PlayStation Vita and PSP will be able to play multiplayer together

By Ryan Fleming September 21, 2011

The PlayStation Vita has an uphill battle when it is released. While the Nintendo DS killed it in sales and went on to join the ranks of phenomena, the 3DS has been struggling badly until its controversial price drop and the PSP just never quite caught on like Sony hoped it would. Plus, with the rise of mobile gaming on other platforms like smartphones and tablets, a handheld gaming device faces a tough debut.

But Sony knows this, and so it is doing everything it can to make the upcoming Vita as user-friendly and accessible as possible. With a price tag of $249 ($299 for 3G), the company is almost certainly taking a loss on the hardware to make it more appealing, it recently confirmed that the Vita will be region free, and now Sony has announced that the Vita will be able to play multiplayer games with the PSP.

The PSP obviously won’t be able to play games developed for the Vita only, but according to Siliconera Vita owners will be able to download PSP titles from the PSN store and play ad hoc multiplayer with users in close proximity.There are also several games that will be released for both systems, which will be compatible.

This won’t work on all PSP games and Sony has yet to issue a list of compatible titles . 1up has confirmed that Sony is planning on doing something for its current PSP owners that upgrade to the Vita, possibly allowing them to re-download all the PSP titles they purchased onto the Vita. So far this plan is on for the Japanese market, but that may simply be because the Japanese launch is months ahead of the North American and European releases, and that offer may be forthcoming.

The PlayStation Vita will be released in Japan on December 17, then it will make its way to North America and Europe in early 2012.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

Best video game deals: PlayStation 5, Xbox S and X, Nintendo Switch

While gaming PCs can be pretty great, a lot of folks don't want to spend the money, or time and hassle to get involved with PC gaming, which is why consoles like the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch are perfect. Not only are they relatively budget-friendly, but they also offer a quick and user-friendly way of playing games that don't involve having a lot of PC knowledge. So, if you've already bought one of these, then be sure to check out our roundup of some of our favorite game deals, including some of our lists of PS5 games, best Xbox Series X games, or best Nintendo Switch games.
On the other hand, if you're just doing a bit of window shopping, then check out some of our other favorite PS5 game deals, Xbox game pass deals and Nintendo Switch deals for more specific offers.

Best PS5 game deals
Deathloop -- $25, was $60

Gaming

Everything announced at PlayStation’s May 2024 State of Play

Astro Bot climbs on a DualSense controller

Sony's second State of Play presentation of the year just took place. It gave us a clearer look at what we can expect from PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2's video game lineup throughout the back half of 2024. That includes first-party games like Until Dawn's remake, Concord, and Astro Bot. Some impressive third-party titles like Dynasty Warriors Origins, Ballard of Antara, and Monster Hunter Wilds also showed up but had 2025 release windows.

If you play a lot of games on your PS5, you definitely won't want to miss anything that PlayStation Studios or any of its third-party partners revealed over the course of this State of Play. For your convenience, I rounded up every announcement made during this State of Play right here.

Gaming

PlayStation Days of Play sale: the best deals that you don’t want to miss

Cloud,. Aerith, and Tifa stand together in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

It's summer, which means it's time to stock up on video games. Thankfully, you'll have a lot of chances to do that without breaking the bank this year as June tends to be a big month for game sales. Sony is kicking off that trend a few days early with its annual Days of Play sale, which offers some major discounts on everything from recent hits to new releases.

This year's sale includes over 900 games, and there are a lot of great options. Of course, who wants to spend time scrolling through 39 pages of discounts? I'm here to help save you the trouble so you can spend more time gaming. I combed through every deal and picked out eight in particular that stand out. These range from fairly new releases to under-the-radar games that are a steal. If you don't already own these games, consider picking them all up. It'll cost you less than $200 to do so!
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth -- $53