You probably remember the original UMD Passport program for the PS Vita- as a successor to the PSP, that lacks a drive to play UMDs that ran games on that system, Sony in Japan initiated a program where users could convert UMDs of their games to digital copies (that would be playable on their account, since Vita is backwards compatible with all digitally available PSP games). Now, it seems that that program is back, or at least a successor to it, but it seems to be pretty different from what it used to be like before.

250 PSP games, previously available only on UMD, will be made available on the PSN Store in Japan (meaning all Vita systems can play them)… for free. As long as you are subscribed to PS+, you’ll be good to go.

That is… amazingly, staggeringly good value, to be honest, and it’s pretty damn nice to see Sony offer the service. It should also help them win some PS+ subscriptions in Japan (PS+ subscription penetration rates are the lowest in Japan), and help spur the adoption of Vita even more.

Right now, this program has not been announced for the west, although considering how antipathetic Sony’s western branches are towards the Vita, I probably wouldn’t hold my breath for it or anything.

In a surprising news, it has come to our notice that the US region won’t get the PSP UMD transfer program for the Vita.

The program allows you to register your PSP UMD games on PSN and download a digital copy for a small fee.

We have no idea why this is the case – but that’s how it is for now. Sony revealed this to Kotaku, and said it is only available for Japanese Vita owners for now.

Sony Europe hasn’t said anything about this as well, so we are pretty sure, it won’t be available on that region as well.

If you have bought a game directly via PSN, that game will work on the Vita, it’s as simple as that. It seems like Sony want you to buy new games, d’uh.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Titled, UMD Passport, it lets you rip your UMD games to PSN, with a fee and then download it to Vita. The charges are pretty decent ranging from $5 to 1000 yen, and it’s a lot cheaper than just buying them off PSN. Sony will be revealing more details on this soon.

Meanwhile, here are the prices for the games. They are limited right now, so you can check them out here.

PSP owners who bought a lot of UMD’s have a reason to be happy now, expect the pricing of course. It’s still a great move by Sony. It was in development for a long time we heard.

Here’s the PS Japan page where it was announced, but you need to translate it first.

This is how it works:

• 1. Install the UMD registration application from the PlayStation Store on your PSP.
• 2. Run the UMD registration application from your PSP home screen.
• 3. Follow the on-screen instructions to register the UMD to your PSN account.
• 4. Downloadable versions of registered titles can be purchased from the PlayStation Store and played on the Vita.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Check out the Final Fantasy Type – 0 TGS trailer extended version. The game looks pretty impressive considering that it is a PSP game. It is also confirmed to be releasing in two UMD discs and will be available on PSN as well. The footage is a 11-minute one, so it will take a while, but it’s worth your time.

Square Enix has done a good job in making this game and looks like the PSP will be discontinued in style. Tell us what you think in the comments section below.