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I have a PS3 with a PSN account and a Playstation Plus subscription. Now I have a new PS Vita that will be used by a minor in the household.

I cannot create and use a PSN subaccount on the PS Vita because I want to have the PS Vita to benefit from the PS Plus subscription (and thus get the free IGC and discounts). In other words, I would have to use my current (master) PSN account that's tied to the PS Plus subscription on the PS Vita as well (in my research and understanding, creating a subaccount would mean that I would have to get another PS Plus subscription for the subaccount).

Questions:

  • Is my understanding of how PS Plus works on master and subaccounts correct? (If not, please cite authoritative sources, preferably from Sony)
  • Since the master account is to be used on the PS Vita for this situation, how can I ensure that the minor cannot purchase anything on the PS Vita (I would like purchases to be done by me)? Is there something in my PSN account settings that I can configure specifically for the PS Vita?
  • Are the parental controls on the PS Vita adequate to prevent purchases by the minor? If yes, how would I go about doing the purchases myself?
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    the parental controls settings should entirely meet your needs.
    – TZHX
    Commented Apr 17, 2014 at 18:44
  • yes, and definitely don't make a sub-account--it will never be able to turn into a real account!Has caused nasty surprises for many people who got a sub account as a kid and wanted to use their account for "real" once they could pay!
    – Zelda
    Commented Apr 17, 2014 at 18:53
  • Parental controls seems like an all or nothing option for the PS Store (including PS Plus and IGC). If store is restricted, then parental controls has to be disabled on the store, then open the store, install stuff (from IGC) and go back to parental controls to disable the store. Looks tedious. Are there better ways to manage this?
    – infinite overflow
    Commented Apr 18, 2014 at 9:29
  • Don't have your credit card on file for PSN? Teach the child such that it knows not to buy things without your permission? You could entirely control the games installed on the psvita using a ps3 by plugging it in, so download them all to ps3 and transfer them over as you like. But... It sounds like you're looking for a technological solution to a non-technological issue.
    – TZHX
    Commented Apr 18, 2014 at 10:14

1 Answer 1

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Yes, you are 100% correct in your understanding.

To prevent access to the PSN store, you have two options.

1) turn off "auto-login" for PSN. This way anytime you want to purchase/download something you need to provide the password.

2) delete the wi-fi profile off of your Vita after it's activated so it can't connect to the Internet. From there you can manage purchases/content either via the PS3 or Content Manager on your PC. (or temporarily re-add the wi-fi connection as needed)

Pretty straight forward.

Oh, and as others have suggested stay away from sub accounts. They have lots of ugly pitfalls.

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