Sony is using Patapon 2 as a test case for online distribution

The game Patapon 2 for the PSP will not be available on umd in the US for the time being. Sony is starting a test with the game and has confirmed that the game will only be available as a download on the PlayStation Network for now.

Sony will test the exclusive online distribution of a PSP game in the United States. The game Patapon 2 will not be available on umd for the time being and will initially only be released as a download on the PlayStation Network. US consumers will be able to purchase the game from the PlayStation Store starting May 5, according to a statement from Sony. There will be packages of the game in stores, but instead of a umd, the boxes contain a code that allows the game to be downloaded from the PSN.

Sony stated to Ars Technica that it is only a test and that the publisher still has every confidence in the more traditional distribution of games through umd for the time being. Strike earlier this year rumours the headline stating that Sony would definitively move away from the umd format. Dave Perry, chief creative officer at Acclaim, said he learned from a developer employee that the studio was working on a game that would only be distributed online. Perry concluded that this should be a game for the PSP 2 and predicted that Sony would say goodbye to the umd format. Sony responded at the time by saying that the company still has every confidence in umd and that retailers should not worry. Incidentally, Patapon 2 is available in Europe both online and on umd.