During the Tokyo Game Show, Sony Europe announced a customer loyalty program that would reward current PSP owners who’d upgrade to a PSPgo. PSPgo Rewards would bestow three free downloadable games (from a list of 17), provided the owner followed precise instructions that added the PSPgo to his PlayStation Network account. Sadly, things don’t always go that smoothly.

Some European PSPgo owners have found that the PSPgo Rewards didn’t work out the way they planned. It turns out if they download their three free games to their PS3, then transfer them to their PSPgo, DRM kicks in and renders the games useless. They can’t play them.

Sony is aware of the problem. At the moment, the company is advising that any PSPgo owners wanting to redeem and download their three free games…

PSP owners have just been given another reason to think twice about upgrading to the PSPgo. The first pause would naturally be caused by the PSPgo’s $249.99 price point, about $100 more than a standard PSP and now even $50 more than a Wii. The second pause will be caused by the latest news from Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) – there’s no method for converting UMD games to digital ones in sight.

That’s right owners of PSPs with a UMD drive. If you decide to upgrade to a PSPgo, all of those UMDs are useless. They’re even to small to use as coasters! Last night Kotaku reported the heartbreaking news that the UMD conversion program was a pipedream. The SCEA representative spoken to said the program won’t be available “at this time.” So much for the conversion kiosks people were teased with at E3 2009. Now, at TGS 2009, SCEE has announced that there won’t be any UMD conversion method available in Europe either.

Yes, SCEE is going to offer you three free games with the PSPgo Rewards Program if you have an existing PSP and UMD, but IndustryGamers has gotten word from SCEA that residents of North America aren’t going to have that luxury…

As of this writing Sony still hasn’t offered a practical solution to everybody’s growing UMD problem. With the launch of the PSPgo only days away, we still don’t know how or if we will be able to enjoy our UMD based games if we choose to purchase a PSPgo. Well lets take our minds off that issue for a second and talk about a new promotion Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe is having called PSPgo Rewards.

PSPgo Rewards is Sony’s way of easing us into the digital download only process the PSPgo will offer. It’s offering three free downloadable games from a list of 17 available titles that includes Wipeout Pure, echochrome, Killzone: Liberation and Patapon .

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) used the 2009 Tokyo Game Show to make two big announcements concerning the PS3 and PSPgo. First, the SCEE announced a new version of the PS3 Slim that has a 250GB hard drive which everyone is excited about. The second announcement was the PSPgo Rewards program, which will reward existing PSP owners who purchase a PSPgo with three downloadable PSP games.

The PSPgo announcement is an attempt to get current PSP owners to upgrade to the PSPgo. When the system debuts October 1, 2009, the PSPgo Rewards program will launch as well. Users with both systems can then log into the PlayStation Network with both systems to unlock three free game downloads. There are some catches though. First, you have to claim your three free games before March 31, 2010. Second, You have to have a UMD in the old PSP unit. Third, you can only choose from 17 PSP games.

Here are the 17 PSP games you can choose from, in alphabetical order…