14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has clarified how the upcoming PlayStation Vita will handle multiple accounts, with the company making clear that PlayStation Network account information is linked to both a memory card and the actual console, with a hard factory reset required in order to introduce new personal information.
In a statement to Wired, Sony said, “PSN account is tied to the hardware and the memory card, not just the card, which means that if a second person is using your Vita, it’s not just a case of switching out memory cards, it’s clearing out all of your saved data on the Vita itself when you do the factory reset.”
The company added, “Like PSP, PS Vita is intended to be played by only one user as a personal portable entertainment system. As such, the spec is set so that only one PSN account will be connected to one PS Vita hardware.”
Previously Sony had suggested that the PlayStation Network ID would only be linked to the memory card, meaning that family could use the same device by switching them around.
The one account per device rule might mean better sales for the PlayStation Vita in the long term but it will also mean that Sony has squandered some of the goodwill that it has previously garnered after announcing that the device would be region free.
The Vita is a much more connected device than the original PSP, which means that gamers will use their PSN account to get not just new video games but also video and multimedia content and to access a number of social features.
The Vita will be launched over the weekend on the Japanese market and gamers in the West will have to wait about two months before getting access to the handheld.
Sony has not released any sales expectations for the platform but they have recently commented that exchange rates might affect the profit generated by the Vita launch.