PS Vita Will Support Multiple PSN Accounts After All

[Andy Chalk]

PS Vita Will Support Multiple PSN Accounts After All

Sony says that the upcoming PlayStation Vita will be able to support multiple PSN accounts after all, but it'll take a little horsing around to make it happen.

Word came out yesterday that Sony's new handheld, the PlayStation Vita, will only support a single PlayStation Network account [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114569-PSP-Vita-Will-Have-One-Account-Limit], and that in order to use a different account the device will have to be formatted and reset to factory settings first. This is obviously problematic for families who want to share a single Vita, for example, and also effectively region-locks the device by preventing users from creating multiple accounts in order to access content that's only available to specific regions. Not exactly the most user-friendly move possible, in other words.

But that's not actually the case, according to Sony Associate Brand Marketing Manager Crystal MacKenzie, who told Wired [http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/12/vita-accounts/] that PSN accounts will be linked to the Vita's memory card rather than to the Vita itself. Users will still have to restore the Vita to its factory default settings to change the PSN account on a single memory card, but multiple memory cards can be used to access multiple PSN accounts on a single Vita. Got that?

"Your PSN ID is bonded to your memory card and your memory card is bonded to your Vita. So if you wanted to change different PSN users but use the same memory card, you would need to go factory reset," she explained. But you can register different PSN accounts to different memory cards and then swap them as needed. "You can also use them both on the same PSN account," she added.

It's better than locking the whole system down to a single account but it still seems like an awfully convoluted way to go about things. It's not like there's an inherent limitation in the technology, so why not just let the unit access as many PlayStation Network accounts as its owners want? Why force people to buy expensive, proprietary memory cards just because they have more than one PSN account they want to use?

... Oh. Right.


Permalink

 

[Epona]

It's all about the selling more memory cards, those are the real cash cow for Sony in regards to the Vita.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I still don't have a problem with this, and still don't see what the big deal is. It might have to be that I will be the only one using it, but still, it's better than them locking the system down to one account only.

Besides, I'm sure you can get memory cards that will work on the Vita that will be much cheaper than what the memory cards for the Vita are going for.

 

[Epona]

It's better than locking the whole system down to a single account but it still seems like an awfully convoluted way to go about things. It's not like there's an inherent limitation in the technology, so why not just let the unit access as many PlayStation Network accounts as its owners want? Why force people to buy expensive, proprietary memory cards just because they have more than one PSN account they want to use?

I take it you have never heard of the whole piracy thing involving multiple psn accounts and is basically impossible to detect?

I'm tired of being punished because of the fear of piracy. In all honesty, all I see is Sony wanting to take away features so they can make more money and needing a scapegoat (piracy). PS2 compatibility (only so they could start selling the games on PSN), Linux, dropping the device activation limit from 5 to 2 and now only one account per memory card because they decided to tie accounts to memory cards and only allow one. You can have multiple accounts but you have to BUY that feature in the form of overpriced memory cards.

Being overly greedy does more to hurt this industry than piracy ever could.

 

[Epona]

I still don't have a problem with this, and still don't see what the big deal is. It might have to be that I will be the only one using it, but still, it's better than them locking the system down to one account only.

Besides, I'm sure you can get memory cards that will work on the Vita that will be much cheaper than what the memory cards for the Vita are going for.

...and I'm sure Sony recommends that you only buy Sony memory cards for complete compatibility.

 

[Pendragon9]

Hey, it's either this or more DRM in games.

Even though I won't be buying the Vita, I applaud Sony for trying to combat piracy without actually hurting the consumer.

And no, this doesn't hurt the consumer unless you're some nutjob who likes to own 50 accounts and idle in online games.

 

[mireko]

That's dumb, but still way better than not allowing multiple accounts at all. Assuming it works exactly as they're stating in the article, it sounds way easier than the old PSP method of having to connect to a PC with Media Go running, deactivating and reactivating an account which in turn prevents you from accessing the content from other accounts on your chip (this was god-fuckingly annoying, Sony).

All things considered, it'll be worth it for me. I'm not going to give up access to the JP PSN content anytime soon.

 

[Anthony Wells]

It's better than locking the whole system down to a single account but it still seems like an awfully convoluted way to go about things. It's not like there's an inherent limitation in the technology, so why not just let the unit access as many PlayStation Network accounts as its owners want? Why force people to buy expensive, proprietary memory cards just because they have more than one PSN account they want to use?

I take it you have never heard of the whole piracy thing involving multiple psn accounts and is basically impossible to detect?

I'm tired of being punished because of the fear of piracy. In all honesty, all I see is Sony wanting to take away features so they can make more money and needing a scapegoat (piracy). PS2 compatibility (only so they could start selling the games on PSN), Linux, dropping the device activation limit from 5 to 2 and now only one account per memory card because they decided to tie accounts to memory cards and only allow one. You can have multiple accounts but you have to BUY that feature in the form of overpriced memory cards.

Being overly greedy does more to hurt this industry than piracy ever could.

of which some of those ps2 games run upwards of 30 to 40 dollars used. when i can get them for 10 on psn...

 

[Epona]

It's better than locking the whole system down to a single account but it still seems like an awfully convoluted way to go about things. It's not like there's an inherent limitation in the technology, so why not just let the unit access as many PlayStation Network accounts as its owners want? Why force people to buy expensive, proprietary memory cards just because they have more than one PSN account they want to use?

I take it you have never heard of the whole piracy thing involving multiple psn accounts and is basically impossible to detect?

I'm tired of being punished because of the fear of piracy. In all honesty, all I see is Sony wanting to take away features so they can make more money and needing a scapegoat (piracy). PS2 compatibility (only so they could start selling the games on PSN), Linux, dropping the device activation limit from 5 to 2 and now only one account per memory card because they decided to tie accounts to memory cards and only allow one. You can have multiple accounts but you have to BUY that feature in the form of overpriced memory cards.

Being overly greedy does more to hurt this industry than piracy ever could.

of which some of those ps2 games run upwards of 30 to 40 dollars used. when i can get them for 10 on psn...

If you already own them, you shouldn't have to pay anything for them. It's obvious that the PS3 slims CAN play PS2 games with a software emulator, so why don't they just let you download the emulator so you can play your PS2 games? You know the answer to that, don't you?

 

[Fayathon]

I actually like this idea, but that's because sharing memory on my PS3 with my cousin ended with him resetting my console to factory default, granted part of it was my fault for not disabling that feature while he played, but it stands that if I had had to swap out hard-disks (not talking about shit that's convenient, as this is a console not a handheld I'm talking about) this wouldn't have happened. It also makes it harder for vengeful siblings to delete your data if they don't have access to your card.

 

[Anthony Wells]

It's better than locking the whole system down to a single account but it still seems like an awfully convoluted way to go about things. It's not like there's an inherent limitation in the technology, so why not just let the unit access as many PlayStation Network accounts as its owners want? Why force people to buy expensive, proprietary memory cards just because they have more than one PSN account they want to use?

I take it you have never heard of the whole piracy thing involving multiple psn accounts and is basically impossible to detect?

I'm tired of being punished because of the fear of piracy. In all honesty, all I see is Sony wanting to take away features so they can make more money and needing a scapegoat (piracy). PS2 compatibility (only so they could start selling the games on PSN), Linux, dropping the device activation limit from 5 to 2 and now only one account per memory card because they decided to tie accounts to memory cards and only allow one. You can have multiple accounts but you have to BUY that feature in the form of overpriced memory cards.

Being overly greedy does more to hurt this industry than piracy ever could.

of which some of those ps2 games run upwards of 30 to 40 dollars used. when i can get them for 10 on psn...

If you already own them, you shouldn't have to pay anything for them. It's obvious that the PS3 slims CAN play PS2 games with a software emulator, so why don't they just let you download the emulator so you can play your PS2 games? You know the answer to that, don't you?

not even going to bother arguing since you cant seem to understand what i said in my post. im going to leave this comment and never speak on this subject again

 

[Epona]

It's better than locking the whole system down to a single account but it still seems like an awfully convoluted way to go about things. It's not like there's an inherent limitation in the technology, so why not just let the unit access as many PlayStation Network accounts as its owners want? Why force people to buy expensive, proprietary memory cards just because they have more than one PSN account they want to use?

I take it you have never heard of the whole piracy thing involving multiple psn accounts and is basically impossible to detect?

I'm tired of being punished because of the fear of piracy. In all honesty, all I see is Sony wanting to take away features so they can make more money and needing a scapegoat (piracy). PS2 compatibility (only so they could start selling the games on PSN), Linux, dropping the device activation limit from 5 to 2 and now only one account per memory card because they decided to tie accounts to memory cards and only allow one. You can have multiple accounts but you have to BUY that feature in the form of overpriced memory cards.

Being overly greedy does more to hurt this industry than piracy ever could.

of which some of those ps2 games run upwards of 30 to 40 dollars used. when i can get them for 10 on psn...

If you already own them, you shouldn't have to pay anything for them. It's obvious that the PS3 slims CAN play PS2 games with a software emulator, so why don't they just let you download the emulator so you can play your PS2 games? You know the answer to that, don't you?

not even going to bother arguing since you cant seem to understand what i said in my post. im going to leave this comment and never speak on this subject again

I understood but you don't seem to realize that you aren't the only person in the world. It's true, look outside.

You may not own those PS2 games and would therefore choose the $9.99 option but some people do own those titles and shouldn't need to drop another $9.99 to play them on the PS3 when it's clear that there is a working software emulator for the PS3 Slim. This can happen with any PS2 game that they release in the future on the Playstation Store. In short, they took out backward compatibility so they could sell it to you, one game at a time.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I still don't have a problem with this, and still don't see what the big deal is. It might have to be that I will be the only one using it, but still, it's better than them locking the system down to one account only.

Besides, I'm sure you can get memory cards that will work on the Vita that will be much cheaper than what the memory cards for the Vita are going for.

...and I'm sure Sony recommends that you only buy Sony memory cards for complete compatibility.

They said the same thing about the PSP and I didn't use their memory cards and I had no issues. But then again, I'm just speculating, and if I can't do the same thing with the Vita, then oh well.

 

[Epona]

I still don't have a problem with this, and still don't see what the big deal is. It might have to be that I will be the only one using it, but still, it's better than them locking the system down to one account only.

Besides, I'm sure you can get memory cards that will work on the Vita that will be much cheaper than what the memory cards for the Vita are going for.

...and I'm sure Sony recommends that you only buy Sony memory cards for complete compatibility.

They said the same thing about the PSP and I didn't use their memory cards and I had no issues. But then again, I'm just speculating, and if I can't do the same thing with the Vita, then oh well.

If Sony could lock out third party memory cards, would they?

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I still don't have a problem with this, and still don't see what the big deal is. It might have to be that I will be the only one using it, but still, it's better than them locking the system down to one account only.

Besides, I'm sure you can get memory cards that will work on the Vita that will be much cheaper than what the memory cards for the Vita are going for.

...and I'm sure Sony recommends that you only buy Sony memory cards for complete compatibility.

They said the same thing about the PSP and I didn't use their memory cards and I had no issues. But then again, I'm just speculating, and if I can't do the same thing with the Vita, then oh well.

If Sony could lock out third party memory cards, would they?

They could if they wanted to, and they are well within their right to do so.

 

[Epona]

I still don't have a problem with this, and still don't see what the big deal is. It might have to be that I will be the only one using it, but still, it's better than them locking the system down to one account only.

Besides, I'm sure you can get memory cards that will work on the Vita that will be much cheaper than what the memory cards for the Vita are going for.

...and I'm sure Sony recommends that you only buy Sony memory cards for complete compatibility.

They said the same thing about the PSP and I didn't use their memory cards and I had no issues. But then again, I'm just speculating, and if I can't do the same thing with the Vita, then oh well.

If Sony could lock out third party memory cards, would they?

They could if they wanted to, and they are well within their right to do so.

Then they may just do it this time.

 

[Your Fearless Captain]

This wouldn't be a problem if the memory cards didn't cost more then 50 used GameCubes.