Discs missed: no UMD Passport for US Vita owners
US consumers will not benefit from the UMD Passport scheme, apparently leaving them no recourse for transferring their UMD-based PSP games.
"SCEA will not be offering the UMD Passport program," a statement issued to GiantBomb advised, throwing a small bone to those with downloaded PSP games.
"U.S. consumers who already own digital versions of select PSP titles will be able to seamlessly transfer those games to their PS Vita system. What's great for PS Vita owners is that they can enjoy PSP games with upscaled video quality that's ideal for the system's 5-inch OLED screen, along with controls that are optimized for its features such as the dual analog sticks," the representative continued.
"More than 250 PSP titles (including minis) will be available at the launch of PS Vita, and hundreds of additional titles will be available post-launch."
The lack of UMD Passport at US launch was outed by Kotaku earlier today. The apparently Japan-only scheme allowed players to register their PSP games and receive a discount on downloadable, Vita-compatible versions. No explanation was given for the omission, and no similar plan has been announced for the European launch.
The Vita goes on sale on February 22, or February 23 in Australia.