Sony opts not to bring their PSP-to-Vita transfer program over from Japan for the U.S. launch.
If you were about to trade in your PSP, but wanted to play that stack of UMD games, then boy have I got some not-great news for you: Sony has decided against bringing their UMD Passport program over to the States for the release of the Vita, meaning that if you want to play that copy of Lumines, you're simply going to have to download it for full price off of PSN.
The program would have allowed UMD owners to register their game discs with Sony and then download them via PSN to their Vitas. While the pricing for the program was a little confusing with its wildly varying pricing model (or lack of one, I suppose) in Japan, it was still a sure bet for getting physical copies of your games from their outmoded format to your shiny, new handheld.
While you'll still be able to play your digitally-purchased PSP titles on your Vita, Sony hasn't provided any word for what option might be available for UMD owners at this stage. Here's the official statement from Sony:
SCEA will not be offering the UMD Passport program. 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. 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.
[Source: Kotaku]
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