Let’s explore how to buy PS4 games from overseas.
What You Will (and Won’t) Need
First, let’s break down what you need to prepare yourself for this tutorial. To begin with, the steps below will create a new Sony account. You’ll then log into this account on your PS4. As such, if other people use your PS4, be ready to explain what the strange new account is for! You’ll also need a PlayStation Network gift card in the currency of the region you want to buy in. For example, if you’re purchasing from Japan, buy a gift card in Yen to cover the cost of your game. We can’t add a payment method to the account we’ll make, as these will pass along a billing address that will reveal that you’re from another country. Fortunately, stores such as Play Asia can email you foreign gift cards, which work perfectly fine on the account you’ll make. Finally, you do not need a VPN fort this. At no point do you need to fool the system to seem as if you are connecting from another country, so a VPN isn’t required.
How to Create a New PS4 Account
To start, go ahead and access the PS4 account creation page. If you’re already signed in, log out of your account, re-access the page, and click on “Create New Account.” Enter an email address and password. On the next step, things will potentially get tricky. You’re asked for your region, which is set to the storefront you want to access. However, as soon as you choose a country, the setup will change to that country’s language without giving you the chance to change it! As such, if you can’t read the language of the target country, setup gets a little more difficult. For the sake of this tutorial, a Singaporean account will be created for use on a European PS4. The Singaporean setup is entirely in English, so you can follow along with the screenshots if you can’t read your own. On this page, enter your date of birth (either real or fake) and continue. It will send an email to your registered address. Click the “Already Verified” button once you’ve clicked the link in the email, or click “Resend Email” if it gets stuck somewhere. It will ask if you want to set up two-factor authentication. You can choose to skip this step if you’re not worried about your dummy account getting hacked. It will ask you for a mobile phone number. Feel free to click “skip.” Once you’ve done this, your account will be created, but you’re not out of the woods yet. Head to the PlayStation Store and log into your new account. Sony will ask for a few more details. It will first ask for a residential address. It only asks for a city and postcode, so you can use a tool like Google Maps to find a fake address. Alternatively, Sony has zero sanity-checking on this page, so you can fill in the fields with whatever you like and Sony will accept it. It’ll ask you to make a username plus give a first and second name. The name doesn’t have to be a “real” one, but it’s a good idea to name it something that identifies what region it’s from so you know in the future what it’s for. When you access the store, you should see your set region’s storefront. This tutorial is using the account created above to access the Singapore store page without a VPN:
Logging Into Your PS4 with the New Account
Now that you have a new foreign account, you can make purchases. However, take some time to set up your PS4 so it can receive the games you buy. Before you do anything, boot up your PS4 and go to Settings at the top, then Account Management on your primary account. Go to “Activate as Your Primary PS4.” Make sure this is active. If it is, all the games your foreign account purchases will also show up on your primary account’s game list. This allows you to earn achievements and talk to friends on your main account instead of the dummy one. Back out to the Settings menu, go to Login Settings, User Management, then Create User. After clicking through the menus, the PS4 will ask you for login information. Log in to your foreign account, then click through the menus until you’re back on the main screen. When you want to swap accounts, hold down the PlayStation button on your controller, go to Power, then Switch User.
Buying a Game on a Foreign PS4 Storefront
Now that you’re ready to make a purchase and download the game to your console, it’s time to buy the game. First, buy and enter a gift card code to cover the cost. On the PS4’s store menu, you can find “Redeem Codes” on the left menu. On the online store page, click the square smiley-face at the top-right, then click “Redeem Codes.” Punch in your gift card number to add money to your account, then use the added money to buy the game!
Worldwide Shopping
If a PS4 game you really want never came out in your country, never fear! By using the guide above, you can easily buy PS4 games from different regions and countries. You, unfortunately, have to use gift cards, but it’s a small price to pay to get the games you want. For more fun while still in lockdown, you can still play local multiplayer games online with friends.
