THE BUZZ: Sony Computer Entertainment has officially unveiled UMD Passport, a new program for owners of UMD-based PSP games where—for a discounted price—you’ll be able to get digital copies of those games for play on the PS Vita.

The program will work like this: PSP owners will download a UMD Registration App to their PSP, which can then be used via the XMB menu to register the various UMDs that they own. Then, using the same app, those registered UMDs will be tagged on the player’s PlayStation Network account as being games that they own. After that point, the player can then purchase digital versions of those same games for a special price from the PlayStation Store—giving customers a chance to move their library of PSP titles over to the PS Vita once it launches.

The list of companies currently on board with this program, or who will soon announce support, is as follows (this is currently a Japan-only list, as a Western announcement for this program has not happened yet):

• 5pb.
• Acquire
• Arc System Works
• Artdink
• Atlus
• Broccoli
• Capcom
• Chunsoft
• Codemasters
• Create
• Cyberfront
• D3 Publisher
• Fonfun
• FROM Software
• FuRyu
• Gae
• Genki
• Gung-ho Online Ent.
• Gust
• Hamster
• Idea Factory
• Image Epoch
• Irem
• Konami
• Marvelous AQL
• Media-5
• Netrevo
• Nihon Falcom
• NIS
• Paon
• Prototype
• Russel
• Sega
• Silver Star Japan
• SNK Playmore
• Sonic Powered
• Sony
• Spike
• Starfish
• Square Enix
• System Soft Alpha
• Takara-Tomy
• Takuyo
• Tecmo Koei
• TGR
• Ubisoft

As well, here is the list of games announced for UMD Passport so far, and the prices that it will cost to download each under this program. I’ve given an estimate on how much I believe the price would be—under these terms—in US dollars. US prices are in no way a guarantee.

• Guilty Gear Judgment – $5 (500 yen)
• Carnage Heart Exa – $5 (500 yen)
• Pachipara Slot: Pachislot Super Sea Story in Okinawa – $10 (1000 yen)
• Akiba’s Trip – $10 (1000 yen)
• Last Promise Story – $10 (1000 yen)
• Persona 3 Portable – $5 (500 yen)
• Metal Slug Complete – $5 (500 yen)
• Higurashi Daybreak Portable Me, Mega Edition – $5 (500 yen)
• Atelier Viorate: Alchemist of Gramnad 2 – $10 (1000 yen)
• Shutokou Battle – $10 (1000 yen)
• Dynasty Warriors – $5 (500 yen)
• Dead or Alive Paradise – $10 (1000 yen)
• Colin McRae: DiRT 2 – $10 (1000 yen)
• Ever17: the out of infinity – $5 (500 yen)
• Nanatama: Chronicle of Dungeon Maker – $5 (500 yen)
• Ginsei Shogi Portable – $10 (1000 yen)
• Kuru-kuru Chameleon – $5 (500 yen)
• Hot Shots Golf Portable 2 – $5 (500 yen)
• Patapon 3 – $10 (1000 yen)
• Gran Turismo PSP – $10 (1000 yen)
• Nano Diver – $10 (1000 yen)
• Princess Days Portable – $7.50 (740 yen)
• Secret Room Sacrifice – $10 (1000 yen)
• Promise This Blue Sky: Paradise in Hand – $1 (100 yen)
• Everybody Read: Masterpiece & Mystery & Horror & Literature – $5 (500 yen)
• Disgaea 2 Portable – $5 (500 yen)
• Phantom Kingdom Portable – $10 (1000 yen)
• Tsuyokisu 2 Semester Portable – $5 (500 yen)
• Pachislot Simulator, Secret Treasure Edition: Sealed Goddess Portable – $24 (2400 yen)
• The Convenience Store Portable -$10 (1000 yen)
• Unchain Blaze Rex – $10.50 (1050 yen)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion Battle Orchestra Portable – $10 (1000 yen)
• Kanon – $10 (1000 yen)
• I Conquer the Path I Believe In – TBA
• Harvest Moon: Boy & Girl – $5 (500 yen)
• Maikomi Best: Mahjong Champion Portable: Mahjong Club Battle – $5.50 (530 yen)
• Memories Off – $5 (500 yen)
• Prince of Persia: Sands of Time – $10 (1000 yen)
• Tenshin Ranman: Happy-Go-Lucky!! – $10 (1000 yen)

EGM’s TAKE: Maybe not the best solution for some, but at least it’ll be better than having to pay full price to get digital versions of games we already own on UMD. Part of me wants to say that the digital versions should just be free if I already own the UMD—but even I know that would never happen.

According to Sony, each UMD will only be able to be registered once—the question is, how will that work? Is there actually some sort of unique ID number on every UMD ever created that will be readable by this PSP app? Or is that simply a statement that Sony is making in order to encourage people not to try?

Now to see how this program will work in terms of other countries, and what the selections / pricing will be. There is one obvious flaw to this system—only games that are on the PlayStation Store as digital downloads, or which will be at some point, are going to be available for this program. Sadly, for me, at least half of my PSP library isn’t up digitally, and probably never will be.

Source: Cheesemeister via NeoGAF (Game list translation)