Sony Cross Buy promotion ‘limited’ by Vita and PS3 technology differences

Technological differences between the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 is limiting Sony's Cross Buy initiative, according to PlayStation Europe CEO Jim Ryan.

Recently revealed at Gamescom last week, the new Cross Buy initiative allows certain PS3 games to be played on the PS Vita at no additional cost. When purchasing the PS3 version of the game, the user will automatically be able to download the Vita version as well. So far, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault have been confirmed for the new promotion.

Sony has said the lineup of Cross Buy titles will expand beyond that, but Jim Ryan recently confirmed that the process isn't as easy as it appears.

"The development environments are rather different," he told CVG. "PS Vita is a more PC-based environment whereas the PS3 is a more bespoke development environment. So the cross-over between both platforms is rather limited."

"I think our priority with publishers is to provide them an environment, in terms of installed base, where they can publish profitably on Vita," he added. "That's our challenge and it is something we have to rise to."

While technological differences could hamper the promotion on the current console and Vita, there's always the possibility that the rumored PlayStation 4 will implement a PC-based environment, making cross over gameplay development an easier, more streamlined process.