Multi Platform Gamer

No UMD Passport Program for PS Vita in North America, says Sony

By: Jeff Rivera

With the PS Vita launch coming in two weeks, the final details of the handheld's launch or firming up for North America. Today, Sony confirmed to Kotaku that the the UMD Passport Program, that allowed Japanese gamers to register their UMDs online and download digital versions to their PSP, will not be made available in North America. The PS Vita will still be backwards compatible with PSP games that are available on the PSN store, but they will not be sold at a discount, even for those that have the original UMD.

While I don't think this is a huge deal, it does make the prospect of backwards compatibility very affordable. If you were hoping to dump your PSP to scrape together a few bucks for a PS Vita, you'll need to hang onto your original PSP to run those UMDs.

Sony hasn't stated a reason for not bringing the UMD Passport Program to Western shores, but it is a done deal at this point.

We'll keep an eye on continued developments surrounding the PS Vita launch, including our early review of the PS Vita hardware next week.