Third-party software support will be vital to the PlayStation Vita, and Ubisoft is clearly on board with Sony's upcoming handheld. The publisher today announced that it has six games in development for the handheld, including new installments of some of its highest-profile properties.

　　Ubisoft's Asphalt is speeding to the PS Vita. Leading the way are a pair of iconic Ubisoft franchises in Assassin's Creed and Rayman. While the publisher did not detail the PS Vita debut of the free-running stealth action game, it did say that the phantom-limbed mascot Rayman would be making his way to the handheld in a port of this year's 2D platformer Rayman Origins.

　　The remaining games might also be familiar to Ubisoft fans, as all have appeared previously on other platforms. That quartet is composed of Ubisoft's racing game Asphalt, the action role-playing game Dungeon Hunters Alliance, Lumines, and Michael Jackson The Experience. Asphalt has been a staple of driving games on mobile platforms for years, while Dungeon Hunter Alliance previously appeared as a downloadable title for the PlayStation 3.

　　Originally created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez, Child of Eden), Lumines was a critically acclaimed PSP launch title in 2005, spawning offshoots for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and other platforms in the years that followed. Finally, Michael Jackson The Experience will follow up on last year's PSP edition of the dance rhythm game starring the late King of Pop.

　　For more on the PS Vita, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.