Attention nostalgists/Vita owners: if you've been patiently waiting for PS1 classics to come to Sony's handheld, you finally have a date to look forward to, with today's announcement that the games will be available for download on the Vita August 28th.
The announcement came as part of Sony's Gamescom presentation. Don't get too excited right away, though; initially, the sort-of backwards compatibility will only include a limited number of games, including Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VII and Crash Bandicoot.
The update will also bring with a few other new features, including (among other things):
- Cross-Controller, which will allow you to use the Vita as a PS3 controller;
- music playlists, including the ability to import playlists from iTunes;
- back touchscreen web scrolling; and
- the ability to change system settings while games are running.
Other announcements of note from Sony's Gamescom press conference include:
- a new Crossbuy initiative, wherein buying a game for the PS3 also gets you a copy for the Vita. The supported games at present include PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault (or QForce in Europe).
- the announcement that both PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Mobile will be coming to the system in the coming months.
- info on a couple of upcoming games, including Tearaway, the newest IP from Little Big Planet creators Media Molecule; the newest Killzone title, Killzone: Mercenary; and some extremely brown-hued gameplay from Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified.
