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[Vamphuntr]

With the PSP it didn't really matter. No trophies, no friends list, etc.

And no, it's not a better system. With the PSP you could just sign in and out of multiple accounts at any given time, which takes a few seconds.

With this I need to buy multiple memory cards, and even then, it's still restricted. Can't use downloaded content from a different region on your main PSN account for example.

To switch region on the PSP I need to copy a game from another region on it through the PS3/Media Go. You're still stuck with games across multiple accounts.

DD games would only start for the account that bought it unless you modded your psp.

I still stand by my point that they aren't meaning it for you to buy stuff on a foreign region PSN store.

Where are they storing your profile info anyway on the Vita? It must have a small amount of internal memory to store your trophies and everything? Maybe that's why you need a card for other profiles.

I mean it sucks because the cards are expensive but you guys still have the choice of waiting for the price to drop and for the cards to be on sale/wait for third party knockoff/wait until someone mod the Vita. Hopefully some games' DLC will be dowloaded directly on the game's card so it will be more user friendly.

I still have issue being angry at this to be honest. I'll wait for sales on cards to buy a second one so I can use my JP psones and psp games and I don't need to buy another console like the 3DS to play imports. At least you can swap profile directly through cards and don't need MediaGo Vita/PS3 to swap account.

Seeing how Nintendo didn't do well at 250$, I doubt the Vita will stay at that price for long anyway.

 

[LiquidSolid]

Or they are seeing that even if the system is not perfect, it allow much more freedom degree to use accounts than the similar systems.

Which sounds like they're just coming up with excuses to me. Why should we be complacent solely because every company making similar devices are just as stupid as Sony? Why can't Sony set an example and actually make this just as good as the PS3 when it comes to importing?

I for one won't be buying one until it is.

Cant u just copy the games from one memory card to another and play all of them under one account on Vita? This is confusing lol.

You can't. Games are attached to the account they were bought on, so they won't run unless their account is the one being used.

 

[Jinfash]

By the way, I really hate the thread title; It made me think happy thoughts. There should have been a "...but there's a catch!"

 

[mrklaw]

I really doesn't solve my problem. I buy games on multiple PSN accounts, but I play on only one.

Since the Vita doesn't have onboard memory, I will have to use the account I bought the game to play it, as the games can only be downloaded to a specific memory card (the one tied to the buyers account).

You'd need to buy DD only from your main psn account, and other games would have to be import physical cards (which will work, making this whole thing even sillier)

Pain for me, I'm in the uk, main psn account is US. Buying physical uk games is easy enough, but buying us psn is a pain. And I have a ton of uk psn PSP content from the pspgo days, but I guess that can be on a separate card as it won't have trophies anyway

 

[ProfessorMoran]

That's fine with me, only I will be playing my vita, get your own.

 

[Zoe]

So this is pretty much how things are with the PSP now right? Only difference is you'll probably have to reformat the whole card rather than just switch the activation?

 

[Kyoufu]

So this is pretty much how things are with the PSP now right? Only difference is you'll probably have to reformat the whole card rather than just switch the activation?

What? Why do you have to format the whole card? I thought the point of this was to avoid formatting to factory settings.

I'M SO FUCKING CONFUSED!

 

[Zoe]

What? Why do you have to format the whole card? I thought the point of this was to avoid formatting to factory settings.

I'M SO FUCKING CONFUSED!

Just comparing it to the PSP:

With the PSP you can have mixed downloaded content on the card, but the activated content can only be played with the appropriate account.

With the Vita you can not have mixed downloaded content on the card, and the content can only be played with the appropriate account.

 

[Hunter-Zero]

What? Why do you have to format the whole card? I thought the point of this was to avoid formatting to factory settings.

I'M SO FUCKING CONFUSED!

I guess that you have to format only if you wish to use the same memory card, with two cards there´s no need

 

[Averon]

The margins on the mem cards must be a lot, because Sony's making damn sure you need to have one with the Vita.

 

[Blue Submarine No. 6]

With the PSP it didn't really matter. No trophies, no friends list, etc.

And no, it's not a better system. With the PSP you could just sign in and out of multiple accounts at any given time, which takes a few seconds.

With this I need to buy multiple memory cards, and even then, it's still restricted. Can't use downloaded content from a different region on your main PSN account for example.

Well, it's perfectly clear that you never actually did this... For those of us who did, the Vita solution is preferable... not perfect, but preferable...

 

[Lothars]

Just comparing it to the PSP:

With the PSP you can have mixed downloaded content on the card, but the activated content can only be played with the appropriate account.

With the Vita you can not have mixed downloaded content on the card, and the content can only be played with the appropriate account.

wouldn't you be able to mix the content up like the psp just using mediago? but they can only be used on the activated account?

 

[Zoe]

wouldn't you be able to mix the content up like the psp just using mediago? but they can only be used on the activated account?

Not according to the OP... but it would be nice if that really was the case.

 

[jsnepo]

Are there some technical limitations forcing Sony to do this or do they just want to sell memory cards? You can have multiple users with each their own PSN accounts on the PS3 so why can't the Vita too?

 

[Replicant]

Better than PSP and 2 x better than factory reset.

 

[mrklaw]

Confusing, but I guess we'll find out in a couple of weeks..

 

[yurinka]

Re-sync to/from PS3 or PC. Same way when your iPhone is full.

Unlike iPhone here you can switch the card and use a second one. So you don't need to buy a new full device to get more storage.

Are there some technical limitations forcing Sony to do this or do they just want to sell memory cards? You can have multiple users with each their own PSN accounts on the PS3 so why can't the Vita too?

They said the content of a card will be tied to 1 handheld and 1 PSN account, so I think it's more related to avoid piracy and game sharing.
Think that the average user won't check foreign stores and won't be interested in JP only games, etc. Only hardcore people like us will miss it.

 

[statham]

Ok, so you responded to me but not in the context of why I said it. lol
The point wasn't about them being overpriced or moneygrabs. It was about why he would let one slide, but be firmly against the other.

lol, okay my bad.

 

[DCharlie]

Because it's customer abuse and a money grab. Nothing but.

come now, how many customers are actually going to want to use multiple PSN accounts?

Whilst the price of the cards is horrific we need to see the spec of the cards. People seem to think "32 gig = $5 a wallmart" which ignores the card performance. Not saying there's not a level of profiteering, but the idea that Sony are just using this as a gun-to-your-head opportunity to gouge everyone seems a bit off the mark.

I'm personally fine with this as i was planning to have seperate memory cards per region, though i don't expect that to be the same for everyone.

Then again, i bought two 3DS's to get around the fact Nintendo region locked us out so i'm aware that i don't represent a regular "customer" most of whom will pick ONE region. Though then again, i don't remember people claiming Nintendo were screwing customers who were going to play games from two regions, accusing them of forcing people into buying two machines to boost profits.

 

[Panajev2001a]

and this now. You want more profiles on your Vita? Well better get yours grandmother's pension fund out of the bank!

Mother of all the exaggerations? Yeah, the memory card prices are not low in $ : GB terms, but aren't you going a bit overboard with this?

 

[patsu]

Not according to the OP... but it would be nice if that really was the case.

The Wired article doesn't really say you cannot put files from different accounts on the same card.

 

[Aizu_Itsuko]

So, in other words, it's technically possible but you want more money.

Better, but not happy Sony, NOT HAPPY!

 

[patsu]

Unlike iPhone here you can switch the card and use a second one. So you don't need to buy a new full device to get more storage.

Yap ! It is actually great for future expansion. The only problem is not packing 1 in the basic system. If Sony promise to include a 4Gb card for some time, I think it would sidestep a lot of negative buzz.

 

[Kyoufu]

come now, how many customers are actually going to want to use multiple PSN accounts?

Whilst the price of the cards is horrific we need to see the spec of the cards. People seem to think "32 gig = $5 a wallmart" which ignores the card performance. Not saying there's not a level of profiteering, but the idea that Sony are just using this as a gun-to-your-head opportunity to gouge everyone seems a bit off the mark.

I'm personally fine with this as i was planning to have seperate memory cards per region, though i don't expect that to be the same for everyone.

Then again, i bought two 3DS's to get around the fact Nintendo region locked us out so i'm aware that i don't represent a regular "customer" most of whom will pick ONE region. Though then again, i don't remember people claiming Nintendo were screwing customers who were going to play games from two regions, accusing them of forcing people into buying two machines to boost profits.

You're making too much sense here. Not cool man, not cool.

 

[Zoe]

The Wired article doesn't really say you cannot put files from different accounts on the same card.

That wouldn't really make sense though unless a factory reset does not include a reformat.

 

[Jive Turkey]

It's getting to the point where I envision Kaz sitting at his desk stroking a white cat all day his face obscured by shadow.

 

[patsu]

That wouldn't really make sense though unless a factory reset does not include a reformat.

Yes, that's the crux of the question here. Does resetting to defaults erase/invalidate your card ? What happens if you take out the card before resetting ?

 

[Ricky_R]

Sony's plan is to cut their entire deficit with Vita's mem cards. BRILLIANT.

 

[x3sphere]

Well, it's perfectly clear that you never actually did this... For those of us who did, the Vita solution is preferable... not perfect, but preferable...

Eh? Maybe Sony changed it then. I had to login to the UK store once on my PSPgo to download review code from Europe, and I had my US info stored on the machine at the time. So I logged out, created an EU PSN account, and it worked fine. I haven't really touched the PSP in a year so possible things have changed...

 

[LiquidMetal14]

come now, how many customers are actually going to want to use multiple PSN accounts?

Whilst the price of the cards is horrific we need to see the spec of the cards. People seem to think "32 gig = $5 a wallmart" which ignores the card performance. Not saying there's not a level of profiteering, but the idea that Sony are just using this as a gun-to-your-head opportunity to gouge everyone seems a bit off the mark.

I'm personally fine with this as i was planning to have seperate memory cards per region, though i don't expect that to be the same for everyone.

Then again, i bought two 3DS's to get around the fact Nintendo region locked us out so i'm aware that i don't represent a regular "customer" most of whom will pick ONE region. Though then again, i don't remember people claiming Nintendo were screwing customers who were going to play games from two regions, accusing them of forcing people into buying two machines to boost profits.

Here we are, the ultimate answer.

 

[Amir0x]

Although that's nice, I am now really perplexed why they are trying to make the Vita into, like, a proprietary memory card pyramid scheme. Like, these memory cards are not blu-ray format. It's not important to make them succeed. You shoulda used SD cards and just got on with it.

I swear game console makers today are just intent and constantly sabotaging their otherwise good designs with some fatal flaw or another

 

[BlueTsunami]

Gonna be so awesome when this handheld is cracked

 

[DangerousDave]

Which sounds like they're just coming up with excuses to me. Why should we be complacent solely because every company making similar devices are just as stupid as Sony? Why can't Sony set an example and actually make this just as good as the PS3 when it comes to importing?

Why stop on PS3-level? I want my Steam-level of amazingness in Vita.

 

[Jinfash]

Gonna be so awesome when this handheld is cracked

Do you really want the Vita to perform as horribly as the PSP, and for Sony to lose the handheld race?!

 

[LiquidSolid]

So this is pretty much how things are with the PSP now right? Only difference is you'll probably have to reformat the whole card rather than just switch the activation?

There's two differences. The other is that unlike the PSP, there's a genuine reason to want to use one account over another. Friends list, trophies, etc.

Why stop on PS3-level? I want my Steam-level of amazingness in Vita.

Well yeah, if we could just gift content from other stores, I wouldn't have an issue. But this is Sony we're talking about and their clusterfuck of a setup (SCEA, SCEE and SCEI just HAVE to have their own entirely seperate stores) will probably never get that right. For now, I'd just like the basic features of the PS3 to be carried over.

 

[MightyKAC]

TO me this is seems like more of a PITA and less like Sony trying to wallet rape me (although the feeling IS indeed there). I'll just end up buying a 4 gig card later on down the road and be done with it but I'm really more pissed off at:

A. the fact that Sony deemed it necessary to put its customers though this when it should really be a non-issue

and B. If by some chance there IS a reasonable explanation for this (which I HIGHLY doubt) going by Sony's past track record we'll never hear what it is or know why they're making us do this.

 

[DCharlie]

It's not important to make them succeed.

perhaps it is?

I don't even believe this is the case, but i'll lay it out anyways for sheets and geegles :

say the 40% reduced price on downloadable games is true, Sony could be subsidizing the reduced DD cost with the profit margins they make on the cards. Maybe they've looked at it and said "well, customer average will be to download 4 games, if we reduce game download cost by 40% then us (i.e. Sony) cut a deal with the publishers and we share the loss vs retail (to some extent - if there even is any, if there isn't Sony takes reduced fees to encourage DD growth) . In the meantime, we make sure only us (i.e. Sony) can produce the memory cards and we add a premium on those to claw back the lossed revenue from downloaded titles"

i don't believe this to be the case, but it does represent a situation where making the new format of the mem cards succeed. i still think it's more to do with data transfer rates of games and avoiding having to tell customers "please only buy class 10 cards, games won't work properly without that class!"

 

[matmanx1]

And yet this is still superior to the 3DS's region locking or the original PSP's "method". Memory card prices are expensive for sure but at least multi account setups are now viable.

 

[Lothars]

TO me this is seems like more of a PITA and less like Sony trying to wallet rape me (although the feeling IS indeed there). I'll just end up buying a 4 gig card later on down the road and be done with it but I'm really more pissed off at:

A. the fact that Sony deemed it necessary to put its customers though this when it should really be a non-issue

and B. If by some chance there IS a reasonable explanation for this (which I HIGHLY doubt) going by Sony's past track record we'll never hear what it is or know why they're making us do this.

Wow, This is really a non-issue anyway, the only part I agree with is the cost of memory cards but I don't think this is just to screw with customers.

 

[Eusis]

And yet this is still superior to the 3DS's region locking or the original PSP's "method". Memory card prices are expensive for sure but at least multi account setups are now viable.

In some ways, no. This DOES make sharing the Vita viable with others, but because of how carts can work this means everyone has to build up their own library or hope for multiple save slots and deal with trophies being messed up. It's definitely more friendly for people building up digital libraries however.

 

[LogicStep]

I like how everything leads back to the memory cards.

That's the whole point!

The Vita is just a ploy to sell memory cards.

Pretty much lol

 

[Hasemo]

Still better than Nintendo forcing you to buy a second system.

This.
Well, I won't use all my accounts at once since the release so hopefully when I'll need the second one, the memory cards will already be cheaper.

 

[Cipherr]

Though then again, i don't remember people claiming Nintendo were screwing customers who were going to play games from two regions

Then read more NeoGAF. I cannot recall a single post or soul that co-signed 3DS having region lock in 20 freaking 11. Not a one. Much bitching was done about that one. Along with plenty of "Ill wait until it gets hacked".

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

This quote seems somewhat apt now... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89GB6bC9_N4&feature=player_detailpage#t=505s

 

[DCharlie]

Just comparing it to the PSP:

With the PSP you can have mixed downloaded content on the card, but the activated content can only be played with the appropriate account.

With the Vita you can not have mixed downloaded content on the card, and the content can only be played with the appropriate account.

With the PSP having the mixed content on the card doesn't really help you as you can only have one active account at a time -unless- you can sign into PSN and switch over. Then your content for the active account is playable, but the deactiavted is not.

Now, i was hoping this is how PSV would have worked initially as i'm going 3G route - so assumed this would provide the work around. HOWEVER, the solution in place now is better FOR ME. As i don't have an issue with the card price (yes , it's expensive but i'd be lying if it said it was a factor) i can now - pending final confirmation - have two cards with no need to sign in and change account as the card itself will be "signed" as belonging to a particular account.

... right?

Then read more NeoGAF. I cannot recall a single post or soul that co-signed 3DS having region lock in 20 freaking 11.

i've been reading GAF for 12+ years - i don't recall that much bitching. Even my attitude was "two machines it is then" and i wasn't exactly pro-3DS at the time.

I certainly don't remember threads specifically listing all the machines faults - maybe there was and i missed them.

But anyways, the Vita region situation is infinitely better than the 3DS situation. It's not perfect but it's better than the reset option or the thought of two Vitas.

 

[mclem]

they are doing like MS or nintendo.

Nintendo, whose last few systems have all used bog-standard SD cards?

(One of the areas Nintendo have been weirdly progressive, given how they usually are...)

 

[Gravijah]

i've been reading GAF for 12+ years - i don't recall that much bitching. Even my attitude was "two machines it is then" and i wasn't exactly pro-3DS at the time.

I certainly don't remember threads specifically listing all the machines faults - maybe there was and i missed them.

But anyways, the Vita region situation is infinitely better than the 3DS situation. It's not perfect but it's better than the reset option or the thought of two Vitas.

there was and is much bitching about the 3ds region lock because it sucks.

 

[Jinfash]

This quote seems somewhat apt now... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89GB6bC9_N4&feature=player_detailpage#t=505s

This post is no nerdy I'm feeling sick.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

This post is no nerdy I'm feeling sick.

Yes, I'm just as ashamed that I actually remember that lol! Don't ask me how

It's still much better than the 3DS situation though.

 

[Mrbob]

there was and is much bitching about the 3ds region lock because it sucks.

Buying a new memory card is a lot cheaper than buying two systems. The devices aren't truly comparable for this topic.