Sony in talks with publishers for Cross Buy promotions

Sony is currently in talks with third-party publishers to adopt the Cross Buy initiative, a service that gifts a free Vita game to consumers who have bought a compatible PlayStation 3 title.

Speaking to GamesIndustry International during Gamescom this week, European boss Jim Ryan said it's the platform holders responsibility to push new initiatives to consumers and convince publishers to come on board.

[Hisiru]

Looks promissing. This is just the start for the PSV.

[darthv72]

sony should have done with the psp as well. Meaning that if you bought a bluray movie there would be a psp version on the same disc that you could transfer via the ps3.

Or if you bought a ps3 game that there was also a psp version, that version would be included as well. Oh well, that didnt work out but I like they would try the same approach for the vita now.

And it makes more sense as games that support cross platform play between ps3 and vita would be more beneficial than trying to do cross platform play between ps3 and psp.

All sony can do is ask. If others arent keen to the idea, that still should not stop sony from doing it on their own published titles.

[plmkoh]

"sony should have done with the psp as well. Meaning that if you bought a bluray movie there would be a psp version on the same disc that you could transfer via the ps3. "

No need to when many blu-rays already include the same movie on dvd, and digital mp4 format that is fully compatible with devices such as the PSP.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

I promise that capcom, activision and ea will never make a cross buy game

[ABizzel1]

EA might since they do a lot of exclusive content for PS3 games.

Capcom is unlikely due to how the treat DLC.

Activision probably never.

Cross-Buy will most likely be a first party only feature, but that's fine with me since those are the main games I buy anyway.

Another problem is that this will take sales away from MS, since you get two versions for the price of one.

[lilbrat23]

I do hope publishers jump into this because I really would love to see more games and I also wished in was 8/28 for the Vita update.

[Summons75]

Step in the right direction. NOw just bundle the physical vita version with the ps3 disc and you will be golden!

[Diver]

no. sony isn't that stupid. there has to be some way for them to protect themselves from people that don't own vitas from cashing in cause that would harm the vita and an already great deal.

[Summons75]

they will also be hurting when people don't want digital media

[himdeel]

The Vita is pretty well locked down for digital content tied to one PSN ID. There is no way they'd include a physical Vita copy with a PS3 game right now. It would be ridiculous to include a physical copy especially when they cannot lock a physical unplayed Vita games to your PSN ID.

To do this right SONY needs to do what they said, with the PS3 game you get a voucher for the Vita game in the box or with the download of the PS3 game. They better have the option of a physical Vita copy with the PS3 version but it has to be more than $60 to deter folks from selling the Vita version if they dont have a Vita.

What's going to inevitably happen if the voucher isn't tied to the PS3 game and PSN ID is people without Vitas will sell the vouchers. UNLESS SONY requires you to register both versions to play the disc/downloadable game it's going to get dicey.

On the other end of all of this it may encourages more developers to make games on the Vita.

[Cryptcuzz]

I agree with you wholeheartedly, it does not make sense to bundle in both the PS3 physical game as well as the Physical Vita copy. People who do not have both will end up selling one on Craigslist or Ebay. That would be suicide for Sony since it would cut into the software sales for one system. People who do not like to download their free version digitally can suck it. Either take advantage of that or miss out, since it is after all FREE for the other version. With a system like this in place from Sony, instead of praising them and look forward to how beneficial it is to those who have both systems, there will always be others who complain over something so trivial.

[triplev16]

Maybe not packed in for free as you mentioned but a download code for a discounted price would work. That would be incentive enough for me, and potentially more publishers would jump on board.

[josephps3]

This could be a potential game changer for me if they pull it off. If majority of the publishers adopt this and I can buy a PS3 game and then download a Vita version of it, heck I'll even be willing to pay $10-$20 for it. Then I can overlook the high Vita price and high memory card price.

[Metal-X]

This is a great idea, but surely sombody is losing money on each free game they give out.

[DarkTower805]

That really depends on how you look at it. Take PASBR, I was on the fence about buying it, but since it was announced to come with a Vita copy I'm now buying it for sure. This can actually create sales that weren't there before.

[majiebeast]

Im just glad Sony is already doing it with first party title's third party is just a bonus. But i really dont expect Capcom to give away a free vita version of their games.

[Qrphe]

Criterion mentioned they were considering Cross Buy for their next Need For Speed, but their bosses are EA...

:(

[Snookies12]

EA and Capcom suck these days... :\

[Ddouble]

I'm already going to double dip on both versions but even if they offer a discount on the Vita version if you buy the PS3 version, I'll be a happy man.

[Puddlejumper75]

IDk how much luck they'll have getting devs to do work for free. Sony is already losing money and now they want developers to sink with them?

Vita must be doing really poorly for them to be this desperate.

Looks like Free to play is coming to one console a lot sooner than some thought.

[Anon1974]

I'm sorry, what was that? All I heard was "Troll de troll troll troll."
Just for a laugh, check out this guy's posts for the past day. He's been hard at it today, eh? He must wake up in the morning and go "Quickly, to the internet! Sony gamers might be talking about a product they like! I must put a stop to it!"

Edit below: Don't try to reason with him. His posts have nothing to do with logic. He exists simply to troll other gamers for their particular gaming preference. Every second post is about the evils of the "SDF" He has no interest in engaging gamers in actual debate regarding our collective hobby. It'd be nice if they brought back the different gamer zones on N4G so guys like this could be weeded out and those who actually want to discuss games and issues related to the industry had a place to do it without guys like this.

[MasterCornholio]

Why should we have to pay twice to enjoy the same game on two different platforms? I know you will point out development costs but it has been proven by many developers that it's extremely easy to port a game from the PS3 to the Vita. So I really don't see why developers can't do this.

Sony are not doing this because there desperate they just want to offer something that no other platform provides which to me is a very good thing.

XperiaRay

[PirateThom]

Same reason a PS3 game doesn't get you a 360 game... or a PC game... still different platforms. I don't think it's desperate, but I don't think it's entirely altruistic either.

The free Vita game is digital, straight off... you need a memory card and, likely, a pretty high capacity one and that's assuming you own the hardware already.

[LebaNoob]

It doesn't necessarily have to be "high capacity".
You can store any Vita app/game you're not currently using on your PS3 or PC and transfer it back again anytime you want.

[plmkoh]

"Sony are not doing this because there desperate..."

Exactly, why should they be desperate. Look at this as the bigger picture, this is clearly a stealth way to introduce the online pass on to as much games as possible to curb used game sales, whilst at the same time add value to the consumer without the pains of the online pass.

It's win for both parties (except if you like your used stuff).

[Puddlejumper75]

LMAO Darkride. You are a single bubble troll who is always attacking Nintendo and MS... Hell I still have more bubbles then you. Unlike you though,you can go through my post history and while I do have fun with the Sony fanboys on this site I have also said good things about Sony. The same cant be said for you and Nintendo or MS.

Yes I do play on the ignorance of some gamers and yes the do mainly happen to be PS3 guys but in most cases I am simply giving you guys back the same BS excuses you use to troll MS and Nintendo with just to see how quickly you change your mind.

[Outside_ofthe_Box]

***"I have also said good things about Sony."***

Puddlejumper75, please don't lie.

***"Sony is already losing money and now they want developers to sink with them?"***

LOL and of course YOU of all people would try to spin Sony trying to get publishers to do cross buy promotions as a bad thing. How is Sony trying to get developers to sink with them? As if publishers would even agree to do something that would hurt them financially in the first place lol, but of course you overlooked that logical reasoning because this was your chance to make another comment that is negative against Sony lol.

***"Vita must be doing really poorly for them to be this desperate."***

Does it even matter that they are desperate? Whether they are desperate or not this is a GOOD for gamers, more specifically Vita and PS3 owners. Oh wait you don't own both nor do you want to see either do well so of course this a bad thing for you.

[Hicken]

darkride's single bubble would be worth more than yours if you had 50.

ALL you do is troll. You came in here with the sole intent of taking yet another good thing by Sony and turning it into a negative. Cross buy can ONLY be a good thing, but true to your form, all you can say is "Sony's failing, blah, blah, blah."

Now that I've said this, I fully expect LevelHead, Ben_Grimm, ChunkyLover53 or someone else to respond to what I say and COMPLETELY disregard your total ignorance on display. And while your comments get scores of disagrees, they'll still be there for all to see, despite the oh-so-obvious nature of the content. (Ironically, the same people above- and others- worked to get a factual response to a trolling comment marked as such. But they won't have anything to say to crap like this guy...)

Can we PLEASE stop pretending this site is run by Sony fanboys?

[2pacalypsenow]

sweet!

[OC_MurphysLaw]

cross buy has to be a tougher sell to 3rd party publishers. I wonder what Sony can do to help smooth that over for them.

[himdeel]

I dont know if publishers have to pay anything to post a game digitally or if the cost is totally on SONY but a larger chunk of direct profits from the digital content they do provide might be incentive enough. Likewise you can only sell digital content one time.

[nevin1]

@Darktower

"This can actually create sales that weren't there before."

Yeah but developers will still look at it as not making money on Vita.

I mean thats almost like saying if I buy the PS3 version, I should get the 360 version aswell.

I doubt others will jump on board besides Sony. At best I can see 3rd party offering discounts.

[PirateThom]

I think a discount too.

Sony want to sell the hardware and their memory cards, they have everything to gain from free Vita games with purchase of PS3 games. Straight off, I'm considering a bigger memory card because of the Cross Buy.

Third parties?

Not so much, they might offer a discount to push double dipping, but freebies? Maybe from time to time depending on the publisher, but won't be a regular thing.

[MoreRPG]

The only way i can see this happening for third parties is if they sell both versions for lets say 70-80 dollars

[Qrphe]

Same here, I'll probably jump onto the 32gb before the first CrossBuy title is released.

[DarkTower805]

@nevin, you can very well be right about 3rd parties not wanting to jump on board. Sony will have to show them first hand that it can be beneficial with sales #s. It also depends on how easy/hard it is to port over a PS3 game to a PSV. Definitely not all games can be ported, but there are some that can. This is a great experiment and I'm sure the whole industry will be watching.

[TimeSkipLuffy]

As great as it sounds.... I only believe Sony's own games will have this feature... and maybe some ipad ported games... I can't think of why a publisher would do that? Give a game for free? To make profit the PS3 version needs to sell a lot more than estimated. And it's already difficult to get big sale numbers.

[MoreRPG]

Cross buy is a great idea but i don't see third party devs adopting it unless they get some money in return

[crawling182]

Alot of the games I buy are Sony published or exclusive, so if they're willing to give me the Vita copy that's great. It would be a hard sell to 3rd party devs to get them on board I think. Then again maybe we'll see copies with PS3/Vita versions for an extra $15-$20.

[Captain Tuttle]

Does Nintendo do something like this? through the virtual console or whatever it's called?

Honest question, I have no idea.

[KongRudi]

There's alot of added value to a cross-platform game - if I can play the game on both platforms..
In many cases I won't use it, however, to just be able to pick and choose wich version to play is a great incentive to pick up that game instead of some other game. :-)

[bub16]

my vita is getting loads more love :D

[EffectO]

Maybe if Sony pays devs to make Vita version.

maybe

[beerkeg]

This is just amazing. I'm crying tears of joy right now. This will make my life complete.