Vita Update v1.80 Adds PlayStation One Support...Sort Of

PlayStation Vita Update v1.80 is finally here, adding several new features to Sony’s touchy handheld including internet explorer enhancements, button navigation and a rather underwhelming first crack at PlayStation One game support.

First, the good/bad news about PSX games. The support is there but, for this first week in the U.S., only nine games will be made available for the Vita when the PlayStation Store updates, including Arc the Lad, Cool Borders 2, Final Fantasy VII, Hot Shots Golf 2, Jet Moto, Sypon Filter, Tomb Raider, Twisted Metal 2, and Wild Arms. The PlayStation Blog post highlighting the 1.80 updates states that more games will be added every week, but nothing resembling a schedule has been provided.

Before you start panicking, though, you should know there’s a workaround for getting PSX games on your Vita that aren’t on that list. Just like with unsupported PlayStation Portable titles, if you have an uninstalled game file on your PlayStation 3, it can be transferred over to you Vita. As an example: Download Resident Evil to your PlayStation 3 and do not install it. Next, connect your Vita to your PS3 and go into the content manager. There, you should be able to transfer the Resident Evil file to your Vita, where it can be installed and played. Keep in mind that this will not work for all games but, as of this writing, nearly 100 have been confirmed as working through numerous blogs, forums and message board.

Update v1.80 also adds a handful of other nifty features, including the ability to add touch controls to PSP games, back-scrolling for web pages, faster browsing speeds, a search and “jump to top” button for the internet browser, as well as the ability to navigate the main menu using the Vita’s buttons, perfect for those of you who absolutely detest unnecessary smudges on that beautiful screen.