Can someone please help me with online memberships to Playstation and Nintendo

[SpideyMom]

Sorry to sound silly but I need to get my head around them to justify needing them.

The annual costs are very reasonable and the playstation one is currently on offer.

The only real purpose of me wanting these is because I understand some games require it to play them at all, and other games can only be played in story mode otherwise and without an online membership it means you dont really get much out the games.

I am not a massive console user myself and it will be for my child and it will be monitored. He only plays childrens games and always asks, however I worry that giving him online capability will make it easy for him to click on things to purchase them, which I do not give my permission for him to do. I only want to open up the online part of games for him to be able to enjoy the game properly.

Will taking on annual memberships mean he will easily be able to make purchases using my card connected to the account when playing the games online? Splatoon 2 is one of them.

He is very good and has never made purchases before when on the tablet etc but I dont want to take any chances.

TIA x

For switch I dont find much use in the membership. It came in handy briefly for animal crossing so that I could co operate with other people and trade items between each others game. But realistically it just isnt needed for most stuff. Waste of money.

But most games are single player. Not cooperative. Sometimes the online membership means that you can then play a cooperative mode in some games. Eg: red dead redemption is a single player game. You dont need a subscription to play the game (same for most games). However there is like another online version of the games world, which, with membership, everyone can access - and that's almost like another game in itself.

I dont know about ps4 but I suspect it is similar in that you can pay monthly for a game pass which allows you to download certain games (in the internal library) for free. It is worth it. But bare in mind it may also give access to the online community part of whatever game (if they have such content). Meaning your child could meet friends (and strangers) in game..(if that might be a worry).

I would be reluctant to purchase the switch one as I dont think it is needed. Ps4 might be worth it. But it certainly is not a requirement for most games. Unless your child wants to play them with friends across the internet. Bare in mind, strangers can also have access.

I think putting your card info in...it is saved in the system so could be used for purchases. However my xbox has a password I have to type I each time before purchase so maybe - you set that and dont let him see what it is?

That's really interesting about the Switch, thank you. I've got him Splatoon 2 for his upcoming birthday but I've read some reviews where you have to play it online only otherwise the game is dull and pointless in story mode. I find Switch games never really lose value, but they are still pretty expensive to not get full use out of them. I never knew the online membership existed until recently and we have played games in multiplayer mode at home no problem. He mostly has the Mario games which we both love, he then has ones like yoshi, donkey kong, captain mushroom, super lucky, Minecraft, sonic, lego etc. The membership cost is relatively low but I feel its a waste of money if we don't really need it? He doesn't fancy animal crossing. It looks cute but not enough for action for him.

With the playstation, I contacted them and an online Membership IS required for certain games. Plants vs Zombies games being games where it is needed. Its naughty really to make games multiplayer only. All his other games don't require it or at least it hasn't been an issue yet. But he absolutely loves these games, which makes the membership necessary.

I've never been comfortable at the idea of him playing online due to the stranger reason. I'd only really be happy him connecting with family and his friends. I know the PS Now membership gives you 24 downloadable games a year, which makes the membership very reasonable but my Dad has said they are rarely child games. The memberships really are only for opening up full content of his games, (if what I've read is right?) but it is frustrating that you need to purchase the add on the be able to play them properly.
With regards to purchases I can lock them so at least that's put my mind at rest

I dont think many games require online membership. I'd assume maybe games like call of duty ect would definately at least benefit from it...but on xbox I cant think of any game I have needed the pass for (unless I bought it through the pass) I'd imagine it's the same for ps4.

I think if you called the ps4 ppl they probably just want to sell their subscriptions.

You could just read the back of the game box to see if a subscription is necessary for the game.

If my kid was under 15 don't think I'd want them on online versions of games tbh. I mean fine if I was there but...you cant always be.

Tbf I dont think I'd let a kid on a ps4/xbox until they were 13ish in the first place though as I think most of the games are not suitable for young uns.

How old is he? Mine never got memberships until they were old enough to understand them well enough to explain them to me.

I think it matters how old he is.we got my 9yo DS online pass for switch at the start of lockdown so he could play with his friends and it’s been a godsend.He was playing Pokemon but now plays FORTNITE,not sure how I feel about that to be honest but he only plays with his own friends and is able to talk to them and have a good time together. My eldest DS who is nearly 15 has PS membership, also plays online with friends, but the free games are definitely for older ages.

OK well I've decided against the ps4 membership. I don't want to give away his age as I don't want the judgmental comments, but he is under 10. His collection of games are all geared for his age. His playstation ones are mostly lego and sonic. I do not allow him to play any games like call of duty. But he shows little interest in them anyway. His friend downloaded as free version on our console when he came over and my son had no interest. He has only taken to Plants vs Zombies because he loves the characters, and visually its pretty cool in my opinion.

I know opinions are mixed about allowing children on computers. We are from a gaming family (not me so much) and his Uncle is in the industry. His PS4 and Switch are both in the living room, so im always with him, so he is monitored and doesn't sit on it all the time. The switch is pretty child friendly anyway so I have no issues with this console. We play that together alot and I love that its very family orientated.

I'd only want him to play online with family and friends anyway, so probably the memberships work out very expensive given that

I use Switch online all the time to play Mario Kart with real people as the AI karts are boring

No judgement here, my DS is 9 and he’s been playing away. There’s nothing wrong with it in moderation and monitored.

Thank you. Just wanted to make it absolutely clear I am against him playing online with strangers. If only this could be blocked. He is an only child so being able to play with friends online im sure he would love, as I dont always want to play

Soooooo, I never knew game requirements are on the back of the games boxes (covers face in embarrassment lol).
As I expected all of his game but the PvZ ones I have got him for his upcoming birthday say the following:

1-2 players (am I right in thinking they can be played offline?)

Then in a yellow box it says:

Network players 2-24 PlayStation Plus Subscription required.

So I'm abit confused, if 1-2 players can be played offline but 2-24 players requires a subscription, how do they determine the 2nd player as there is a crossover of offline and online? To be fair single player functionality is absolutely fine, but its the 2nd player I am confused about, and he would get more enjoyment being able to play it in 2 player mode.

Any advice?

I think the second player offline has to be someone else playing on the same console, just with two controllers then?

It may or may not be useful to know that Fortnite doesn't need a PSN online account, you can play it on ps4 online without.

There are additional benefits - free games every month on PSN, and on the Switch you get a whole library of free very old NES and SNES games plus multiplayer tetris, and in both cases you also get your games saves backed up to Sony/Nintendo in case your machine explodes.

The Switch online (£18/year) has almost nothing which allows voice chat, and anything that does requires the other players to have already been set up as Friends which you can review. It has a bunch of parental supervision options, much more than Playstation.

Plants vs Zombies can be played two-players locally, split screen on the same TV.

If player 2 is online you (both) need a PSN sub. The games are always multiplayer battles so there will always be strangers involved unless your kid has lots of friends. Interaction is only by 'killing' them in game though, no speech.

For Nintendo online you can just add money to your account and then pay with it from that. It means that your card details aren't saved and attached to your account, I can't remember the exact wording, it's something like funds only. Or you can attach your PayPal account and when you want to pay for something it asks for your PP password too. In terms of usefulness, it depends really. If he has friends or family he can play online with then absolutely, I would be wary because of his age for him to play with 'random' people just in case. No games need to be online, some are just better with it. You can also add friends on the switch, and when you go to play online choose to just interact with those.

Thank you.

That's fine then. The people at playstation responded on email saying he definitely requires a membership to them play at all. We have never actually played split screen on the PS4 ever, i wouldn't know how to (i need learn as he would love this)

just so I have this right, if I added his friends and family to his account he would still require an online membership to play with them?

The PS4 one is out. I imagine its excellent value for money for the older user but not for my son, especially now as the 2 games I've got him can be played without membership.
The Switch would probably be the better one of the 2 for him so I will see if any of his friends have one

For Plants vs Zombies, you need a second Playstation controller of course, and to set up a second account on the console.

In the game:
"To enable splitscreen, the first player must find the splitscreen console located within the Plants or Zombies home base in the Backyard Battleground. Once the player interacts with the console, there will be an onscreen prompt asking the other player to press a button on his/her controller to join."

The Lego games (basically all of them except Lego City Undercover which is a one-player story game) are all excellent with two local players.

There are many games that support "couch co-op" as it's known, not everything's over the Internet now. Here's a useful resource: co-optim.us/1fOPuF8 (should show you PS4 games with 2+ players locally)

Thank you so much. We have additional controllers. So i best set myself up and account too

just so I have this right, if I added his friends and family to his account he would still require an online membership to play with them?

PS4? Yes, both he and they would. "Friend"ing someone just makes them easier to locate in a list when you want to group up online, it doesn't confer any other benefits.

On a Switch, only "Friend" groups are allowed to set up teams etc, so it's more tightly locked down than PSN.

Nintendo may be the one then. I will have to check how many of his friends have a membership as otherwise probably pointless

I have known various people get seriously badly stung through synching their own bank card to playstation/xbox. Not that their child does so maliciously, just carelessly.

I have a separate pre-paid card for DS's XBox. They're quite easy to set up online (there's a variety of them available). That way, if he tries to spend money that isn't there, the transaction just gets rejected. (DS's best mate, who is a lovely lad, from a family who do exercise a lot of scrutiny over his internet/games usage, still managed to run up a several hundred pound bill for them because he didn't realise it was real money he was spending - these things happen unless you lock the system down in some way such that it can't).

Yes, you can do that on the Switch too - charge up the Nintendo eShop account with money or points, but don't add a card on it.

(For everyone other than Nintendo you can get better value on these by buying top-up cards at cheaper than the face value from places like cdkeys.com)

It's the in game purchases that I don't agree with and it's obviously a worry for all parents. I don't think kids do it maliciously, but its made too easy for them and unless older have no real understanding of money. My son has always been very good. But the first ever time he come across a purchase was when playing candy crush and he asked if he could click, and honestly the price nearly floored me. I said no and told him he is never to buy anything and must always ask me and I'm glad to say he has but the risk its always there. I've removed my card from apps anyway but I'm not sure you can do this with online memberships? I know his Nintendo is currently set up for no purchases whatever the wording is, its definitely restricted.