Hi all,
I just bought a Vita and after researching the advantages and disadvantages of the Australian and US PSN stores, I'm still not very convinced either way? The US store is cheaper, but there is the hassle of buying credit over Amazon and needing two memory cards if I get DLC for a game I buy locally. I was wondering if anyone has any advice/recommendations/comments from their own experience??
Thanks :^)
Thanks for the solid advice!!!!! I am definitely following it - the exchange rate difference between CAD and USD and AUD is huge!! Much appreciated mate!!!
Happy to help. Let me know once you've set up an account, and I can send you a couple of codes to get you started.
Hi, I'm really struggling to set up the Canadian Paypal + link it to the PSN account - verifying the Paypal and linking it to the PSN store blth require me to input a credit/debit card that matches the billing addresses I've put in, which is something I don't have. Do you know how to bypass this?
Sorry, it's been a while since I made my PSN/PayPal account, so forgot about needing a credit/debit card.
Just tested this out today, and it seems you can add any credit/debit card in Step 5 below (Created a Canadian PSN/PayPal account with a fake name, and was able to add my debit card details just fine). Let me know if you still have any trouble, or if you don't have a credit/debit card handy.
Here's what I did:
Create a new PSN and PayPal account, using the same name and address for both.
Confirm the email address for both accounts. Don't add/link any bank/card details yet.
Log in to store.playstation.com
Click on your PSN ID, and Add Wallet Funds. Then Add PayPal.
Log in to your new PayPal account here, add your card details and click on Save and Continue, then Agree and Continue. (Nothing is charged yet)
With your PayPal account saved, you can log in to paypal.com with your new account and remove your card details (Banks and cards > Edit > Remove Card).
At account.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com, click on Add Funds to Wallet and select your new PayPal account. (Don't click on Add PayPal)
Select the Funding Amount ($5, $10, $25, $50, $60, or $150 minus Current Wallet Funds), but don't Continue yet.
Log in to your normal PayPal account at paypal.com, and click on Send and Request, then Send Money to Friends and Family. (Or you can have someone else send money to your new PayPal account)
Enter the email address for your new PayPal account and click Next.
Change the currency to CAD, and enter the amount that you want to fund your account with. Then Continue.
Check the Payment Method, fee and when the money will be sent (It should say The money will be sent right away). When you're happy Send Money Now. (Your bank/credit/debit card is charged here)
Not necessary, but log in to your new PayPal account, to check your PayPal balance.
Go through with the wallet funding (Step 8). Continue and then Add funds to my wallet.
Refresh the PlayStation Store, and click on your PSN ID to see the new funds in your wallet.
@th88:
Fantastic! I'm all set up - just waiting on my memory card to be delivered! Thank you so much for all of your help, I couldn't have managed it without you!!
ok I call BS (again) - JimboAUS posted a related thing a WEEK earlier in this thread - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/223672
"imbobaus on 04/12/2015 - 22:30
Heard the next update is going to stop US games being played on AU systems.. have u heard anything about that>?"
So he hears region locking is coming in, then a week later he's the sole recipient of an email saying it's happening?
Trololo!
and my reply then was:
"gizmomelb on 04/12/2015 - 22:34
personally I think it's a load of bull, I can't see SONY enforcing region when the PS4's main points when it was launched was region free so you could buy US/Japanese/EU games and play them on any console. It'll piss off too many Japanese RPG fans around the world if you can't play region free any more and Sony have pretty much said they're dropping the VITA, so PS4 will be their sole gaming platform for a while.
EDIT: and if they do, well no big deal - I already do the majority of my internet access through a VPN in the USA. So t'll make no difference to me at all, I don't play multiplayer online on the PS4, I enjoy single player games offline in my time. Multiplayer gaming is done on the PC."
I see, suss to say the least.
Also whilst your here I noticed a post you made regarding the current PS sale on US store that was removed when the blog post was removed. That site you linked to in the bottom of your post with cheap PSN credit has an extremely bad rep according to many pages I found talking about it on sites like Reddit.
If the Vita is the only PlayStation system you own right now, I'd highly recommend that you create a Canadian account instead.
I had a look at all the Vita games released this year, and the prices on the Canadian store are exactly the same as on the US store* (the same isn't true for PS3/PS4 games). The only difference is that you'd be paying in Canadian dollars instead of US dollars. A $39.99 game would cost you ~58 AUD on the US store, but only ~43 AUD on the Canadian store at the current exchange rates.
*except for J-STARS Victory VS+ which is 39.99 USD/49.99 CAD (which still works out to be cheaper on the Canadian store).
You can check this for yourself by clicking on the following links (might need to use Incognito mode/InPrivate Browsing):
US store
Canadian store
AU store (for comparison)
To fund your Canadian account (if you do decide to make one), you can create a Canadian PayPal account, using the same details you used to create your PSN account, and then send money to it (using your normal PayPal account or someone else's) whenever you need to top up your PSN wallet.
Notes:
Buying US PSN credit from Amazon.com won't work on a Canadian account because the stores use different currencies.
There should be no DLC compatibility issues with US copies of games since Canada and the US share the same region (North America)
For physical copies of games, I like Amazon.com, play-asia.com, and videogamesplus.ca
You can check the prices/price history/discounts of digital games at psprices.com. Change regions at the top-right corner.