PlayStation 4 FAQ addresses game sharing, friend display

Sony has put up a short PlayStation 4 FAQ on its official website addressing features such as game sharing and number of friends displayed on PlayStation Network.

Find our answer summary below.

“Primary” Console Sharing

On a system that you activated as your “primary” PlayStation 4 system, other users can play games you download. If you subscribe to PlayStation Plus, certain benefits can also be enjoyed by other users. You do not have to log in to the system for other users to enjoy these benefits.

Playing on Other PlayStation 4 Systems

On systems that you have not activated as your “primary” PlayStation 4 system, only you can start games you download, and only you can enjoy benefits from PlayStation Plus.

Playing Disc-Based Games

You can share discs with your friends and play disc games on your PlayStation 4 system just like you can on a PlayStation 3 system. You do not have to connect to the internet or pay any usage fees to play used games.

Why should I activate my system as my primary PlayStation 4?

You can activate one PlayStation 4 system per account as your “primary” PlayStation 4 system. When you activate your system, the following features become available.

• Anyone who uses your PlayStation 4 system can enjoy games and applications you purchase from PlayStation Store.
• Anyone who uses your PlayStation 4 system can enjoy numerous benefits if you join PlayStation Plus.
• You can purchase or pre-order content on PlayStation App and have the content automatically downloaded to your PlayStation 4 system.
• You can connect to the PlayStation 4 system from a PS Vita system via the Internet using Remote Play.

You can deactivate a PlayStation 4 system only with that system. (Update: According to Sony Worlwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida, you can also deactivate it online.) If you want to activate a different system that is not at your home as your primary PlayStation 4 system, you must deactivate the current primary system first. Also deactivate your PlayStation 4 system if you plan to transfer or dispose of it.

How are friends displayed?

With PlayStation 4, users can friend up to 2,000 people on PlayStation Network. You can view your friends on any device you have signed in to with your PlayStation Network account. The number of players displayed varies for each device.

• PlayStation 4 – All friends are displayed.
• PlayStation 3 – A maximum of 100 players can be displayed.
• PS Vita – All your riends are displayed in the Friends app. Support for the ability to display all of your Friends in most applications and games is planned. (However, some titles will be limited to the current 100 Friends.)
• PlayStation App – All your friends are displayed.

Which 100 players will be displayed on PlayStation 3?

• 1) If you have sent or received Friend requests that haven’t been approved yet, up to 10 of the most recent recipients and 10 of the most recent senders are displayed.
• 2) If the sum of players from point (1) and your currently online Friends is more than 100, your currently online Friends are displayed by online ID in alphabetical order until the limit of 100 players is reached.
• 3) If the sum of players from point (1) and your currently online Friends is less than 100, your currently offline Friends are also displayed by online ID in alphabetical order until the limit of 100 players is reached.
• 4) If the sum of players from point (1) and all of your Friends from point (2) is less than 100, any remaining recipients of your Friend requests are displayed, followed by any remaining players who sent Friend requests to you, until the limit of 100 players is reached.

You must sign out of PlayStation Network and then sign in again to update the players who are displayed. When doing this, also sign out of all other devices that you are signed in to PlayStation Network on.