Ben-DutkaAs most of you know, the PlayStation Vita will be able to play PSP games, but the new unit doesn't support the outdated UMD format.
Therefore, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan will have a UMD Passport program in place for the Vita's Japanese release on December 17. Basically, users will register their name for the Passport and then purchase digital copies of UMD titles at a discounted price (and those prices can vary).
As of now, about two weeks before the launch, there are 262 UMD Passport games live. That's not a bad number, but don't forget that there are over 600 PSP games available for download on the Japanese PSN. As noted by Siliconera , it appears that some publishers aren't yet supporting the program. While there are titles from Atlus, SNK Playmore, Tecmo Koei, Nippon Ichi and others, there don't appear to be many (or any) titles from Square Enix, Konami, Namco Bandai and Capcom.
There's every chance those companies will add their support in the near future, but we'll have to wait and see. By the way, Sony has not announced any UMD program for North America or Europe, although they say they're working on one.
Seems like there are some companies that need to get with the program, so to speak.
Either that or they're gonna have to cope with the fact that there will be more jailbreaks than there were with the psp.
That assumes that it's as easy to jailbreak the device as it was with the PSP.
Well if Sony doesn't make the effort to place a UMD program here in the US I'm sure someone will, to jailbreak the device that is, and put their OWN psp games. I man I would be fine paying a "digitizing" charge for purchasing the digital copy of a game I already purchased. But having to pay the outrageous price for a downloadable game that I can find sometimes at half price in physical form is downright well outrageous. I hear Sony keeps saying they've learned from their mistakes but I'm not seeing it.
Last edited by Cesar_ser_4 on 12/1/2011 1:39:47 PM
I believe that downloadable Vita games will be less expensive than the ones bought on physical media. I'd guess it will be something like $5 difference on the official price.
But will their price go down at the same time their physical counterparts do?
I think that the price will go down in line with the official publisher's list price. But if a retailer has a sale that reduces the price of the physical copy further, it's unlikely that the digital version would follow, except perhaps at the same retailer.
That's not good. Sounds like the major players are missing. Square has made some great portable games. Konami made Peace Walker which is great, and Capcom has Monster Hunter. It's a shame they are not particapating in the program.
Why doesn't the counter for comments show up for the Vita section? It always reads zero for me.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 12/1/2011 11:02:25 AM
Refresh your browser by pressing the F5 key on your keyboard while on the main page.
It could be that some of these companies are trying to work out whether they can push people to purchase games a second time on the new format, or if it will be more effective to adopt the upgrade program. SE is financially unsound and Namco hasn't been doing great either. I could see either of them having the internal discussion since they probably think that the upgrades would not generate as much revenue as second purchases…
@Karasso
I did that. The main page still says there are zero comments even though there now 5 comments. The counter works for the other threads, but if its in the Vita section it shows up as zero for me. Does anybody else have this problem?
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 12/1/2011 11:45:19 AM
Excel, there is a delay from the comments are posted until the counter is updated. It's like this on all articles. The counter are probably updated at regular intervals.
But since were on the topic of technicalities on the site: Not every article is shown in the mobile version of psxe, that's pretty annoying. Seems every article tagged Review or Preview are ignored.
I don't use the mobile page anyways. It's much cleaner viewing the regular site. I know my way around better.
You really think so, Big? The mobile page gives you nothing but the articles… How can it be cleaner than that…
But you got a huge mobile then, like those Samsung pads? I got a Sony Ericsson Arc myself.
Beam-
It's not as simple your absolutely right, like you said the mobile version just has the articles, but I sometimes get lost in just words. I guess what I mean is regular site layout is more familiar. In any case I have an iPhone, so yea I can see your point! I guess I assumed you had a bigger screen, I'm not really familiar with phones, So I'm not sure what your phone even looks like haha. 😉
But I can see where a small screen could pose a serious problem!
Is there anyway they would be holding out to release a "VITA" version so you have to crank out more $$? I have a decent number of PSP games and could understand (from a companies standpoint) selling a "remake" for the VITA could potential make more money…
Last edited by anjpikapp3 on 12/1/2011 11:34:33 AM
Update on PSP functionality with Firmware 4.0.
There is a change to the way the PS3 handles PSP games, Minis and PSOne classics for copying to another device. I believe that there have been changes to support the Vita's ability to also play this content.
The impact is that existing content already downloaded and 'installed' to the PS3 HDD can no longer be copied to the PSP. Before you panic, the solution is simple. I did some searching and found out the following…
If you go to your download list and re-download the PSP content or PSOne game you wish to copy to the PSP, and install it, the PSP support re-appears on the newly downloaded/activated/installed content.
I think that for Vita support, there were changes to the way that PSP/Mini/PSOne content is packaged, activated and installed. Those changes mean that already installed/activated game content doesn't comply with the new format/process. But, by re-downloading and re-installing/activating the content, that new process/format is complied with. It would have been nice if Sony had mentioned this i their release notes.
I can't confirm this directly myself until I can get to my PS3 and PSP tonight. But others may be able to and confirm it.
I don't like this trend. The major publishers didn't join the program, message: buy it again.
It seems on Playsation the new policy is to buy the games of PSN if you want to be able to play it on next gen hardware.
I mean, even with the PS3 it's the same thing. First they removed PS2 B/C. Later, there are PS2 games for sale on PSN.
Even MS gives a Xbox emulator for free on the 360 that though it doesn't play all the games, it plays like 300 or so games and a lot if not all of the must have titles.
C'mon SONY give us that imperfect PS2 emulator for PS3 too so we can play some of our PS2 collection on the PS3 and IF we find a PS2 game that we do not have in our collection but that is for sale on PSN, then we can buy it there. I just don't like the idea that I MUST have to buy the PS2 game again (this time from PSN) to play it on PS3 via emulation.
No, you're simply wrong there. Microsoft does not provide an Xbox emulator. The backwards compatibility of the Xbox360 with Xbox is so patchy it makes the current crop of PS2 emulators on PC look tremendously capable by comparison. BC on the 360 was provided using dynamically re-linked emulation of only specific functionality. Very few Xbox games worked, and the support for other games beyond those specifically catered to was patchy at best. BC on the PS3 was originally 100%, then when Sony removed the Emotion Engine but left the GS core in place, providing the Emotion engine thru emulation, compatibility dropped to about 80% of all PS2 games ever made, which is still about 10 times the level of backward compatibility ever offered by the 360. Sony found through customer survey and telemetry that the PS2 compatibility was rarely used and only by a minority of users and so it was removed in favor of cost reduction and price reduction. Sony has now developed PS2 software emulation sufficiently to allow some PS2 games to be sold on PSN. They have not really given much information about how it works, however it can only work 1 way. Emotion Engine emulation and emulation of GS functionality, excepting some very high bandwidth operations that the GS hardware was custom built to handle and cannot be emulated, even with the CellBE. The emulation is dynamic and reconfigures itself depending on the game launched, and the games will contain a profile file that tells the emulator how to configure for the game.
Your post is really quite misleading on the ability of the BC ever offered by the 360 and extraordinarily negative about PS2 BC on the PS3. If you or anyone else wanted it so badly, then they could/should have shelled out for the first or second generation PS3s. the trouble was people didn't want to pay for it and whined about the cost, so the feature was omitted from later SKUs. That cheaper PS3 came at the cost of a few seldom used features.
*shakes fist in rage at the sky* Curse you, Squeeniiiiiiiix!!!!!!
Here's an idea. For all those deeply saddened for the lack of initial b/c, keep your psp for which you'll hardly get more than 20 bucks of gs trade-in credit, or invest in another one for safe-keepings.
I, for one, was amongst those who elected for 60gig ps3, just because of the b/c, only to take advantage of it for two games (GOW2 and Shadow of the Colossus) both of which were remade and upgraded for the ps3.
Why should I purchase the games I already own?! I'm against piracy but if it comes down to me or them trying to milk me…well, I don't like milk!
not really surprising.
though im still pissed we cant copy our PSP games over any more, i mean WTF is the point of that?
$ony is getting revenue from ISPs every time one of there game is downloaded are they?
what about us who have PSP GOs and cant afford to download our 25+ games all over again?
thats about 40GB, what about us who dont live in japan with unlimited download usages?
what about us who are stuck with 15?
so i have to wait 3 months till i can play the games i paid for?
f*ck that!
sure does everything, including removing features you paid for and really need!
You don't read my posts friend.
Update on PSP functionality with Firmware 4.0.
There is a change to the way the PS3 handles PSP games, Minis and PSOne classics for copying to another device. I believe that there have been changes to support the Vita's ability to also play this content.
The impact is that existing content already downloaded and 'installed' to the PS3 HDD can no longer be copied to the PSP. Before you panic, the solution is simple. I did some searching and found out the following…
If you go to your download list and re-download the PSP content or PSOne game you wish to copy to the PSP, and install it, the PSP support re-appears on the newly downloaded/activated/installed content.
There were changes to the way that PSP/Mini/PSOne content is packaged, activated and installed. Those changes mean that already installed/activated game content doesn't comply with the new format/process. But, by re-downloading and re-installing/activating the content, that new process/format is complied with. It would have been nice if Sony had mentioned this in their release notes.
At least one poster here has confirmed that re-downloading and so forth does in fact work.
thats exactly the problem.
i already had them installed to my ps3 so if i want to play the games i paid for i have to re download them.
i just spent the last year downloading a game a month so i dont waste too much of my download usage, and now that i was finally finished im going to have to start all over again!
Here's an interesting article about the Vita Passport program…..
You Should Demand More From Sony's UMD Passport Program
Sony's UMD-to-Vita service comes across as needlessly exploitative…but it can be fixed.
By Patrick Klepek | Dec. 1, 2011
I’m not sure I’ve witnessed a more blatant cash grab that came and went without a lick of righteous fanfare from the consumers it gouges more than Sony’s recent revealing of the UMD Passport program. To be fair, it initially passed under my radar, too.
I know, I know, we’re all busy playing through The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim–but still. Listen.
The biggest problem with UMD Passport is not that it costs anything, it's the lacking standards.
The biggest problem with UMD Passport is not that it costs anything, it's the lacking standards.
UMD Passport is Sony’s long-awaited service to give PSP owners a way to magically transport their UMD-based games on the handheld’s soon-launching successor, Vita. Vita does not come with a UMD reader, which means those games are as good as garbage without access to a digital version to play on Vita. Sony talked about implementing a feature like this when PSP go was a thing but it never materialized.
Sony has not announced UMD Passport outside of Japan, and did not answer my latest query about it.
To take advantage of UMD Passport, users must download a “UMD Passport†application to their PSP, insert a compatible UMD, and Sony somehow verifies that UMD (the exact process isn't known). Once that’s done, you gain access to a digital version–for a cost, anyway.
And that’s where it gets weird really fast.
Simply charging for access to a digital copy isn’t worth getting up in arms about. Bandwidth, while cheap, isn’t free, so while one could argue that Sony should take the hit and encourage goodwill amongst early adopters, passing up on a the chance to ask for a little bit of cash in an age of endless monetization is, at this point, expected. It would make sense, then, to implement an across-the-board cost to make the digital conversion, a fee that would cover Sony’s bandwidth costs through PlayStation Network and provide publishers with compensation that encourages everyone to participate in the UMD Passport program.
No such standard exists. While it’s not plainly spelled out in Sony’s announcement (which is roughly but easily translatable through Google), it’s implied that publishers are determining what to charge for this, and it’s clear publishers have zero problem erring on the side of happily padding the bottom line.
Patapon 3 costs more to convert than Hot Shots Golf 2, but without any clear reason why.
Patapon 3 costs more to convert than Hot Shots Golf 2, but without any clear reason why.
The confusion begins with Sony itself unable to lay out what it should be charging for going digital, with Patapon 3 and Gran Turismo costing 1,000 yen ($12.89), while Hot Shots Golf 2 costs 500 yen ($6.44). The only difference between them seems to be release date and labeling–Hot Shots Golf 2 is part of the “best of†lineup in Japan, and was released late 2007. Gran Turismo (2009) and Patapon 3 (2011) came later.
There is no reason for these games to cost any different, except for Sony to be calculating that some games are worth more than others to consumers, giving them a convenient way to ask for more. The easy-to-buy licensing argument is dispelled by Patapon 3 being wholly original.
When this carte blanche approach to price assignment is handed over to third-parties, it’s far worse.
Pachi-Slot Simulator: Treasures transfer Daito Giken Official enclosed Goddess ~ ~ PORTABLE–yes, that’s the actual name–is a pachinko title that costs 5,040 yen ($64.95) right now on Amazon.co.jp, and the Paon Corporation is asking that anyone who has already purchased the game on UMD to pay 2,500 yen ($30.93) for the digital copy. That’s nearly 50% of the original price price–sheer arrogance, and one of that doesn’t try to hide its unadulterated consumer exploitation. It's staring you in the face.
PSP quickly became a go-to platform for tinkerers, and that's only grown more true.
PSP quickly became a go-to platform for tinkerers, and that's only grown more true.
Sony could have a weakly credible argument about allowing publishers to determine pricing if publishers were doing so based on the relevancy of piracy to each product, but as unlocking these digital copies requires the consumer to have a copy of the actual UMD, that doesn’t hold water. One assumes non-UMD holders would have to pay even more.
Anti-consumer moves like these drive people towards piracy by sheer irritation. Make no mistake: Vita will be broken at some point. No device can avoid piracy; each one can only hope to push that day further back.
While piracy is never justified, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where a Vita owner wants to play the games they already own on a platform that’s fully capable of doing so, and pausing at the hoops they're asked to jump through. Players are consumers, and deserve respect. Such a user may look over and see publishers seizing an opportunity to squeeze dollars from them and pounce at the chance for subversion. As a platform holder, Sony has the ability–and duty–to keep this under control, but it says everything that Sony’s own games don’t adhere to any coherent standard.
What makes this all the more confusing is Sony's progressive approach to MotorStorm RC, which will be released on both Vita and PlayStation 3. No matter which version you purchase, you'll gain access to the other one. Futhermore, in a conversation with GameIndustry.biz, developer Evolution Studios suggested the game may not even cost full-price, a result of aggressive pricing for mobile games changing the dynamics of the industry. One part of Sony does not appear to be talking to the other.
It may be too late for Japanese consumers–is Sony really going to tell the Paon Corporation it suddenly has to charge exponentially less?–but Sony Computer Entertainment America has an opportunity to make this right. The UMD Passport program has not been announced for anywhere outside Japan, which means there’s time for policies to change before they’re set in stone. It may not come here at all, but in the event that it does: do the right thing, SCEA. Don’t screw your own fans.
http://www.giantbomb.com/news/you-should-demand-more-from-sonys-umd-passport-program/3828/
if we get more performance enhancement in consoles then more time is needed for a developer to grasp using the specs & that means more funds to invest in the game……. so that results in either more half completed games on shelves with dlc on the way or higher priced games & consoles…..
Their isnt even a heavy amount of well done games currently out, Epic can make a few nice games, but their crying about the power requirements means nothing if they cant make a top notch game out of anything they have already