Over the weekend a NeoGAF member, mehdi_san, was given the opportunity to attend a Sony demo event for the PlayStation Vita in Osaka. A flyer was given out at the event with information about the handheld, which revealed the Vita would only support a single user account.
The flyer contained a FAQ about the PlayStation Vita which said (via translation by NeoGAF’s mehdi_san), “Only 1 account. If you want to to use a different account, you need to format the system to factory settings." A lengthy NeoGAF thread resulted from that information, which was incredibly disappointing to many forum members.
Sony Japan’s Third-Party Relations person, Brad Douglas discussed the single account restriction on Twitter pointing out that the PlayStation Portable (PSP) also had the restriction of a single account per device. Douglas said, “The only difference is that Vita requires you to do a factory reset when logging into a new acc[ount].”
Many forum members pointed out that this makes the Vita region-locked because digital content is linked to the PSN account. The whole reason to have more than one PSN account registered to a device is to have accounts registered in multiple regions, allowing the user to play Japanese games that may not have been released in North America, for example. The other reason to want multiple accounts is simply to be able to share the device between family members.
The Vita is unfortunately shaping up to be a bit of disappointment all around and it hasn’t even launched yet. The UMD Passport program is currently restricted to Japan and comes with a ridiculous pricing range and incomplete selection of games. Even worse the pricing for proprietary memory cards for the device are ridiculous and clearly a cash grab on Sony’s part. Combine those things with the fact that you would have to wipe your Vita to factory settings before you can log in with a different account and you have quite the perfect storm of disappointment for a handheld that could have been fantastic. It’s almost as if Sony didn't learn any lessons from the evolution of the PSP.
Are you still interested in purchasing a Vita when it launches in your area? Let us know what you think of this restriction and the other problems with the device in the comments.
