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Sony’s PS Vita UMD Conversion Program Gets The Axe

Sony’s PS Vita UMD Conversion Program Gets The Axe

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When it was announced that the PS Vita wouldn’t include a UMD drive but would be backward compatible, many fans wondered how it would work. Obviously, any digital game would simply be able to be downloaded again on the PS Vita hardware, but hard copies of games would need to be converted somehow.

This is why Sony created the UMD passport program, which would allow PSP owners to download an app that lets them register their UMDs to a PSN account. They could then get a discounted (but not free) digital copy of the game for the PS Vita. It didn’t make too many gamers happy, but it was an option to make PSP games playable on the Vita, at least.



Unfortunately, only Japanese Vita owners will be able to take advantage of this service. It was announced today that the UMD Passport Program was scrapped in America. Instead, the PS Vita will be backward compatible with digital games only. You will have to play your hard-copy PSP games on your PSP system. In Europe, gamers were offered a choice of three free games as a way to make up for the lack of this program, but North American gamers have, as of yet, been offered nothing.

How does this affect you? Does this make the PS Vita less appealing, or were most of your PSP games digital copies anyway?

By Angelo M. D’Argenio

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