Simply deleting the profile associated with your PSN account or formatting the HDD is not enough.
So if a friend of yours is using your PSN account and decides to dispose of his PS3 system, tell him to do the deactivation thing (log in as you > Account Management > Activate System > PlayStation 3 (this system) > Deactivate system), otherwise you'll lose one of your possible activations. It has to be "manually" deactivated from the account management page in order to free one of those 5 activations. If, say, you want to share your PSN account with a new friend but have all those extra 4 activations already in place on other PS3s, you have to de-activate one of these so that your new friend can activate his system under your PSN account.Īlso note that deleting a profile via the XMB from a PS3 doesnt automatically deactivate it under the PSN account associated to that profile. When a grand total of 5 PS3s are activated under the same PSN account, no more PS3s can be activated, therefore you cannot share your PSN account with more that 4 other people at a time.
Once they log in as you, their PS3s are automatically activated (hence, by accessing the "Download List" section on the PS store, they can re-download for free and run on their systems all the stuff you purchased). So you basically have to give them your log in data (email + password). To do so you have to let them log in as you from their PS3s. This is mostly useful when you want to share stuff you downloaded (purchased) with other people. Deactivate your system > try launching any already downloaded game (wont work) > re-activate your system > content will now work fine as before. The activation is automatic the first time you log in with a given PSN account, meaning whatever you download from then on will work fine.ĭeactivating a PS3 (or a PSP) basically makes content downloaded under a given PSN account unreadable on that system.
When a PS3 is activated under a given PSN account, it can run the software downloaded (purchased) from the PlayStation store under that PSN account. You have to download the game going through the "Download List" screen on the upper right of the Playstation Store.Ī: The store says you can share up to 5 different Playstation 3's. Where is it?Ī: Games that are purchased disappear from the store. Q: I'm trying to download the game from the Playstation store but it is not appearing in the store. Just do not delete the user account as mentioned above or else the game will be locked out. You can play the game using your account thereafter. Q: Do I have to login with the sender's account to play the game?Ī: No, it just needs to be authorized on your PS3. If the game is still on your HDD, simply redownload then cancel to re-authorize the game. If you somehow delete the user account, you must relogin with the sender's account and redownload the game. After you download the game, you MUST keep "User1" on your Playstation 3 in order for the game to run on your PS3.
For example, say you created user account "User1" on your local Playstation 3 and you downloaded a full version of Lemmings. Q: I just received the game from the sender and the game won't play, help!Ī: In order to play the game on your PS3, the game must be activated AND the user account that was used to download the game must stay on your PS3. Q: Can't I just make a sub-account and use that to share the games?Ī: Not sure if this is allowed, but someone could try and report the results If you're paranoid about someone stealing your account, only share with people that you really, really trust
Q: Should I worry about misuse for my account?Ī: If you taken the steps to delete your credit card/billing information and changed your password temporary, it should be safe. After game is downloaded, notify the "sender" that the download is complete so they can change the password to the account Click on "Download List" on the upper right near the person's userID and select the game you wish to download and hit downloadħ.
Use the login information given from the "sender" to create the existing accountĦ. Select the network on the XMB and create an existing Playstation Network accountģ. In the PS3 XMB menu, add a new user account on your PS3 and sign in to itĢ. When the share is completed, change the passwordġ. Give login info (email address and password) to the receiverĥ. Change your password temporarily for the shareĤ. Go to account management for the account and delete the billing information from your personal information if the PS3 saved your credit card infoģ. Purchase and download a game from the Playstation StoreĢ.