Guide to Using the Japanese PSN From Your PC

You don’t need to use a Playstation 3 to access the Japanese Playstation Store – with just an online account you can buy all of the PSP and Playstation import games that you want! Here’s how to set up an account and access the Japanese Playstation Store online with your PC.

1. First, you need to buy a Japanese PSN card. Gamepointsnow.com sells a variety of Japanese Playstation Network cards in different amounts. You will be instantly emailed a code that you can redeem on the Japanese PSN. They also instantly email Xbox 360 codes (points and subscriptions) and Wii codes for most regions. First, though you need to create a Japanese PSN account - the store will not let you login unless you have a Japan-registered address.

2. Next go to the site http://store.playstation.com/ The first thing you will do is select Japan as your region. This means that the text will all be in Japanese, but don't worry if you don’t know a lot of Japanese, just follow these instructions and you can make it through.

3. Then, you'll need to register an account. Just click the 'register' button shown below:

4. The first registration page will have a block of text with some buttons below it. Click on the bottommost of the buttons below the text (it should be centered). The next screen will contain some drop down menus, including a birthday entry. Put in a birthday which makes you older than 18 years old, then of the two buttons below the date click the one on the right one.

5. On the next screen, click the text at the very top, before the paragraph about PLAYSTATION Network. You will come to a disclaimer page with two buttons below the disclaimer. Click the one on the right again to proceed.

6. The next screen is a captcha page: type the letters that you see in the image into the box to confirm that you are a real person, then click the button below.

7. Next is a screen for entering contact information. Put your VALID email address into the first box, come up with a password for the PSN account and put it in the next two boxes. The remainder of this page lets you select a question and answer for if you forget your password, but it’s in Japanese, so just write anything in the bottommost box and then click the centered button at the bottom to continue.

8. Go to your email and click on the confirmation link from store.playstation.com. You’ll be taken to a screen where you enter a username – very simple. The next screen after that is complicated: it asks for a Japanese address. Guess what – you don’t have to put this in! Fill most of the slots with gibberish. However, there are two required fields: the first field after the break in the form should be filled with the number “123”, and the drop-down menu directly after it should have the first option selected. Again, click the right hand button at the bottom of the screen when you’re done.

9. The next screen has a block of text followed by two options. Choose the second one and continue. Continue through the next two screens by clicking the right most of the two bottom buttons each time and you’re through! Now you can go to the Playstation Network store at http://store.playstation.com/ . Login with your username and password at the top of the screen, click on your username once logged in, and choose the second text link in the second section of the resulting page for a screen where you can enter the PSN code you got from Game Points Now to redeem your card! Now you can order whatever Japanese games that you want from the Playstation Network store using your PC!

Gamepointsnow.com - Game Points Now!

This hasn't been mentioned before, so I thought I'd give a shout out to our sister site Game Points Now, for all your instant Xbox/Wii Points needs. The premise is simple: you can buy Xbox, Wii and PSN points or subscriptions, pay by Paypal or credit/debit card and you'll instantly be sent your code by e-mail. No fuss, no muss.

It's mostly for European (UK) codes at the moment, but you can also pick up different flavours of Japanese PSN codes, which can be used on any region PS3 and provides a glimpse into the more hardcore and bizarre world of gaming. There's a lot on the Japanese network.


GPN is a handy way of getting points fast and for Xbox, saves your credit card being linked to your Gamertag, which then stops your 11-year-old cousin who doesn't understand that POINTS MEAN MONEY spending ludicrous amounts of cash on downloading tiny Gamertag icons for most of the English Premier League just so that his Gamertag picture matches his Pro Evo team of choice (and yes, this incident does form 99% of the inspiration behind the site). It also stops Microsoft auto-renewing your Gold account as well, and besides, we're cheap - cheaper than doing it through the Dashboard!

It's owned and staffed by the same people as The Game Train so you can trust you'll be getting a great service.