Sony solidifies Vita/PS3 crossplay strategy

Sony has confirmed that several titles coming out in the fall will be playable on both the PS3 and the Playstation Vita.

This isn’t new; there have been a handful of games that allow players to seamlessly pick up and play whether they’re at home or on the go.

But at the Gamescom trade show in Europe, Sony seemed to have a more defined strategy for how it wants to pursue this unique cross-platform advantage moving forward.

The company announced that Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will all be playable on both devices.

And, if you buy the PS3 version, you’ll get the Vita version for free. This is no doubt a strategy to encourage higher sales for the Vita, which has not really gotten off the ground yet.

In the Vita’s early days, Sony launched MLB 12 The Show for both systems, and offered a bundle deal if you wanted both versions – $80. Since then, however, the trend appears to be offering the Vita version for free.

The new initiative is called “Cross Buy” and applicable titles will be designated as such on the Playstation Store so that if you’re browsing games on your Vita, you’ll know that you should buy the PS3 version if you want cross platform compatibility.