This is how you redeem cross-buy games on your PS3

Perfect for today’s release of Sly Cooper

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is out today, and I’ve already had a stampede of readers who have no idea how to redeem their cross-buy copy. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Sony’s promotion, if you buy the $39.99 PS3 version of Sly Cooper (or any game within the cross-buy realm), you’ll get a free digital Vita copy.

But this process isn’t as simple as redeeming a code included in the game. People who already utilized this function in the past with PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale may know the drill, but for the rest of you, you’re probably in the dark. Let me help.

All you have to do is put the disc in your system, go into the XMB, and under the game folder, find “Disc Benefits.” Select that option, and follow the instructions to link the disc to your PSN account (you should be signed in for this). Voilà! Once you link it, you can’t repeat the process again, but you’ll be able to bust out your Vita and download your free copy of the game.

Since the PSN doesn’t “fully update” at once in terms of game listings, you may need to manually search for “Sly Cooper” on your Vita’s store to utilize the cross-buy function. You also may find that the Disc Benefits screen says “this content is coming soon.” All that means is that the PSN needs to update (usually in the evening, EST time) before you redeem it. It’s not broken.

That’s it! Feel free to play both versions and utilize the cross-save features to your heart’s content.