Sony dropping PSP UMD conversion program
updated 04:10 pm EDT, Fri September 25, 2009
PSP UMD conversion plan axed
Sony today revealed that it has scrapped its UMD conversion plan for those upgrading to the PSP Go. The handheld maker told Kotaku that "legal and technical reasons" have prevented it from giving free PSN downloads to owners that can prove they have UMD copies of their games. It hasn't said what these reasons are or how likely it is that an alternative will be available in the future.
The virtual trade-in was considered potentially very important for Sony, which expects some owners to be moving to the PSP Go from an existing PSP and resistant to give up their existing game collections or buy online-only replacements. It would not only hurt sales but also force Sony to stock UMD-based copies and keep the older PSP's design in stores for longer than necessary.
Sony's new handheld is dependent only on its 16GB storage for holding games and needs Memory Stick cards, direct USB transfers, or Wi-Fi to load its titles. The company has already promised that every game released from October 1st onwards will have a downloadable equivalent.
