How To Play (Some) Incompatible Original PlayStation Games On Vita

Yesterday, Sony announced a new PlayStation Network flash sale taking place over the weekend, discounting a number of PlayStation Network games down to $0.99. In my news post about the sale, I expressed disappointment that I wouldn't be able to play Legend of Dragoon on my Vita, but I learned that's actually not the case.

I received a tweet from @Diaz086 and an e-mail from reader Nicholas Jordan letting me know that there is a way to play these games despite them not being listed as Vita compatible, as you can see in the image above.

First thing you have to do is download the original PlayStation game you'd like to bring over you your Vita on your PlayStation 3, which for the case of Legend of Dragoon is the only system it is listed compatible for other than PSP. Don't install the game on your PlayStation 3 after it finishes downloading. After that, plug your Vita into your PlayStation 3 using the handheld's charging USB cable, and open up the Vita's Content Manager application. Select the copy content option.

Connect to your PlayStation 3.

And do it using your USB cable.

Select that you would like to copy content from your PlayStation 3 to your Vita.

Select Applications.

Select PlayStation games.

Select Applications Downloaded on the PS3 System.

Select the game you'd like to bring over, which should show up on this list even if it isn't Vita compatible, and hit copy.

And you should be good to go!

There it is in all its glory, even though it isn't listed as being Vita compatible on its store page, and won't show up when you search for it using the Vita's PS Store app.

You will see some other games in my library above like the Crash and Spyro games that aren't technically compatible with Vita. There was actually a brief period of time a few months ago when those games were temporarily made Vita compatible, and I quickly downloaded them. If you search for them now, they won't be listed as being compatible on Vita, and you won't find them on the Vita's PS Store store similar to Dragoon.

I tested to see if I could bring over Crash Bandicoot: Warped in this way, and unfortunately, it did not work. Xenogears is currently Vita compatible, but reader Nicholas Jordan tells me that when it first (re)released on the PlayStation Network, it wasn't and he was able to use this method to get it playing in his Vita.

This method of bringing over supposedly incompatible PlayStation games to Vita may be common knowledge, but it was news to me, so I figured it might be news to others. I've known you could copy games from the PlayStation 3 to the Vita, but I didn't know it would work with the PlayStation One titles that weren't Vita compatible. Hopefully you learned something as I did, and thanks to @Diaz086 and Nicholas Jordan for the tip!

Let me know in the comments below if there are any other games compatible in this way!

Update: There is a list online keeping tabs on the assorted compatibilities! Thanks @HackInformer!

@KyleMHilliard @StolteNick here's a list of working titles that you can transfer using the ps3 http://t.co/FmCVPqMBSb @gameinformer

— Hackinformer (@HackInformer) July 13, 2014