Last week we posted an announcement that Sony had struck a deal with MTV to bring some of their shows over to the UMD format. Judging by the comments, the one you readers were most interested in was Aeon Flux (good call, IMO). Somewhat related: PSP Fanboy is running a drawing where they’re giving one reader all 10 of the UMD collections (skinny, death-prone brunette animation included). Effort required to enter is minimal, just get your entry in by Groundhog Day (Feb 2). Just a heads up!

I’ve been fortunate enough to manage the PSP brand since its launch in March 2005. As we’ve progressed from launch through the first few years of the PSP’s life-cycle, several important trends have emerged. One trend has been the movie/video-viewing usage growth by PSP owners; we know that nearly 60% of you purchased the PSP at least in part to watch movies and videos.

As we looked at these numbers, we started thinking about how to bring even more accessible video content to you PSP owners. We looked at the market and observed that people that were purchasing the PSP were not necessarily being offered the right video choice at the right price. One proposed initiative made a lot of sense to us: have SCEA distribute, market and sell targeted, top content from studios and other content providers for an affordable price.

So today, I’m pleased to announce that we have begun the first phase of this effort with this week’s launch of 10 MTV UMD titles for $14.99/each. With titles such as Jackass, Wildboyz, Viva La Bam, Beavis and Butthead and Aeon Flux, these initial UMD launches will be the first step towards broader content launches. With SCEA’s distribution, marketing and sales strengths, this initiative is a natural fit – and supplies great content to PSP owners. We hope you enjoy these titles. Look to SCEA for further movie and video content launches very soon.