Gaming History 101

We so very often recommend our listeners/viewers/readers get a foreign PSN because it’s so “easy”, but I figured with this morning’s news of Shadow Tower coming to the US PSN later today and the massive amount of games I purchase on the various PSN stores that it was high time to make it easy for you.  Creating a PSN is not a difficult task, however it can be a challenge without knowing the language, written or otherwise, of the territory you seek and also knowing what you will and won’t gain from each.  With the average Playstation 3 being able to tether up to 5 PSN accounts, I have chosen to dedicate one to my home base PSN, three to outside territories, and the final one to guests in my house.  The best benefit of a PSN account on multiple consoles is that all accounts on that console can share installed games, so I purchase a game on my Japanese PSN only to use it on my American account for the sake of trophies and keeping my friends informed as to what I’m playing.  Perhaps you don’t know how to create a PSN for another country or perhaps you don’t know the benefits, well this little article will assist you in making the proper decision.

Recommended Regions

• US PSN: If you don’t live in the US, and especially if you know English, there are large benefits to this store.  First off, it tends to have a decent set of all software released (provided that the game had a US release) and dabbles a bit in imports.  More importantly, it has the cheapest prices among most of the PSN stores and it’s quite easy and inexpensive to get your hands on codes.  This is especially useful for you UK and Australia gamers who want the lucrative titles that never made it to your store, for whatever reason.
• Japanese PSN: This is because Japan not only has the most robust catalog, but often times the retro games you may want (PS1, Turbografx-16/PC-Engine/SuperGrafx, arcade) games that sell for large amounts of money in the US or foreign markets are super cheap here.  A good example is the Japan only title DoDonPachi that will cost a pretty penny to import but runs ¥600 (about $6) on the PSN store alongside the Capcom classic that never saw a digital release in the US Rival Schools (known on the Japanese PSN as Legion of Heroes) for the same price (it’ll run you $50+ in the US and given it’s a fighting game you don’t need to know Japanese).  Those of you who want to overpay for the exceptionally rare can also get your hands on PC-Engine CD titles (like Valis) or SuperGrafx games for less than $10 as well.  If you know Japanese, you can also get those titles without the expensive import costs.  Keep in mind that games are much more expensive in Japan than we are used to in the US, so it’s not odd to see Persona 4 Arena for almost $80.  Cards can be found on import sites or by searching “japanese psn code”.
• Hong Kong PSN: This is useful because you can set it up in a preferred language (including English), it can often have games that are both in English and Japanese, and has the cheapest prices for the newest games.  You’ll have to do transitions from Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) to your currency of choice, but since you’ll be buying prepaid cards just do a comparison of prices of cards to games you’ll buy.  I don’t shop on the HK PSN much, but when I do I see massive savings and get versions not seen in the US.
• Europe/UK PSN: They are few and far between, but occasionally the UK PSN has games that the US store does not and with the English language being primary it can be a useful place to shop.  Sure, the currency is much more expensive with the pound trouncing the US dollar, but it’s no harm in having an account you may never use.  In addition, some US credit cards can work with the UK store, but I prefer to do all my console digital shopping – home store or otherwise – via prepaid cards.

Getting Set Up

The easiest and best way to sign up for an account is via a web browser, especially if it supports translation (like Google Chrome) and then just translate your way into filling everything out.  You will need a unique e-mail for each account, even if it’s for a different region, and as you may assume your home address won’t cut it outside of your home region.  The easiest way to get your hands on that info is to search for apartment complexes in those areas or you can just blatantly make things up, but certain items like cities or region codes will always require an authenticity.  Don’t worry, no one will come looking and cities like Hong Kong or Tokyo are easy places to get a broad region code.  Then you simply follow the steps to create a login, verify the login via the e-mail address, then tether it to your PS3/PS4/Vita.  Keep in mind that a Vita requires a region specific memory card, so if you’re going to jump regions on that console you’ll need a new memory card for each.  Save for a handful of circumstances, I keep to my home US region for Vita titles.  Still want some breakdowns of the screens?  Sure, here you go thanks to our friends at Kotaku.

Here’s the screen where you pick your region on the PS3.  If you go through the PC, just search for the store you wish and choose the signup option on that page.  Please remember to log out of your home PSN account if you have one saved to your web browser or it will just send you to your home account store instead of a signup page.

The only thing to fill out here is date of birth on the bottom. It goes year, month, day. Then continue.

Next is terms of service. Scroll to the bottom (or hit d-pad right) and choose the farthest right option (agree).

Next is e-mail and password. Remember that e-mail must not be on another PSN in any region, password must be 8 characters, contain a number, and not have 3 of any one letter in a row.  Be sure to check the box (save password) at the bottom if on a PS3 and then click the center button at the bottom (next).

Now select a PSN id. I chose something easy to remember, my gamertag plus “JPN”.  Then click the farthest right button at the bottom (next) if you see green letters under your tag.

Next is First Name, Last Name, and Gender. Feel free to be honest or get creative. Then click the farthest right button at the bottom (next).

Here’s where you have to put in a Japan (or other region) address. This is where your online search skills for apartment complexes for rent can come in handy. Once it gets a valid (“valid”) data set it will proceed when you click next (farthest right button on the bottom).

Next is just a review page and confirmation e-mail notice. Verify the e-mail is correct than press next (far right at bottom). The check box is if you want the PSN newsletter, which will be in Japanese but Google Translate helps that and you get notified of sales.

And final review page, just click next (far right at bottom) and you should be done! You will be taken to login page and the password should be automatically there. If not, type it in and be sure to check the box (save password) so you don’t have to put it in each time. Congratulations, you have a Japanese PSN.

From there it’s smooth sailing.  I recommend using a web browser like Chrome and doing all you shopping, translated to your preferred language, online and then just sending it to your console via the download list.  It will automatically download it for you when you get online with that console.  You can also navigate to the download list by picking the option second from the bottom on the far right of the main page in any PSN storefront.  As you can see below, Chrome makes it really easy to do your shopping after translating the page:

Original Japanese PSN

After Translation

Hopefully this has helped you set up and enjoy international PSN accounts. Now just try not to spend too much at once.