UMD format, the PSP, and where Sony wants to take the format in the future.

According to Dille, Sony has been trying to address the issue of the mixed success of the UMD format. The PSP market is different, “unlike the DVD market, the PSP consumer is targeted.” Certainly, the first batches of UMD movies to hit the market didn’t seem to be appropriate for the PSP target audience, but whether even Sony’s new targeted audience approach can succeed seems doubtful. Even the ideal demographic will still buy based on price. Typical gadget-oriented users would also seem to be the type that would be able to convert their existing DVDs rather than purchase another copy in a different format.

On Sony’s game strategy, Dille attempts highlights games like SOCOM, Grand Theft Auto, and LocoRoco. While SOCOM and Grand Theft Auto were definitely high profile titles for the PSP, at the same time the games seem like scaled down versions of their console brethren. That’s not to say the games are bad; they just don’t seem to be unique.

Sony also seeks to expand the audience for the PSP. While Nintendo has been going after the casual and novice gamer to great success, Sony’s tack seems to be pushing the PSP to become a jack-of-all-trades. Dille highlights the GPS and Camera functionality, and Sony’s efforts to expand the multimedia features of the device.

Dille also touches on the PSone download service, and reminds gamers that the PSP enjoyed a great deal of success in North America. The attention of gamers, though, seems to be slipping towards the DS at this point. Hopefully some A-list titles and a renewed focus on the capabilities of the console will turn things around for Sony.