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Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has finally debuted the first batch of Blu-ray discs that take advantage of Digital Copy for PSP. With this feature, people that own both a PS3 and a PSP will be able to copy a portable version of a movie directly from a Blu-ray disc to Sony's handheld. Well, almost directly.

There are a few steps you must take to activate the PSP copy. When you insert the Blu-ray disc into the PS3, you'll see two icons appear on the XMB, one that allows you to store a SD version of the movie to your PS3 hard drive. You must be logged on to the PlayStation Network and then enter a unique 12-digit code included with the disc. Once the activation process is complete, a 2GB file will transfer to your PS3. You can watch this movie on the hard drive (but why would you when you have the Blu-ray disc?), or you can copy it over to the PSP -- a process which takes about five minutes total.

The video quality of the "Digital Copy" is fantastic, especially on the PSP's smaller screen. Unfortunately, the initial batch of movies leaves a lot to be desired: Godzilla (the 1998 American version), The Ugly Truth and Angels & Demons. Hopefully, SPHE will start implementing the feature on some ... y'know, good movies in the future.

Every major Square Enix release comes with a limited edition hardware bundle in Japan. The upcoming PSP-exclusive Kingdom Hearts prequel is no different. This Birth by Sleep silver PSP-3000 will be available on January 9, 2010 for ¥22,000 (about $250). Unlike other LE bundles, this package only contains the branded PSP system you see above and a copy of the game.

We're a little disappointed that Square and Sony didn't make a special edition PSP Go bundle, as that's something we'd love to see. Perhaps that's being set aside for when Square Enix finishes its other big PSP games: The 3rd Birthday and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

Handhelds have a penchant for donning new colors, and the PSP Go is likely to be no different. A Destructoid reader was invited to take a survey conducted by UK marketing firm Research Now. The survey pictured a number of colors, including the already-available Piano Black and Pearl White systems. Some of the colors catch our eye, like Bright Red and Blue -- but colors like Lemon and Coral look a bit too much like urine and vomit, respectively.

Of course, new colors don't really matter without the appropriate software. We wonder if anything will ever be able to dethrone the best PSP bundle ever.

What do Undead Knights, Naruto Shippuden: Legends: Akatsuki Rising, NBA 2K10, Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes and Cars: Race O Rama have in common? All of these are PSP games released on UMD after the PSP Go's October 1 launch -- and all are currently without a digital equivalent. Owners of the Go system are unable to play these games because they simply aren't available on the PlayStation Store.

Once again, Sony's hands-off approach to the PlayStation Network means third parties are responsible for getting their content on both UMD and the PlayStation Store. "It's up to individual third parties to decide if and when to publish their UMD releases on PSN. Most, if not all, are on board, as this is a revenue opportunity for them," we were told by Eric Lempel, SCEA's director of PlayStation Network operations. Namco, the one publisher that returned our request for comment, noted specifically that "there are currently no plans to release Akatsuki Rising on PSN right now," despite its October 6 release on UMD.

We highly encourage Sony to make simultaneous digital releases of PSP games a requirement for publishers, not merely a suggestion. The company previously issued a mandate for PS3 games to include trophies in 2009 -- a similar policy must be enforced on the PSP. Without it, there's no guarantee that all future PSP games will ever be playable on the PSP Go.

Siliconera has gone through the effort of taking all the PlayStation Store's digitally distributed PSP game prices and comparing them to the current cost for a UMD hard copy through Amazon. The list is eye-opening, with the prices shifting -- sometimes dramatically -- between which retail outlet offers the better price. It should be noted that third-party retailers selling through Amazon, which are used for some of the prices in the list, can seriously skew results (especially with the shipping cost added). Sony had previously mentioned it seeks to maintain "pricing parity" between its digital and boxed titles.

Go over to Siliconera to check out the full list. Oh, and if you'd like to see comparisons to retailers other than Amazon, why not offer your research services to them.

Sony director of hardware marketing John Koller mentioned shortly after the E3 "reveal" of the PSP Go that the company was considering a "good will program," which would allow UMD owners to trade in their physical games for digital versions. However, yesterday at the Tokyo Game Show, an SCEA spokesperson told Kotaku, "We were evaluating a UMD conversion program, but due to legal and technical reasons we will not be offering the program at this time."

That's quite a blow to the base of American PSP owners with large libraries of UMD titles looking to upgrade to a PSP Go -- a blow significantly worsened by the European "PSP Go Rewards" initiative, which grants three free games to PSP Go purchasers who register for the promotion using an older PSP model. This same promotion will not be coming to the US. "SCEA region will not offer a UMD rewards program at this time," due to the fact that the company has a "dual-platform strategy," an SCEA spokesperson has explained to IndustryGamers.

Ironically enough, we have a "we'd rather not purchase our PSP games again to play them on a new version of your handheld" strategy going for us. It's working out pretty well so far.

Sony may have been busy talking up the PSP Go (and its ridiculous accessories) during TGS, but it looks like the company hasn't forgotten the Go's older brother. Beginning October 1, the original PSP will receive a fifteen percent price drop in Japan, lowering the price to ¥16,800 (~$185). While it might seem a little strange for Sony to lower the price of the PSP just prior to the launch of the already overpriced PSP Go, Bloomberg rightly points out that the cut will place the PSP at a lower price than Nintendo's monstrously successful DSi.

For now, the price cut remains exclusive to Japan. Joystiq has contacted Sony to find out whether it plans to share the love with the rest of the world.

[Via Engadget]

Sony has finally figured out how to incentivize the UMD-less PSP Go for those who possess a towering library of tangible titles for the original models of the device. The company recently announced the "PSP Go Rewards" program for European territories, which offers three free games to anyone who registers the flip-screened handheld before March 31, 2010. To access these titles, users must first connect their older PSP models (which must have a UMD in the drive) to the PlayStation Network, and activate the promotion.

The full list of 17 titles, which users can choose their three free games from, is posted after the jump. No, Pocket Pool isn't on there. We know! It's like, what's the point, right? We've contacted Sony to see if the same promotion is coming to North America, and whether this unforgivable oversight will be fixed on its way over.