UMD Passport Program Not Coming to North America [UPDATED]

I still don't get the what huge deal is with using the PSP you have for the games you already bought. If you want to play specific games, just bring the correct console with you.

I think It's time to buy a PSP! I sold mine awhile ago but I still have my games for it. #TeamPersona!

@ghostNPC said:

I still don't get the what huge deal is with using the PSP you have for the games you already bought. If you want to play specific games, just bring the correct console with you.

it's about saying they're gonna do this, then coming up with a ridiculous pricing scheme for how it works and THEN not even taking it outside of Japan. stringing customers along and then just saying "err ... no, sorry. not worth the hassle" is what sucks about this. not having the option to play the games you already bought on the new system which in theory allows for slightly better visuals (if only due to the screen) and, in some cases, use of the second analog stick is a bummer.

had they never talked about doing the transfer thing, it wouldn't have been such a big deal. that's the whole thing.

At least now you won't be tempted to rip yourselves off haha

@YoThatLimp said:

@SSully said:

@Methodis said:

People should stop being dirty poors and just rebuy their games to support the developers. It disgusts me when people look for a "free hand out" just because they already bought a game. I don't get a free hand out when I bought a Burger King Whopper and I eat it and want another one. Why should video games get one?

Because we don't feel like rebuying a game we already have? There is a big difference between buying a fucking burger and buying a video game. It has nothing to do with a free hand out, it is wanting the ability to play games from your past generation library on your new console.

I guess you feel like someone should come turn all your DVDs into Blurays then?

Funny you should mention that since my blue ray player plays DVDs no problem.

@AkIRA_22 said:

You know what gets me? How many times have you people who are bitching PAID for a NEW version for, playstation, DS, Wii, PSN/XBLA of some game that came out on the SNES, Mega Drive or Gameboy 20 fucking years a go? that's right lots, why is this ANY different? UMD is a dead format as is the Gameboy and the Mega Drive, the N64, GDROM or many other proprietary formats. Sony doesn't owe it too you, they owe it to THEMSELVES and their thousands of employees to not go fucking bankrupt.

The level of entitlement you 'people' have is astounding. I bet you are all American too. Get a better job, or cut back on something else, OR KEEP YOUR FUCKING PSP!

NeoGAF level SDF in here.

@hagridore said:

Got 2 PSPs that still work. I ain't that sore.

So you're the guy.

Sony doesn't seem to care about it's consumers in any way. I have a good number of PSP UMD's I could have bought digital but I chose to support Gamestop with my purchase. Silly me, LOL.

I started trading in my UMDs when the Vita was announced, and used the money to pick up the games I felt like keeping via PSN. There's still time to do this for those who haven't.

Like anything, no matter what we as consumers want, IP Rights, Red Tape, and overall cost to the company will get in the way.

@algertman said:

@AkIRA_22 said:

You know what gets me? How many times have you people who are bitching PAID for a NEW version for, playstation, DS, Wii, PSN/XBLA of some game that came out on the SNES, Mega Drive or Gameboy 20 fucking years a go? that's right lots, why is this ANY different? UMD is a dead format as is the Gameboy and the Mega Drive, the N64, GDROM or many other proprietary formats. Sony doesn't owe it too you, they owe it to THEMSELVES and their thousands of employees to not go fucking bankrupt.

The level of entitlement you 'people' have is astounding. I bet you are all American too. Get a better job, or cut back on something else, OR KEEP YOUR FUCKING PSP!

NeoGAF level SDF in here.

Literally one of the stupidest thing's I've ever read on this site. Akira, you're beyond retarded...

I just hope no-one went out and bought a bunch of PSP games in anticipation of this service. I mean, that's stupid, but I bet someone out there did.

@holybins said:

Wait...people care about the vita?

Yeah. It's crazy when people are excited for a new platform for games. I don't get them either.

Sony realizes that no one in the US actually purchased their PSP games

Well, I only have 2 UMD games, the rest are digital copies, so it's not really a problem for me. Still, that sucks.

@ghostNPC said:

I still don't get the what huge deal is with using the PSP you have for the games you already bought. If you want to play specific games, just bring the correct console with you.

I think most of the uprorar is that there's no explanation as to why the program isn't coming to North America. If Japan is being given this option, why not us?

I'm not buying a Vita to play PSP games. The only people upset about this are the idiots who aren't interested in the Vita anyway.

@DostoyevskysShamblingCorpse said:

I'm not buying a Vita to play PSP games. The only people upset about this are the idiots who are interested in the Vita anyway.

Fixed!

@patrickklepek

"a consequence of publishers being allowed to dictate to dictate pricing."

they should drop the price on psp games, since it's technically a last generation handheld now right? (what are ds game prices like these days?)

Or admit that it's a money-grab instead of calling it a service.

Of course they weren't going to let you transfer your umd games for a fee... but you can repurchase them for full retail price on the psn network!

The only thing that interested me about psp and the vita was monster hunter...and since that is coming to 3DS i have no interest in this handheld.

@YoThatLimp said:

@SSully said:

@Methodis said:

People should stop being dirty poors and just rebuy their games to support the developers. It disgusts me when people look for a "free hand out" just because they already bought a game. I don't get a free hand out when I bought a Burger King Whopper and I eat it and want another one. Why should video games get one?

Because we don't feel like rebuying a game we already have? There is a big difference between buying a fucking burger and buying a video game. It has nothing to do with a free hand out, it is wanting the ability to play games from your past generation library on your new console.

I guess you feel like someone should come turn all your DVDs into Blurays then?

No, because my bluray player plays my DVD's no problem, and even upscales them. I also am capable of legally burning my DVD's to my computer and using them on any of my digital devices that I please. So I am not required to keep my old dvd player anymore in order to keep my collection relevant. On the other hand I now have to keep my psp in order to play my old library of games, which is a huge bummer.

So any idea about us Europeans then? Surely this a bad foreshadowing.

Wow, that "official statement" is basically a big FUCK YOU to everyone.

So what your saying is that I'll need to crack the PSP emulation software in the Vita to play the digital copies I ripped from my UMDs, which is what I was going to do anyway? Cool, thanks!

This sucks. There were a few games that I wanted to transfer. Anyway for Americans to use this for Japanese games?

@Methodis said:

People should stop being dirty poors and just rebuy their games to support the developers. It disgusts me when people look for a "free hand out" just because they already bought a game. I don't get a free hand out when I bought a Burger King Whopper and I eat it and want another one. Why should video games get one?

Flip over your receipt. You totally DO get a free Whopper!

@Shookems said:

Sony realizes that no one in the US actually purchased their PSP games

They're probably still sore about us tanking the PSPGo. :(

@Methodis said:

People should stop being dirty poors and just rebuy their games to support the developers. It disgusts me when people look for a "free hand out" just because they already bought a game. I don't get a free hand out when I bought a Burger King Whopper and I eat it and want another one. Why should video games get one?

"Dirty poors"? What the fuck do you mean by that? Poor people generally aren't poor by choice, I can tell you that! As for me, I do not enjoy having to rebuy games that I bought once already.

That said, I would only be complaining about Sony's practice if it really affected me. I sold the games on PSP that I had - and the right to play them - so if I want to play them I'll have to rebuy them anyway.

I'm not familiar with the I/O options on a PSP, but couldn't they presumably provide a cable that would tether the PSP to the Vita and, using software built into the Vita, transfer a UMD's contents over into a digital format? I guess the only question then is how to make sure that's done only once per UMD. Provided there is some distinctive key on the UMD that can be registered online, locking out that UMD from again being transferred to another PSP.

Hell, I've even thought this would work as a backwards compatibility option for consoles. Built-in support is of course ideal, but if the console maker isn't gonna do that because of cost, how about a cable that tethers my new console to my old one and essentially just runs the games on the old system and passes the video and input signals through some built in interface on the new console? I know, it seems dumb why anyone would do this when they have the old console sitting right there...but it makes sense to be able to use the newer controller, possibly up-rez the game in the process, to be able to play within your XBox Live/PSN online system, etc. I have a 80GB PS3 without PS2 backwards compatibility...I WANT to play some old PS2 and PS1 games and I simply don't because my TV can't have both hooked up simultaneously...and the corded controller doesn't reach to my couch.

Wow, and here I was holding out some sliver of hope that this could persuade me to evaluate the vita but fuck that I guess.

@RobertOrri said:

Wow, that "official statement" is basically a big FUCK YOU to everyone.

They're just being honest that they can't create a UMD -> digital system that works for all the stakeholders involved. If Sony could wave a magic wand and implement a free, fraud-proof system that allows UMD to digital transfers, I think they would. Sony knows customers value backwards compatibility.

The hilarious alternative would have been putting a UMD drive inside the Vita. You'd have full backwards compatibility and one hour of battery life.

Being a late adopter, I guess my decision to go mostly digital with my games is paying off now.

Then again: Those Vita memory card prices, ACK.

:|

You know what would get me to buy at least one Vita Sony? The ability to play my PSN games like God Hand or Pacman. I know that's asking a lot, but the games you're offering aren't interesting to me but a lot of the stuff you have on PSN is.

Raise your hand if any of your saw this coming.

This is why I started to buy PSP games on the Sony store a long time ago. Sure it sucks not having a physical copy I can loan out or trade in, but it is convenient. The UMD was a failure, and short of mailing them in to get a code I don't see a way Sony can do this legally.

Its definitely a bummer, but the few games I own physical copies of aren't on the store anyways.

I still don't blame Sony for this, because this reeks of publishers being incredibly stubborn and wanting to see if they can get people to buy games twice. I think Sony went to them with a pricing system that was a compromise between fully buying the game over, and letting us copy off of UMDs for free.

Personally, while it is disappointing, my PSP is still fine for playing my UMD games, and I had started buying PSP games on PSN when Vita was announced anyway.

The most annoying part, is those earlier releases, and those few games with no PSN release, like Birth By Sleep.

Is there anyone who really wants to transfer over some of their PSP games? It seems like most people are just complaining because its something we aren't getting, but in reality we weren't going to use it much anyways.
 
They have a good selection of PSP games on PSN, and im sure they'll add more in the future. 
 
As long as there are good Vita games, it really doesn't matter. I'll play Tactics Ogre on my PSP if I really want to, or buy it on PSN.

@SSully said:

@YoThatLimp said:

@SSully said:

@Methodis said:

People should stop being dirty poors and just rebuy their games to support the developers. It disgusts me when people look for a "free hand out" just because they already bought a game. I don't get a free hand out when I bought a Burger King Whopper and I eat it and want another one. Why should video games get one?

Because we don't feel like rebuying a game we already have? There is a big difference between buying a f***ing burger and buying a video game. It has nothing to do with a free hand out, it is wanting the ability to play games from your past generation library on your new console.

I guess you feel like someone should come turn all your DVDs into Blurays then?

No, because my bluray player plays my DVD's no problem, and even upscales them. I also am capable of legally burning my DVD's to my computer and using them on any of my digital devices that I please. So I am not required to keep my old dvd player anymore in order to keep my collection relevant. On the other hand I now have to keep my psp in order to play my old library of games, which is a huge bummer.

1. What the heck is a dirty poor? 2. I was going to say a similar thing about the Blu-rays - no, I don't expect Sony to give me the HD remaster versions of PS2/PSP games either, I would just hope that I'd be able to play them in their normal, native format on the new system...though I honestly don't care since I don't own a single UMD or a PSP. And I'm not getting a Vita. That argument is just weird and fallacious, though I can't honestly see how anybody expected to get a good deal out of this even if it was a thing. Sell them on Amazon and get the digital version, people! If you care about it, that is. You'll get more back that way than Sony would have ever given you anyway. 3. Seriously, Methodis, I know you've gotten lots of crap for this already, but a consumable product like food is nothing like a permanent product like a video game, book, etc. They don't get used up and that analogy is completely garbage.

If this really bothers you there are three simple steps you can follow:

1. Wait for people to hack the Vita and create custom firmware that will run any PSP game. (This might take a few months)

2. Rip your PSP games to a memory stick.

3. Play your games on the Vita.

No skin off my rear end.

Only a third (maybe) of PSP titles were even available on PSN, and the passport only covered games that were already on PSN.

Not only that, but Sony will likely be offering repair service for PSP for a few more years to come. We bought our UMD games for the PSP, for many of us even before we knew the Vita was being developed.

Lastly, the prices in Japan were absurd. I wonder how many of them were close to just repurchasing the game on PSN anyway. If Sony can't get 3rd parties to be reasonable, it's not in their best interest to bother.

Besides, by the time the PSP can no longer be serviced, emulators will be able to play the PSP well enough to make it a non-issue.

@Cameron said:

If this really bothers you there are three simple steps you can follow:

1. Wait for people to hack the Vita and create custom firmware that will run any PSP game. (This might take a few months)

2. Rip your PSP games to a memory stick.

3. Play your games on the Vita.

I'll probably skip the Vita firmware and just rip my PSP games for use on a PC emulator.

Sounds good to me...

@Mrugby08 said:

Asking customers to buy something twice is like getting punched in the face and then being asked if you want seconds.

Except we fall into the trap. Look at Steam. When the big sales were a newer thing and a lot of people still had physical discs, a lot of people double dipped so they would no longer have to worry about putting a disc in their drive to play games. I even did it myself for a game or two. I hate using discs and have been able to avoid it for years now.

@Methodis: While I would agree with you, didn't this just earn a discount for the games, still making you hand some money over for the download anyway?

I agree with you, I do, I just feel like this is a lil' bit of a unique instance.

All the people who bought UMDs specifically because they'd be able to sell them should probably just do so if they want to defray the cost of getting digital versions of PSP games. You chose to buy into a format with no future because UMDs were cheap used and could be traded or sold. Sony is under no obligation to convert those to more convenient, future-proof digital copies just because you regret that choice now that Vita is coming.

I bought a number of UMD based games when they were cheap. I don't want them on the PSVita. I want Sony working on new native titles for PSVita.

Well, that's a bummer?

I think I have a few psp games at home but I can't say I want to play them. I sure as help don't want to pay to play them... This program never made sense to me.

Paying for psv doesn't make sense either though... (not buying it)

@MmaFanQc said:

and btw, logistically it would have been a mess to opperate the program. And legally it wouldve been a headache to get permission from so many companies.

How can it be such a mess or so hard if it's already been done in Japan?

@Black_Rose said:

@MmaFanQc said:

and btw, logistically it would have been a mess to opperate the program. And legally it wouldve been a headache to get permission from so many companies.

How can it be such a mess or so hard if it's already been done in Japan?

You missed a vital part.

Many games weren’t even part of the UMD Passport program, severely limiting its overall use.