THE BUZZ: Sony seems to be very eager to get players to use the cross-play functions that will connect PS3 and Vita games together—so much so that they’ve announced plans to give you free copies of certain games.

EGM’s TAKE: With the Vita, Sony has been making a big deal out of the idea of cross-play between their new handheld and the PlayStation 3. Sometimes this means that the same game will exist on both platforms. Sometimes this means DLC for one platform will work for the other. And other times, it can mean two similar games that aren’t quite the same on both platforms, yet which can play against one another online.

The problem with this concept up until now has been the idea of having to buy the same game multiple times. Sure, I love the idea of starting a game on my PS3, getting to a stopping point, and picking back up where I left off later over on the Vita instead. However, having to buy two copies of that exact same game—one for each platform—just to receiving that functionality? It can be hard to justify the idea.

Today, however, Sony made a pretty big announcement—one that could have [i]awesome[/i] consequences if it isn’t just a one-time deal.

For a few of the Vita launch titles, Sony (along with Capcom) will be offering the following:

Hustle Kings: If you purchase the PS Vita version, you’ll get the PS3 version for free. If you already own the PS3 version, you’ll get the Vita version for free.

WipEout 2048: If you already own the PS3 versions of WipEout HD and HD Fury, then you’ll get those DLC packs for free when they hit the Vita later this spring.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom: DLC content purchases on the PS3 version will be usable for free on the Vita version (and vice versa).

MotorStorm RC: Purchasing the game on one platform (PS3 or Vita) will get you the game for the other platform for free.

So, of course, the question is now this—will this be a trend going forward, or is this just a special promotion being done to help get people more excited about picking up a Vita? That’s going to be the big question. I’m really hoping this indeed becomes a trend, and not just a one-off situation—at least whenever it could be done without being a huge economic hit to the publisher.