14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has revealed some important information about its PlayStation Vita, as part of its traditional press conference before the start of the Tokyo Games Show, and, after detailing some of the new games that arrive for it, as well as a concrete release date for its native Japan, has now talked about backwards compatibility with older PSP titles.
Sony is trying to make sure that potential customers have no reason not to buy the PlayStation Vita at the end of the year, when it's going to be released in Japan, or in early 2012, when it's going to arrive in Europe and North America.
After showcasing some all-new games for the Vita, Sony has also talked about backwards compatibility, via Kotaku, and how the Vita will be able to play "most" games that were released for the current PlayStation Portable handheld console. New customers just need to access the PlayStation Store and download the titles they want from the 500 to 600 titles that are compatible with it.
What's more, some of those titles will be able to take advantage of the second thumbstick on the Vita as well as its bigger 5-inch screen.
For those who have PSP games on a UMD drive, a solution might be released by Sony, allowing the Vita to play the special discs.
PlayStation fans will remember that the same thing was promised when the PSP Go was released two years ago. The portable device didn't have a UMD drive, relying only on digital downloads to get new titles.
Sony said that it was considering to release a sort of UMD peripheral, allowing the PSP Go to play the discs like the regular PSP-3000 version, but didn't come through, essentially disappointing new Go owners.
Hopefully, the Japanese company will come through with the PlayStation Vita, allowing owners to play the old UMD discs they spent good money on.
Expect more official details about backwards compatibility and a possible UMD drive solution as we near the release of the Vita.