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    PlayStation Vita is Sony's second handheld gaming device.

    Sony Makes PSOne Classics Available for Vita In Most Ludicrous Way Possible

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    alex

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    Edited By alex
    If you work at it, Cho Aniki is unofficially downloadable for North American Vita owners. You're going to want to work at it. HARD.
    If you work at it, Cho Aniki is unofficially downloadable for North American Vita owners. You're going to want to work at it. HARD.

    Good news, everyone who has been itching to download classic PlayStation games to their Vita! Now you can! Unless, of course, you live in North America, in which case... Bad news, everyone!

    So, here's how this currently shakes out. Sony has announced nine supported PSOne games for North American Vita users...and 129 for European players. Why the absurd dissonance between regions? No idea. Sony hasn't said, and it doesn't sound like they will be explaining it any time soon.

    However, here's where things get weird. Reddit users, as they are often wont to do, have compiled a list of games that can be played via a workaround, despite not being officially supported for North American users. Basically, you'll need to have a PS3 to download the games, and then do some transferring from there. You can read about the whole process here.

    Undoubtedly, North American players will eventually be able to access all of these games in an official capacity, but until then you may have to do a little working around. Below this paragraph you'll find the full list of officially available games. Bolded and underlined games are officially available in North America, while the rest will be available in Europe once the Vita 1.8 update is downloaded. Reddit's list of unofficially downloadable games can be found here.

    Since some people in the comments are confused, let me be super clear. The below list is ONLY officially released games for EU and NA. You'll have to go to the above Reddit link to see stuff that is unofficially downloadable.

    That's gotta be a record for the most product links in a single news story, right?

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    alex

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    #1  Edited By alex
    If you work at it, Cho Aniki is unofficially downloadable for North American Vita owners. You're going to want to work at it. HARD.
    If you work at it, Cho Aniki is unofficially downloadable for North American Vita owners. You're going to want to work at it. HARD.

    Good news, everyone who has been itching to download classic PlayStation games to their Vita! Now you can! Unless, of course, you live in North America, in which case... Bad news, everyone!

    So, here's how this currently shakes out. Sony has announced nine supported PSOne games for North American Vita users...and 129 for European players. Why the absurd dissonance between regions? No idea. Sony hasn't said, and it doesn't sound like they will be explaining it any time soon.

    However, here's where things get weird. Reddit users, as they are often wont to do, have compiled a list of games that can be played via a workaround, despite not being officially supported for North American users. Basically, you'll need to have a PS3 to download the games, and then do some transferring from there. You can read about the whole process here.

    Undoubtedly, North American players will eventually be able to access all of these games in an official capacity, but until then you may have to do a little working around. Below this paragraph you'll find the full list of officially available games. Bolded and underlined games are officially available in North America, while the rest will be available in Europe once the Vita 1.8 update is downloaded. Reddit's list of unofficially downloadable games can be found here.

    Since some people in the comments are confused, let me be super clear. The below list is ONLY officially released games for EU and NA. You'll have to go to the above Reddit link to see stuff that is unofficially downloadable.

    That's gotta be a record for the most product links in a single news story, right?

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    morningstar

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    #2  Edited By morningstar

    Some good solid games there, still won't make me buy a Vita though.

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    TwoLines

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    #3  Edited By TwoLines

    Haha! Finally, Europe is not the one getting fucked over!

    ...Bummer for the US guys though, this blows.

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    dekkadekkadekka

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    #4  Edited By dekkadekkadekka
    while the rest will be available in Europe when the next Vita firmware update launches there tomorrow.

    I was able to download the 1.8 Firmware today in the UK. Not tried any PS1 games just yet though, almost zero space on my Vita's memory card.

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    forkboy

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    #5  Edited By forkboy

    What a pleasant change that it's not us in Europe getting the short end of the stick!

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    Argo15

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    #6  Edited By Argo15

    Interesting list!

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    sweep

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    #7  Edited By sweep  Moderator

    How legal is this "workaround"?

    EDIT: Apparently it's pretty legal. Cool, I guess?

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    Ninja

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    #8  Edited By Ninja

    North Americans have Cool Boarders 2 on their list.... what more do they need?

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    GoofyGoober

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    #9  Edited By GoofyGoober

    Wow it is said when people have to get excited over PS1 games on a fucking 300 vita, Sony, what the fuck man?

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    Phatmac

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    #10  Edited By Phatmac

    Oh the irony that European players don't get shit on for once! I actually find this kind of funny. Stuff it American Vita owners! (I don't own a vita and never will so don't yell at me.) :(

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    halfpastwhenever

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    #11  Edited By halfpastwhenever

    God Damnit, I think i'm gonna have to buy a Vita

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    veektarius

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    #12  Edited By veektarius

    You can't place economic sanctions on us, Japan! You'll live to regret this!

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    BlackLagoon

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    #13  Edited By BlackLagoon

    It's the same with Minis. I expect it's because emulator support and the transfer function is handled by the firmware and QA divisions, while putting them up for download is done by the store team, and the US one is putting a lower priority on this.

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    Video_Game_King

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    #14  Edited By Video_Game_King

    I uploaded that Cho Aniki picture to the site. You're welcome, Giant Bomb community.

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    alternate

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    #15  Edited By alternate

    Suck it yanks!

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    Reluctant_Hero

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    #16  Edited By Reluctant_Hero

    Most of this list was compiled from by fellow posters over on NeoGAF. Just sayin'... Also, GRANDIA definitely does not work.

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    ChosenOne

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    #17  Edited By ChosenOne

    Alundra is a great game, everyone should play it.

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    Skanker

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    #18  Edited By Skanker

    @Phatmac: Agreed. I feel a sense of.. happiness thanks to this and The Last Story/Xenoblade. We all know america will get the games eventually anyway.

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    dekkadekkadekka

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    #19  Edited By dekkadekkadekka

    @Sweep: I would imagine 100% legal, as you own a license for the product you're transferring. As for support, you'll probably get none until it's "officially" supported.

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    august

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    #20  Edited By august

    Licensing might be more restrictive in America than in the EU.

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    CaptainScarLeg

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    #21  Edited By CaptainScarLeg

    Tekken and Tekken 2 but no Tekken 3? Yo fuck this list.

    Wait... Little Mermaid 2 and Winnie The Pooh bundle? Never mind, sold.

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    edwardt

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    #22  Edited By edwardt

    Well... it supports Bishi Bashi Special.

    Looks like I'm getting a vita.

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    BlackLagoon

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    #23  Edited By BlackLagoon

    @Sweep said:

    How legal is this "workaround"?

    It's an official function of the the Vita and PS3, so it's perfectly "legal". Vita support for PlayStation Minis has been the same way since launch, with some being downloadable directly, and some having to be transferred until added to the Vita store.

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    fudge91

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    #24  Edited By fudge91

    *Cough*

    "as they are often want to do"

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    Goldanas

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    #25  Edited By Goldanas

    This is the exact same method to get PSP games on your Vita that aren't officially supported. I don't believe you can really say it was Reddit users who discovered this, when this function was found by NeoGAF and others not associated with the social gatherings so many months ago.

    And it's not work. You just download the game on your PS3 and transfer it your Vita. Done. It's not fucking rocket science.

    I would like an explanation as to why there's such a disparity though.

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    fargofallout

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    #26  Edited By fargofallout

    Sony!

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    #27  Edited By Yadilie

    @Sweep: This is the same thing people have been doing with PSP games on the Vita. Nothing new. Nothing illegal.

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    #28  Edited By alex

    @Fudge91: Nope. Not a typo. Look it up. Wont is a word.

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    Marino

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    #29  Edited By Marino  Staff

    No Tomba. /sigh

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    KestrelPi

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    #30  Edited By KestrelPi
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    #31  Edited By deskp

    What will these cost?

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    #32  Edited By drew327

    I tried the workaround. Final Fantasy 5 would not transfer over for some reason, and a handful of games have the rear touch assigned to a button and I couldn't turn it off (SotN and RE3 specifically) so that was really annoying.

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    dekkadekkadekka

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    #33  Edited By dekkadekkadekka

    @Alex said:

    @Fudge91: Nope. Not a typo. Look it up. Wont is a word.

    This man drops truth.

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    Brenderous

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    #34  Edited By Brenderous

    I think we should rename North America. Call it Cooltown or something.

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    #35  Edited By mrEkli

    Really quoting Reddit? They got the list wrong. Games such as the Oddworlds and Final Fantasy V don't transfer. CheapAssGamer is more comprehensive. That's what you get for going to Reddit.

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    fudge91

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    #36  Edited By fudge91

    @dekkadekkadekka: @dekkadekkadekka said:

    @Alex said:

    @Fudge91: Nope. Not a typo. Look it up. Wont is a word.

    This man drops truth.

    Damnit, english how does it work..

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    #37  Edited By alex

    @mrEkli: I didn't post any of the unofficial downloads. You have to click the link I posted to see the list Reddit compiled. The list I posted is just the official releases for EU/NA.

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    #38  Edited By devilzrule27

    People at reddit didnt figure this out, an Atlus PR guy tweeted it when the update went live last night. Its tye same exact workaround that people use for PSP games on the vita.

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    wrecks

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    #39  Edited By wrecks

    @alex said:

    Basically, you'll need to have a PS3 to download the games, and then do some transfarring from there.

    Fixed.

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    deactivated-5e49e9175da37

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    That's hella dumb.

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    renmckormack

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    #41  Edited By renmckormack

    @Sweep: ALEX IS A COP DON"T DO IT.

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    #42  Edited By OneManX

    Some people so ready to pounce on a little mistake, end up with some great swings and misses.

    From what I understand by some people on Twitter, is that you have to download the uninstalled version, transfer it to your Vita, then install it.

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    AhmadMetallic

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    #43  Edited By AhmadMetallic

    So SONY releases a new expensive handheld and expects people to just buy remakes and spinoffs of games they already played on the home console? Is that what handhelds are for? No new IPs?

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    Vegetable_Side_Dish

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    @AhmadMetallic said:

    So SONY releases a new expensive handheld and expects people to just buy remakes and spinoffs of games they already played on the home console? Is that what handhelds are for? No new IPs?

    Are you complaining that people now have more games to play than before? That's what you're doing. 
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    thechronodarkness

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    I own all of these games I want to on disc. Not going to rebuy just to play on vita. There should be a way to install a ps1 game and do whatever from there. But oh well

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    vonFlampanker

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    #46  Edited By vonFlampanker

    @deskp: They seem to be $5.99 - $9.99.

    I bought Metal Gear Solid for $9.99 to test out the transfer (it worked, by the way), as the PS1 games didn't even show up in the store last night. $5.99 across the board would be more of a fair price. Seemed to be that the multi-disc games were more expensive.

    This is a pretty crap way to (continue to) treat Vita owners. This is something that should've been available at launch, not trickled out to make the release schedule seem a little more padded. Sony's gambling that there will even be a system to support by the time they get to the end of this list.

    I know it's going to sound like I'm justifying here but artificial limitations and stonewalling when people seek answers are quite a bit of the reason people look for ways to hack the hardware so they can do as they please with it. It's frustrating to be hobbled due to some cumbersome corporate system's whims.

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    mackgyver

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    #47  Edited By mackgyver

    Sony hates North America?

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    OwnlyUzinWonHan

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    #48  Edited By OwnlyUzinWonHan
    @drew327: That sounds awful, SotN and RE3 were going to be the two games I was gonna try the workaround with but if that's the case, I can wait.
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    neurotic

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    #49  Edited By neurotic

    Didn't a similar thing happen at the end of the PSP? They put a bunch of old games on sale but significantly less in the US than in Europe. I would claim that it's nice that Europe hasn't been screwed over for once but honestly, any of the games I would want here, I already have on my PS3. So who cares, I guess? I suppose I would be more excited if this were a bunch of older PS3 games. As a soon-to-be Vita owner (I'm delaying the purchase for as long as possible until Persona 4 Golden comes out), that would make me happy. Kinda.

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    Mr_Skeleton

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    #50  Edited By Mr_Skeleton

    There are some really good games in there.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

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