A few months ago IGN reported on a Japanese PlayStation Vita program known as the UMD Passport. Basically, players could download a program on the PSP, pop in UMDs, and get the games noted on their PlayStation Network accounts. From there, players would be able to download the noted game to the Vita for a reduced price.
Today, Sony announced the plan is not coming to North America. The full statement is below.
SONY said:
SCEA will not be offering the UMD Passport program. U.S. consumers who already own digital versions of select PSP titles will be able to seamlessly transfer those games to their PS Vita system. PSP games played on PS Vita will offer upscaled video quality that's ideal for the system's 5-inch OLED screen, along with controls that are optimized for its features such as the dual analog sticks. At the launch of PS Vita, 250 PSP titles (including minis) will be available, and hundreds of additional titles will be available post-launch.