Easy when you know how

Sony already had one crack at the UMD-to-digital transfer with its PSPgo, and now with Vita on the horizon it's having another go, revealing exactly how you can turn those plastic discs into downloadable delights.

First, keep your PSP, as it's crucial to the whole process. You need to download the UMD Registration Application to your PSP, load it up and put the UMD in your machine. This will register the game to your PlayStation Network account, proving your ownership and opening a digital download version to you. It'll only be one PSN account per UMD too, hopefully preventing — or at least limiting — piracy.

The process isn't free though: if you want to download it to your Vita, there's a fee, which varies between 500 yen (£4 / $6.45) to 1500 yen (£12 / $19.35) depending on the title. In fact, one title — genre classic Pachi-Slot Simulator: Treasures transfer Daito Giken Official enclosed Goddess ~ ~ PORTABLE — weighs in at a whopping 2,400 yen: that's £19.45 or $30.97.

Not all games are supported either: the current list stands at 40 games, with the final number expected to weigh in at about 200 titles.

[source eurogamer.net, via jp.playstation.com]