Sony has announced that it will offer a UMD Passport program for users who upgrade to the upcoming PS Vita. The program answers a key question since it was announced that the Vita would ship without a legacy UMD drive. Japanese Vita users will be able to download a free app that will allow them to register their existing UMDs.
Once each title is registered, users will be able to re-download the UMD title for a discounted price. The discount will bring most titles down to between the equivalent of $6 to $13, although some more recent titles may still incur a slight premium. Thus far, over 200 titles will be available for download to the Vita when it ships in Japan on December 17.
Sony has not yet announced any plans to offer a similar service to customers in other countries. However, its global launches of the Vita don’t begin rolling out until February 2012 giving the company time to roll out similar arrangements for its customers around the globe
