We’ve talked about Cross Buy recently and the issues that many PS Vita owners have experienced accessing some games on the PlayStation Store that are supposed to support the initiative. We have discovered that a growing number of Vita games have been delisted from the store and as such Cross Buy is no longer available. Or support has been withdrawn for other reasons. It’s prompted us to go through our list and update it which we are in the middle of doing right now.
In the meantime, we wanted to go through a few pointers to help you when making purchases, especially when you take advantage of the regular sales on the PlayStation Store as reported on by our good friend @SilentBun over on Twitter which we feature here on the site.
Cross Buy Guide
First thing we’d like to remind everyone is that our Cross Buy checklist here on the website is for the UK/EU. While we are working hard to update this, it is a huge task as we need to cross reference titles on the PS Vita, website, PlayStation app and PS4/PS5. However, for those of you in the US, there are games that may be different and we’re not able to check these.
PS4 or PS5?
Now, I’ve made this mistake myself, but a number of indie developers have released their games for the PS4 and PS5 and only the PS4 version supports Cross Buy. I did this recently and purchased the PS5 version of a game in a recent sale and wondered why the game wasn’t available for me to download on the Vita. The game itself was a retro-styled game so there was no need for a separate PS5 version (truth be told, the PS4 version looked no different to the Vita port) so I would have been better getting the PS4 version regardless (which was also on sale!).
The Store Is Broken
Even before Sony made the decision to close down the PS Vita’s online store a few years ago, it wasn’t really fit for purpose. The listings were missing games, the search function was abysmal and it was clunky at best. But in recent years its only got worse. With missing images, broken links, and games not being visible in your collection that should be there it makes things harder than ever to manage your collection, let alone dealing with Cross Buy titles.
“Missing” Games
While transferring some of my games to another memory card to play on the PSTV, the PlayStation Store reported that I didn’t own them and even gave me the opportunity to buy them! In this instance, it’s time to head over to the Download List and double check everything in your collection. And as expected, there they were waiting to be downloaded, installed and played! This seems to be an issue affecting PS Vita games in general and not just Cross Buy.
The Download List Is Your Friend
While the Download List is an absolute nightmare to navigate, with no search function, and it resets to the top of the list as soon as you download anything on it, it does have a record of everything you own from the PlayStation Store – and for some of you this will date back right to the days of the PS3. If you buy anything on the PlayStation Store and it claims to be Cross Buy, your first port of call should be your Download List and it should be visible there.
No matter how unreliable the rest of the Vita’s store is, everything available to you in your collection should be in there including any delisted titles that you have already purchased that you need to re-download.
Check The Listing
Not this might sound obvious, but before you buy anything double-check the description on the store. If you are buying a game specifically because it is offering Cross Buy support don’t do it purely on the strength of any of the lists online (including ours). Make sure that the PlayStation Store mentions it – whether it is on the app, console or website. As long as it mentions Cross Buy on the platform where you purchase the game, you will be fine. This is important to note, as I’ll explain next…
Don’t Play The Game!
Now this sounds like a strange thing to say but before you do anything else, don’t load the PS4 version of the game under any circumstances. If you are only buying a game because it offers Cross Buy and your main interest is the Vita version and you don’t want the PS4 version, then don’t load that. If the Cross Buy support hasn’t worked you will have two options available to you:
- Accept that Cross Buy support has been removed and stick with the PS4 version and buy the Vita version separately.
- Buy the Vita version separately and contact Sony and ask for a refund on the PS4 version.
Because you haven’t played the PS4 version and the sole reason for your purchase is Cross Buy, you will be entitled to a refund as long as the store listing mentioned Cross Buy. As it was incorrectly described on the PlayStation Store legally there is nothing that Sony can do to refuse your request as long as you haven’t loaded the PS4 version.
PlayStation Plus
Finally, some people have reported issues with games that are Cross Buy that they already own but versions have disappeared from their collections and state that they need to purchase them. Or there are instances where they are not able to buy games when they are visible in the store. There seems to be a problem that arises on rare occasions for some who have had games previously and allowed their PlayStation Plus membership subscription to lapse.
Even if it has only been a couple of days, it is enough to remove details of you owning some games, and then you’re back in a position of having to buy the game again or be left without it in your collection.
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Hopefully these pointers will help you avoid some of the current pitfalls surrounding getting Cross Buy titles from the PlayStation Store right now. There are some great games still available for the PS Vita, and plenty of deals to be had every week so do keep your eyes open, but above all else, keep your wits about you to make the most out of what Cross Buy still has to offer.
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