Buy it on one console, get it free on the other -- that's the idea behind Cross-Buy, the Sony scheme that means PlayStation 3 and Vita owners can download the same game for either or both consoles. Announced during Sony's August 14 presentation at Gamescom, Cologne, the program has now been confirmed for North America and European regions by Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios branch.

He was speaking via his Twitter account (@yosp), and clarified Cross-Buy's status as being "not decided for Japan yet."

Sony announced a brand name for its Cross-Buy promotion along with three further supported titles at the Gamescom conference: party punch-up PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, plus action adventures Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault (aka QForce).

Time-trial racer Motorstorm RC and clever audio action mashup Sound Shapes already support the feature, while Need for Speed: Most Wanted's admission to Cross-Buy is said to be a possibility, however remote.

Four other schemes tie into Cross-Buy. Cross-Play lets PS3 and Vita owners hop into the same multiplayer game, Cross-Save allows game progress to be transferred between PS3 and Vita systems, Cross Goods means extra content can be shared between the two, and Cross-Control means the Vita -- with its additional touch screen and camera -- can be used as a PlayStation 3 controller.