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/

Why Unity on Playstation is a big deal.

So, Unity is coming to Playstation devices, more specifically Playstation 4 and Vita (including Playstation Mobile), which might not seem important, but I assure it's pretty big news. Unity is an game engine that has been around for nearly 9 years now, but it was only through the popularity of the iOS market that it really became a valuable tool for game developers.

The cost effectiveness of the Unity engine is not to be sniffed at either, as you can currently create a full 3D game using the standard Unity program for free. Granted those games can only be exported to PC / Web based formats, however this can influence and provide a great learning environment for newcomers or students, and with a publishing upgrade the user can easily export their game to multiple devices, at reasonably priced one off payments. And if you're really pushing the engine or simply want more features to add sparkle to your game, then there is a Pro version of the Unity engine available, with pro publishing licences also available.

The Unity engine has recently become the go-to engine for this new market of independently developed games, even more-so than the once leader of the pack Unreal Engine, which has failed to make a huge impact on the mobile space, despite Infinity Blade been one of iOS's top games of all time.

But what does this all mean for Playstation device owners? Well, it's simple. More games. Giving Unity developers access to devices like Playstation Vita for example will allow them to click a button and export their game to Vita. The engine is also quite scale-able, giving gamers mobile quality games and PC quality games which is why Unity will be available for PS4 (It is also currently used on PS3 and other consoles, though these are presumably private licenses, not available to the public).

Combining the accessible technology and the experience of studio's big and small that use the Unity engine, it will undoubtedly bring much more indie games and mainstream successful games to the Vita and other Playstation devices.

Examples of these games that could make it to the Vita; Temple Run 2, Slender, Dead Trigger, ShadowRun, Endless Space. With the addition of physical buttons on the Vita, would also be an advantage to any game, and the dual analogue sticks for first person games like Dead Trigger and ShadowRun. Both of these could be big selling points for developers to move their game to hardware like the PSVita.


There's also Project Eternity and Wasteland 2 by Obsidian Entertainment that are PC games funded through Kickstarter that could be easily exported to PS4 without any real headaches of compatibility issues that might've been had if it was for PS3 and it's notoriously hard-to-process-for 7 Cell processor. There is also Dreamfall Chapters: The longest Journey which I am quite excited about, as I've played the first a few years ago, I didn't manage to finish it but it was such an engrossing game, I have the second but am yet to play it. But i guess I've got a year to catch up. So it would be awesome if this came to PS4, obviously the developers haven't announced a release for console, this fairly recent news that Unity is coming to Playstation devices should make a real impact by the end of the year and well into 2014.

The ease of use with Unity, it's cost effectiveness and it's high accessibility could be another factor that's adding up to make the Playstation brand becoming more and more attractive over the competition.

Here is a list on the Unity website of games in development, maybe a good chunk of these will be released on Playstation certified devices? Lets hope so! It's also worth noting that there is a already a game on that list that's is Vita exlusive, you may have already played it! http://unity3d.com/gallery/made-with-unity/game-list

Oh, and more games!! http://unity3d.com/gallery/made-with-unity/profiles/

My first month with the PS Vita

Who am I? Well to be brief I'm an illustration student who plays far too many games that far outweigh his responsibilities.

My history with playstation has been a part time one at best, I had a playstation 1, which I loved, i had a playstation 2, which I also loved, but i hardly played it, no, thats not true, I played it LOTS, but I only ever had 10 games, as i used to replay them over and over again, or borrow my sisters boyfriends games. Then I played PC games for years, whilst moving to Xbox360, this relationship lasted a few years, but I fell bored and decided to migrate to the PS3, the transition was a difficult one at first, the platform felt very different, I had less than half the friends with a Ps3, so multiplayer wasn't something I played much of. HOWEVER, the single player experience is far superior on PS3 with its superb array of exclusive games, it really pleases me and i personally feel that the Playstation 3 is one of the greatest consoles ever, purely due to the games it, and its third party has exclusively created for it.

So this brings me to now, and Handheld gaming, where do I stand on it? I have a Nintendo DS, original one, and before that a GameBoy, but I really got into the Nintendo DS as it was brilliant. I't had all the experiences I would expect to have with Nintendo, and I really enjoyed it, I spent at least £600 on games for it.

Mobile gaming on Android and iOS has been hit and miss with me, whilst the platform is great, many experiences are limited to a touchscreen and no matter how good the graphics get, it doesn't make up for the lack of better input methods, so Angry Birds = Yes. First Person Shooters = Not Really.

So, Why the Vita, Why should you own a Vita?

I wanted it because I knew that sooner or later I would get the full blown experience I had received from playing Playstation 3, and who wouldn't want that? So far, one year later the games released for it have been a mixed bag, which is upsetting to a degree, as why aren't more developers getting their hands on this console and creating content?! It has all the attributes of an Android and iOS device;

Great graphics, fantastic screen, front and back touch input, buttons, analogue sticks, front and back camera, accelerometer, and most importantly the PLAYSTATION BRAND.

Your mum knows what a Playstation is, your unborn grandchild knows what a Playstation is, so why the lack of love from developers?!

It can be hard to adopt the Playstation Vita platform when at a glance there aren't much games on the shelves, and their prices are generally high. BUT ALAS, the Playstation store has much more than what you would know about, and it's not marketed nearly enough, Hundreds of games;

PSN Games, PSone Games, Mobile Games, PSP Games.

So there's already a big fat fistful of games available on the store that you can only know about if you have a Vita, which is why I have been having so much fun with my Vita, playing things I might not have known about, like, Frobisher! Says. This game is just brilliant, It's WarioWare meets David Shrigley meets contemporary illustration at its best, oh and it's free? This is basically all I played for the first 2 weeks, me and my friend still giggle like little girls when we play it because its just so silly!


Playstation Plus is probably the greatest thing to come to PSN, it really gives the users some value for money and gives developers money for old rope, it's so cheap that its a great purchase for anyone, however you benefit more if you have a PS3 as well, which is what I have. I think the most I spent in my first 3 weeks of owning a Vita was £1.99 for the Frobisher! Says addon.

Since owning the Vita, I've finished Gravity Rush and have almost finished Uncharted, and I've also been playing Wipeout 2048, When Vikings Attack, Escape Plan and a handful of others. Reviews will be coming soon.

I've really enjoyed my time with Vita so far, though I would like to see more games been developed for it because pre-E3 there isn't much that appears on the horizon. I'm really looking forward to Tearaway, and kinda looking forward to Killzone Mercenaries, though the footage I keep seeing leaves me sceptical of what its actually going to be like.

Anyway, Updates coming soon, Don't forget, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 HD are our free games coming to Playstation Plus on Wednesday, which is my birthday non the less, considering I've finished MGS2 more times than anyone else ever, so it's a great present from Sony (and Konami) to me, I'm interested to see how it plays on the Vita, having played the PS3 version over the summer, hoping it's as good, and don't forget Puddle the week after.


Unofficially, Beyond.