The PS Vita will be the link keeping PS3 a content-rich system.

With the release of Drinkbox studio's Guacamelee yesterday, it's made me think about one certain feature that we keep seeing every so often, and that is the Cross-buy and Cross-play feature, which usually involves a Cross-save feature. But what's the importance of this? Well, if indie developers are continuing to make games for Vita using something like Unity, which is available for PS3 though it seems like a private licence, more games could be made to work on both Vita and PS3, which is a beneficial thing for a company publishing to Playstation Vita, and to those who may not have a Vita at all still get to play. Those that have both get to play on both.

But what's so special about this feature? It keeps the Playstation 3 alive with well made, often popular and low priced games. We are aware that PS3 has an amazing lineup this year,with God of War just released last month, and still The Last Of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, Puppeteer, the yet to be unveiled Gran Turismo 6 (which hopefully will come to Vita too)  and many unannounced games to follow, that late adopters still have plenty to look forward too even if they can't afford the Playstation 4.

A console like the PS4 will no doubt launch at as a premium product, and will be in that position for some time, usually a year or two until it get's a price drop / cheaper models, though Sony has stated that the new hardware has allowed them to be lenient on the pricing and probably allow them to make a profit sooner than what they did with the PS3 and it's custom designed and built hardware.

So the PS4 will launch, and have Cross-buy-play-save games with the Vita, but the PS3 and Vita will also have the same, what we aren't sure about is the cross-play between PS3 and PS4, for most games it won't happen, unless through Gaikai. However what about PSN games? If it works with Vita, will it be publishable on both the PS3 and 4? Cross-buy between all 3? It really depends on the developers as Sony have given them the freedom to do what they feel is right with their product, and Sony only advises them what's best for their product.

When we first saw the Vita people thought it was PS3 quality, it's fairly close, but when the PS4 launches the PS3 will have to take a step back, but if the Vita can help the PS3 keep momentum by becoming a link between the two consoles, then it could really help keep all three consoles living in a rich and interesting environment for at least the foreseeable future.


- Games that feature Cross-buy, play or save.

Ratchet & Clank - Full Frontal Assault.
Wipeout 2048
Guacamelee
When Vikings Attack
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale
Dead or Alive 5
Motorstorm RC
MLB 13 The Show
Street Fighter X Tekken
Hustle Kings


For a full list of games that feature PS3 and Vita support, check out the following page on the Official Playstation UK site.

http://uk.playstation.com/ps3/support/games/detail/linked513180/item513385/PS3-games-compatible-with-PS-Vita/