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/