Disadvantages to Changing Xbox or PlayStation Region to US?

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Paul1977

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#285721 13-May-2021 10:37

I thought I'd start a new thread for this as I'm having trouble finding any definitive info.

I noticed that the new Resident Evil Village game is considerably cheaper to purchase digitally in the US that it is here. After looking at a few other games, that's apparently quite typical. If it was a small difference I would be to bothered, but some of them have a huge price difference for no justifiable reason at all.

I have a US payment method I could use, so is there any disadvantage to permanently changing my region on Xbox and PS to US? Does it have any impact on multiplayer servers and/or latency? Does it check whether you have a US IP address? Do I lose any content purchased in NZ region (I only purchase games)?

It's problematic to just "try and see" since you can only change your region once every 90 days (on Xbox anyway - not sure about PS).

Thanks

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#2706905 13-May-2021 11:09

Do you permanently have to do it? For PS3/4 I used to just create a store account in that location, and purchase games through that account, and then swap back to my NZ account etc as needed

Paul1977

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#2706912 13-May-2021 11:36

jfanning:

Do you permanently have to do it? For PS3/4 I used to just create a store account in that location, and purchase games through that account, and then swap back to my NZ account etc as needed

I had wanted to have all purchases etc on a single account so I have a single library. I hadn't realised the Sony doesn't let you change the region on an account ever. This is pretty stupid, what if you move permanently to a different country?

On PS if you purchase something with the US account but don't have it installed (but do have your console set as the primary console for the US account), can you see it in your library when logged in with your NZ account and download it? Your do you have to switch back to the US account in order to re-download it?

Batman

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#2706946 13-May-2021 12:55

In xbox I can buy games from whatever country I want

Paul1977

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#2706952 13-May-2021 13:08

Batman: In xbox I can buy games from whatever country I want

@Batman Could you elaborate on that?

How do you do that when they only allow you to change your region once every 90 days?

jfanning

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#2706971 13-May-2021 13:16

Paul1977:

I had wanted to have all purchases etc on a single account so I have a single library. I hadn't realised the Sony doesn't let you change the region on an account ever. This is pretty stupid, what if you move permanently to a different country?

On PS if you purchase something with the US account but don't have it installed (but do have your console set as the primary console for the US account), can you see it in your library when logged in with your NZ account and download it? Your do you have to switch back to the US account in order to re-download it?

For PS if it is your primary device, then any user can play any game regardless of who purchased it. I got my original PS3/PSP in Ireland, had an Irish account for purchasing games for those, then when I came back I used my NZ account for PS+, and just played any of them on any account. I have a US account as well to grab some free stuff they had. I did a similar thing for the PS4

JaBZ

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#2706974 13-May-2021 13:23

Whats your US payment method, I buy Playstation gift cards from Amazon and topup my account when required.

I have both a NZ and US PSN account, and its been working fine like that since the PS3.

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Paul1977

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#2706975 13-May-2021 13:28

JaBZ:

Whats your US payment method, I buy Playstation gift cards from Amazon and topup my account when required.

I have both a NZ and US PSN account, and its been working fine like that since the PS3.

US PayPal account.

I just don't like the idea of managing two separate libraries. I know I can play the US purchased games when logged into NZ account, but I think I'd find it annoying if I have to switch to the US account to view the library purchased under that account, or to re-download games.

EDIT: Hmmm... an article about PS4 says that if the console is set as the primary console for the US account the games should still show up on the library when logged into the NZ account even if they aren't installed. If it's the same for PS5 that could be a decent solution. I can test by using a US account to purchase something cheap (or free).

Paul1977

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#2706997 13-May-2021 13:47

Still very interested to know if there is any other disadvantage in using a US Xbox or PS account in NZ (especially interested in Xbox) - in terms of multiplayer servers and latency etc.

Senecio

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#2707028 13-May-2021 14:18

For PlayStation, there is no disadvantage to it. I can't talk to XBox as I've never owned one.

I don't have an NZ account. I bought my PS4 when living in Dublin and I still use an Irish account as my main account today. It is linked to an Irish PayPal account which draws off my NZ credit card when I want to make a purchase. As for latency, the accounts home country has no bearing on that.

Paul1977

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#2707030 13-May-2021 14:23

Senecio:

For PlayStation, there is no disadvantage to it. I can't talk to XBox as I've never owned one.

I don't have an NZ account. I bought my PS4 when living in Dublin and I still use an Irish account as my main account today. It is linked to an Irish PayPal account which draws off my NZ credit card when I want to make a purchase. As for latency, the accounts home country has no bearing on that.

Thanks for that. Hopefully Xbox is the same.

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#2707124 13-May-2021 18:47

Paul1977:
Batman: In xbox I can buy games from whatever country I want

@Batman Could you elaborate on that?

How do you do that when they only allow you to change your region once every 90 days?

I buy on the Internet. In Web browser you can visit any county store you want

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Paul1977

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#2707179 13-May-2021 20:38

Batman: I buy on the Internet. In Web browser you can visit any county store you want.

That plan’s so crazy it just might work.

I’m surprised it’s that easy, but I’ll give it a try. Thanks.

richms

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#2707236 13-May-2021 23:08

I have bought things in the US PS store because so much cheaper, but the only one console can have other users play it and limitations on changing that main console make it a hassle, so I have actually rebought things when they got cheap on my main account to play easier. End result was spending about the same as if I had bought it on the NZ store in the first place.

Richard rich.ms

Paul1977

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#2707351 14-May-2021 08:54

richms:

I have bought things in the US PS store because so much cheaper, but the only one console can have other users play it and limitations on changing that main console make it a hassle, so I have actually rebought things when they got cheap on my main account to play easier. End result was spending about the same as if I had bought it on the NZ store in the first place.

@richms That would only be an issue if you want to share your game purchases with a friend right?

richms

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#2707374 14-May-2021 09:43

Paul1977:

@richms That would only be an issue if you want to share your game purchases with a friend right?

I generally play on one of my PS accounts, so I have to login as that one to play it, but it was bought on another account so that only works on one console. Since space is limited etc I would often play things on my old PS4 rather than the pro if they didnt get any benifit from it, or if I wanted to play something in the bedroom it meant moving the console rather than using the one in there.

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