Rockstar to Debut Upcoming Film on PSP

The Washington Post (registration required) reports controversial video game maker, Rockstar Games, is working on a documentary about the struggles of a lowrider car club in Los Angeles that will make its film debut on Sony PSP. The movie, called "Sunday Driver", is scheduled to hit the small screen in October and will be the first to make its premiere on the proprietary UMD format.

Rockstar, the creator of the very popular and controversial Grand Theft Auto series, is touting this as the brand's entry into film. Currently there are about 40 PSP games available and 145 video titles on UMD. According to Sony "five or six video titles have sold more than 100,000 copies each."

Michael Pachter at Wedbush Morgan Securities said the "movie will attract a nice intersection of people who know who Rockstar is and people who own a PSP, but that he doubted that it would be a commercial success." Pachter viewed the venture as "a vanity production by a company that has gotten wealthy from Grand Theft Auto."

Vanity producton probably, but quite possibly a clever marketing ploy too? Considering the PSP badly needs a breakout hit and Rockstar is planning to release its next Grand Theft Auto game, titled Liberty City Stories, next month on the PSP, the UMD film just might be the perfect medium for cross-promoting the new game and geting the juices flowing so to speak. I can see a number of ways the film and game can help promote each other and build the "brand". A cunning plan if you ask me....