MasonicGamer.com - Okay, I have to rant a little. We’ve just found out that Sony’s recent Vita update – firmware 1.80 – contains a little secret that has not been advertised: Memory cards will now be locked to a specific PSN ID so switching between multiple accounts is no longer an option. Up until this point it was possible to back up your data to a PS3 and restore the system, before signing in with a different account.
What kind of move is this? (Answer: a dick move). For a start, we should have been able to use multiple accounts from the start – every other system I own allows multiple sign-ins, and content purchased on one account can be used by the others. As someone who moved from the US to the UK this is quite important – I need a UK account to buy things (without the hassle of purchasing foreign point cards online), but need access to my US account because of all the stuff I already own.
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How dare Sony trying to make money by cutting down on people sharing games. On other handhelds and non Sony systems people are able to share digital content and games with multiple people for free. People should just not allow Sony to do madness and buy other systems where you can share games constantly between handhelds and consoles
They took away "other os" to cut down on piracy and hacking so I couldn't use linux on my ps3 to surf the internet real slow. They got rid of backwards compatibility for ps2 in order to cut cost while most would rather pay more money for the console.
OK. the main problem is some people who have 2 accounts from different countries.
Sony doesn't want consumers to abuse the PSN and everyone probably wants to purchase from the US PSN store because it is cheaper. Sony decides to restrict the number of accounts allowed for 1 memory Card.
Here's a solution Sony could but probably wont for people who like to purchase items from other PSN stores. They could have some sort of PSN import store.
I personally need dual accounts because I purchased a Japanese PS3 at launch. I live in UK(PAL region) and I cannot play PSone games on my PS3 because it doesn't support a PAL output. Which is why I purchase PSone games from the US store.
I think the bottom line is system longevity. A certain amount of lockdown is needed to keep legitimate and region-specific software selling.
Somehow the DS survived it unscathed, but the PSP lost a good bit of software support once it was hacked. Yeah, the hardware sales were very impressive, but software sales don't back it up much.
Region locking is one way to ensure that you get your version from your area, that whatever involved individuals and companies worked hard on. On the other hand, not all games are available in all regions. I think a region lock on the system itself is bad, because it blocks out everything automatically. But I can understand one for a game like P4 The Arena, where it's far cheaper to get it from another region and STILL has all the same content; but then the people in YOUR region who made the game get nothing for their efforts.
I can't say ALL handhelds are getting "so locked down," but I can see the reasoning behind some of the actions taken.