PS Vita to store PlayStation Network accounts on memory cards

Sony unsurprisingly revealed this week that its soon-to-be-released handheld the PS Vita will store players’ online account information directly on the proprietary memory cards set to be released alongside the device, setting up the potential for multiple accounts. The system was designed without any internal storage.

Crystal MacKenzie, Sony associate brand marketing manager, told Wired Game|Life on Thursday that PSN accounts will be saved directly to memory cards, adding that multiple PSN IDs could still be used on a single device by simply inserting different memory cards.

“Your PSN ID is bonded to your memory card and your memory card is bonded to your Vita,” MacKenzie told the site. “So if you wanted to change different PSN users but use the same memory card, you would need to go factory reset.”

In other words, one PSN account per card, barring fiddling with it in the system’s options menu.

Gamers with the inclination (and disposable income) to snatch up multiple memory cards for the Vita can, however, have several PSN accounts. Each card could also be dedicated to specific content – one for downloaded games, one for music, and so on. But with video game retailer GameStop pricing the smallest 4GB card at $30 and the largest 32GB model at $120, doing so proves a pricey proposition.

Previously, Sony confirmed that memory cards would not only be required to download online content from its online PSN store, but that certain games won’t even load on the device without a memory card inserted.

The Vita launches December 17 in Japan, and February 22 in most other regions. (via Wired)