Topic: Please help an old man

Hi folks can someone please help an old 'un with a major problem ? I'm 66 and yes I know, shouldn't be playing PS4 at my age but I love it. Got several games recently, GTA 5 World of Warships Legends to name just 2, and after installing it asks me to sign in to PlayStation network, I registered with e-mail and a password etc and drew a complete blank as it couldn't verify i was an adult, I'm ******* 66 !!!! tried registering later no good, tried everything, two solid days now and still no nearer , i cant play either of the above games as a single player, never had this problem with a game before, and i'm now close to giving in. Anyone got a way to bypass signing in to PlayStation Network altogether ? Surely i can play a game i paid good money for without going through all this hassle and stress, any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks
Murph

@Murphy66 Sorry to hear about your issue. Some games do require connection to PSN. You should be able to log into PSN and stay logged in for your PS4. It sounds like you created a PSN account, but I think there’s part that you have to enter some personal info like date of birth to verify your age. Perhaps you didn’t complete that part?

Can you go in more detail please on where exactly you’re being stopped?

Yeah, entered date of birth etc, then verify age and it didn't recognise me as an adult ????? OK, Then it told me my password was wrong, despite entering the correct one linked to my e-mail address ????
Believe me I've been through the whole process at least 20 times ,each time ending in total disappointment, packing the game away and thinking **** it I'll take the loss, but why should I ?? so the two games GTA 5 and World of Warships Legends are back in their boxes and NOTHING I've done over the last 3 days works for me, as I said I am 66 but still tech savvy if you get what I mean, I really am at a loss what to do, I even tried creating a new e-mail account with AOL with a new password and it said unknown e-mail address ??? Fuming !!!!

@Murphy66 okay so try creating a new PSN account and use the new email address you just created.

Not sure what the issue with establishing you as an adult is but I’ve honestly never had any issues creating profiles… colonelkilgore is my third main one and I’ve also created ‘helper’ profiles for trophy boosting and purchases from the US PSN store.

When you start creating your new profile, add a post in here for each step, so we can identify where the issues lay. 👍

I think Murphy you need to take a step back and try and help us discover who is asking for the logon information as some games have an additional user account that needs to be created.

I suggest trying to go to the PlayStation store (the left item in the application task bar) and try and open the store. Is it still asking for the email and password info at that point?
If it is and it isn't letting you pass then you will need to contact Sony or as the Colonel stated perhaps create a new account as that might be easier...do take note of all the details enter, password case is inportant as well. I also suggest turning on "Auto login" to avoid having to keep entering the password, however if you do this then I might suggest turning on Shop purchases need a password (or whatever it is called) but one thing at a time.

@Murphy66 I had a quick look and I genuinely don't remember the age verification part.

This is from the site though. And a quick Google finds:

You can verify your age by selecting a method that suits you; mobile number, facial scan, or ID.

So I guess the best thing to do is take a step back. Don't try to change emails or anything like that. Just start again on your console, sign up to PSN in the normal way. Check any emails they (Sony Interactive Entertainment) send you. And then see if you can enter your mobile, a photo, or a photo of your ID anywhere for age verification.

Ooooh… I guess this is a relatively new thing in the UK only…? I didn’t know about this new age verification.

The website does say that certain web browsers are recommended to do the age verification process, namely Chrone or Safari. It’s done through a third party “Yoti”

As someone who’s in the U.S. and has had my account for eons, I had no knowledge of this new process

You’ve probably seen it but here is some instructions —
https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/support/account/age-verific...

If it were me having to do this, I’d use the mobile phone number method. I’m not sure how I feel about sending pictures of my ID to Sony. A selfie for Facial recognition could be another option, but to me that seems weird. How can they tell how old someone is from a photo? What if I look really young for my age? 😂

Yeah some of this is news to me, was never required in Kuwait. You learn a new thing every day.

Had to take a break from this for my sanity, 3 solid days has honestly drained me, I'm usually pretty good at stuff like this but it's beyond belief at this stage how something so simple can be such a pain in the ass,

(Quote) I suggest trying to go to the PlayStation store (the left item in the application task bar) and try and open the store. Is it still asking for the email and password info at that point?

Managed to open PS Store and downloaded free dlc's for Mafia 3, can't find them anywhere, granted one off permission

Created brand new profile with brand new e-mail and password with AOL for e-mail account, new password and tried to log in, Wrong password, tried several times checking i'd entered everything OK , wrong password, O was entering new password, not password foe e-mail account, no joy ??

I've tried everything multiple times and still can't sign in, thanks for trying, I've nearly given up

i even rang the Samaritans and they hung up on me , (still got sense of humour) LOL

@Murphy66 I feel for you dude… I’d be doing my nut! Without wanting to sound patronising (although there’s no way the following comment will not), is there not a younger more tech-savvy whipper-snapper you can enrol around your parts? Y’know slip them a couple of Euros… for the kids like 😉

I hope you get the sorted soon and I agree with @colonelkilgore’s suggestion. Wouldn’t hurt.

Worth a try lads Thanks for all the help, I'll let ye know

@Th3solution The whole age verification with having to provide your Facial scan or ID is why a LOT of PC gamers in certain regions were extremely angry with Sony and their Helldivers 2 'PSN' requirement. They too were unhappy about providing that information and the security of that Data in Sony's hands.

Many 'PS' fans who've had their account 'forever' or those in regions where an 'email' is all that's required had no idea so unhelpfully kept saying its a 1minute process, even use a 'burner' email etc completely unaware that in some regions, you have to provide Proof of Age. Many didn't want to give Sony that Data, their 'Private' information (inc Photos) when Sony haven't exactly been secure with their Data.

I don't know what to suggest to help the OP. It sounds like you perhaps need to check your junk folder for any emails from Sony to 'verify/confirm' your email address and/or send Proof of Age.

@BAMozzy It might be a good article for Push Square @get2sammyb and co. to dive into. I was unaware of this new practice, so I’m sure other players are also ignorant of it too. Perhaps there’s already been an article about it that I missed though. Or maybe the PS editors feel like it will just turn into a firestorm of negativity, as it seems like the PC community got fired up really quickly on the subject.

Nevertheless, I would like to know what Sony feels they are accomplishing with this and the motivations behind it. Is is uniquely a UK issue because of some government related regulations that other nations don’t have? Or is it Sony’s own policy that they simply want to try out in one of their main markets before going live everywhere? I wonder if there has been other industries that have used this form of age verification system and what the experience is there. Do some of the streaming media services do this, other online retailers, mobile platforms, etc.? Are the other gaming companies considering it? I would guess Nintendo might. These are questions that an article could dive into and perhaps help dispel some of the fear that users may have about giving this type of information out, especially if this process has been implemented with some success elsewhere.

Here’s hoping that if they roll out this pilot program to the rest of the world that they will allow us legacy accounts to be ‘grandfathered’ in. 😄

Regarding the concerns about Sony having this data, if I understand the process it’s an outside company who does the verification, so I assume that delicate information is in the hands of someone else rather than Sony directly. I’m not sure if that makes it better or worse, but like you say, Sony doesn’t necessarily have a reputation for rock-solid cybersecurity.

@Th3solution I imagine it is to block people from online gambling games and heinous microtransactions, unless age verified, stuff like that. The amount of stories that pop up where kids mindlessly rinse their parents credit cards on online games 😅

But those kids that are unvarified will just trick their parents into age verifying the account anyway, so it is probably all pointless 😆

I do think that if your phone is age verified then the checks will be automatic and carried out by a third party though, so I can't see why the process isn't a bit smoother for OP if they already set up a PSN

@Ravix Honestly, I think the internet (and subsequently internet commerce) grew faster than society’s ability to regulate it and so now we are finally trying to catch up and get control of the forest fire that we created. Minors have access to all sorts of content and transactions that most would agree are problematic. The argument exists that parents should police their own kids, not society, but it’s become increasingly clear that parents don’t do that very consistently and that it’s easier said than done with our reliance on the internet for every facet of our lives, and the fact that technology is evolving so quickly that an aging population doesn’t really understand all the nuances of how to use it, so therefore cannot regulate it in their own homes.

Furthermore, the amount of data breaches and nefarious hacking that happens has made it so the average user (like the poor OP here) is put through the ringer just to do something as simple as play a game he already owns. All these hoops to jump through (facial recognition, rotating complex passwords, 2-factor authenticating, etc) and there’s still data compromises and identify theft issues on a regular basis. It’s like we’re trying to put all the monkeys back in the barrel after they were already set loose and you just can’t chase them all down. 😂

@Murphy66
Hi playstation only allows Gmail access to creating accounts so when you log in you use your actual Gmail password so this has been the case since PS3 days yahoo and AOL don't know.
As for age verification buy a picture or Avatar as is known in the playstation online world with your credit Or debit card usually 20p that's done later after you created your PSN account hope it helps.

@Murphy66
Also did you buy your playstation brand new or second hand if second hand it might have parental settings which you can Find under settings you will have to change them.