PS4: four profiles can be signed in on one console

Gamers will be able to use multiple accounts on the PlayStation 4 even at the same time

[TimeSkipLuffy]

What is the benefit to have different users logged in at the same time on the same console? :3

[CustardTrout]

On the 360 you can split screen online which can be really fun; assume it'll be the same kind of idea

[abzdine]

@NightmareLuffy:
you can play multiplayer online game with a friend on the same console. No need to have up to 4 consoles and split the network to 4 if you're sitting together. That's at least how i understand it.

[0ut1awed]

The only problem is that most games are not supporting online splitscreen as time goes on. I can only imagine that will continue more so into next gen.

There will defiantly be games that have it but we will see how usefull this really is.

[MazzingerZ]

You can do that on PS3 as well(co-op local sing in for instance Warhawk and LBP, I think Resistance 2 co-op allowed that as well, those the ones I recall right now...Trophies can't be earned by anyone but main account, though...it seems to be possible now on PS4

[devwan]

On ps3 it was the game title that allowed it, on ps4 it's a system feature across the board.

[NukaCola]

Mazz

Every one earns trophies for LBP. Glad they added this. Will make Borderlands 3 better so my wife can earn trophies for her own account.

[MazzingerZ]

@NukaCola
Ahhh nice! Didn't know that one, I guess when I played with my family had gotten most of those trophies
Thanks for the info!

[mewhy32]

This will be great. I do this now on Xbox360 with my kids and we have a blast. Now that we're moving to PS4 I'm glad to see that we'll be able to do the same. Just another example of Sony listening to the gamer.

[LOL_WUT]

Trophy boosting? ;)

[SilentNegotiator]

They had better still allow "guests" in online play.

It would be BS if you were forced to use two paid accounts for splittscreen online multiplayer.

[blennerville]

"On the 360 you can split screen online which can be really fun; assume it'll be the same kind of idea"

you can do that on PS3 in Uncharted 3.

my guess is its for remote play and stuff.

[dragon82]

@SilentNegotiator

They have said that only one account on the system needs to have PS+ and the rest of the accounts on that system will also be covered.

I believe the Xbox One is moving towards this system too.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

@Out1awed

Hopefully it can become more common now that both consoles are readily able to do it. I mean, PS3 could do that, but it was up to devs to implement it, now as long as it's a game that support local multiplayer, multiple sign-in should be a given.

[miyamoto]

nice.

[XB1_PS4]

I had no clue that this wasn't all ready a thing on PSN.

[badz149]

Great feature especially for local coop and all 4 can get trophies

[BallsEye]

@0ut1awed

Most of XO ms exclusives offer split screen campaigns etc...halo series offer 4 players split screen. Also many people logged into 1 console even in the dash have it's benefits. On 360 anyone logged in can switch to his/her own dashboard in a second and check friends list and so on. I have accounts for UK, US, Germany and Japan. Different stuff in dashboard, often different free games etc.

[360ICE]

You can do that on PS3 too, but only in certain games (Starhawk, Resistance 2). I'm hoping for a more universal support this time around. Collecting trophies at a friend's house would be neat.

[Dark_Eternal]

Presumably multiple users can also earn trophies that way, instead of just one person.

[Boody-Bandit]

+well said

This is a much needed option. My son and I go head to head a lot in fighters and sports games. It sucked that only one of us could unlock trophies while doing so. This is great news.

[listenkids]

Let's hope so, many times I've missed out playing split screen games and the multiple account sign in for black ops 2 didn't award trophies :(

[yellowgerbil]

My brother in law has a 360. Together we went into online games on CoD black ops 2 with me on a second account.
So there is a benefit, though nothing that is a game changer. Just another sign that sony is out to make the console as pro gamer as possible.

[Hufandpuf]

Or as up to date as possible.

[saber00005]

@NightmareLuffy,

With-in each other's profile account is your friends list. I'm sure if, if you have a sibling or someone else that is sharing your PS4, you wouldn't want to be receiving messages from people you don't even know. I know I wouldn't XD

Also, your profile holds your game data (Gamer name, share streams, etc). So, that's a playstation plus..... See what I did there? ;)

[TimeSkipLuffy]

but if 4 users are logged in into one console wouldn't you receive messages from all four on that console? :D

I see the benefit of multiplayer if the game support online multiplayer splitscreen and owning own trophies on local multiplayer games.

[MasterCornholio]

Multiplayer achievements.

Nexus 7 2013

[Bundi]

When playing a multiplayer game, trophies can now be earned by any of the 2/4 players and not just the main profile.
Also for games like Fifa, it is nice to have controller settings already assigned to your preferences rather than having to make due with the primary profile settings or change them each time.

This is something that puzzled with the ps3, why did they limit it to just one profile per session when up to 7 people could play at the same time?

Welcome to 2005 Sony, glad you finally made it.

[joeyisback]

Microsoft where was the blue ray player in the Xbox 360 welcome to 2006 Microsoft

[Bundi]

That's why Microsoft aren't shouting it from the roof tops that they now have blu-ray, it's not something to write home about in 2013.

Being able to sign in multiple profiles is further perplexing because unlike blu-ray it isn't a hardware limitation. How they went an entire gen without catching up is a crime.

[Kryptix]

That was because the XMB's base structure due to foreseeing RAM limitations wasn't designed to let multiple players sign in on their own profiles. But the work around was that in certain games like most notably Little Big Planet, they designed the in-game code to give the console the ability to do so.

The PS3 always had the ability to allow multiple accounts, it was just up to developer to add the feature in the game. So I'm glad now it's a feature that comes built with the console so developers can take full advantage of it adding splitscreen online and offline.

And what you mean with the last part; "Welcome to 2005 Sony, glad you finally made it."? You act like the Xbox 360 was more up to date than the PS3. Hmmmm, from what what I remember, the 360 in the beginning had no HDMI output, no wifi, controllers use disposable batteries, and no blu-ray. And with the new Xbox One, no removable hard drive and controllers still use disposable batteries. Honestly, the PS3 went with the times much better and we still use the new blu ray format after all that.

[edgeofsins]

We get it. You don't like Sony. Quit your complaining.

You're embarrassing.

You're one of the people that think Knack is last gen just because of it's art style after all.

Is something wrong with Sony one upping XBox all the time? Be mad at Microsoft. They have the assets and money. They just don't care. They don't understand you or other gamers. They only know casual and "hardcore"(To them any game with violence). Sony has both, variations of both, in between that, a mix of the two, everything right out of the gate with many coming later in 2014, much of which all they had to do was contact developers and offer free dev kits. Microsoft just shunned the industry, the consumers, and that resulted in shunning themselves. If you want to support some of the biggest ignorance of the industry with your own ignorance go ahead.

I don't find the brand bad, just the company.

Edit: And like Kryptix said. The console wasn't designed around it originally. They aren't compromising the biggest feature, gaming, by changing it around with an update that could affect its performance. That is why some games like Starhawk had in game music. It limits the developers freedom and gamers might get less because of it.

[tiffac008]

Well we can clearly see the strength of MS when it comes to software programming and Sony when it comes to hardware manufacturing. This generation showed that to us.

What's important is that the weaknesses of the 360 and PS3 is now being tackled with the X1 and PS4.

[SmoothC911]

@Bundi

Who the f was 'shouting it from the rooftops'? This article just stated a response to a question; there was no press release or major announcement

[neoMAXMLC]

"That's why Microsoft aren't shouting it from the roof tops that they now have blu-ray,"

No, instead they're shouting from the rooftops that you can play games without being connected online. :P

[kenshiro100]

You never give up, do you? What's sad is that people agreed with you.

[Insomnia_84]

That can be done with Little Big Planet and other games, just saying.

[KrisButtar]

So the different users could each earn trophies while playing Split Multiplayer. That would be my 1st reason

[Sarick]

Woah, my guess so you can have three others get TROPHIES while playing a multi-player game. On PS3 the only player who gets credit is the user who is active online.

Am I right?

[Jazz4108]

Wasnt trophies added after ms was successfull with achievements? They both copy one another is my point.

[trenso1]

in LBP you could sign in with multiple ids so whatever they earned while not playing on their account would be unlocked when they singed in.

[ZBlacktt]

Trophy boosting/player boosting.

[GraveLord]

4-player local multiplayer in Call of Duty or any sports game I imagine.

[DOMination-]

Each player can earn achievements

[PSN-JeRzYzFyNeSt]

say you want to play split screen when yur boy is over, he can log into his account on yur ps4 with you and you can both level up on yur own accounts same with diablo 3

[ion53]

FarCry3 had the same feature for split screen co-op

[abusador]

Wayyyyy before Farcry three this was done by Sonys first party studios such as resistance 2, uncharted 3, etc...... Once again Sony was the first to have this feature and ppl try to give credit elsewhere lol

[StoutBEER]

PS3 didn't have this capability? That sucks. Glad they are changing that. Nothin like sittin around witha few friends on a lazy sunday dickin about in Halo customs. :3
Copied you're face Nightmare cause I liked it XD

[abusador]

Wayyyyy before Farcry or any other game this was done by Sonys first party studios such as resistance 2, uncharted 3, etc...... Once again Sony was the first to have this feature and ppl try to give credit elsewhere lol

[BoriboyShoGUN]

@ Abusador, While I am a Playstation Fan you sir are wrong the 360 had this at launch! I always wondered how the PS3 didnt have it but wasnt too concerned since I was the only one logging in on the PS3 anyways. But seeing from some of the post I guess it was up too individual developers on the PS3 to make it happen! I guess I just never noticed!!

[iPad]

Hopefully on PS4, you don't need to quit the game and head back to the XMB just to switch accounts.

I loved that about Xbox LIVE. You can switch accounts in-game.

[mickaelmc]

Lots of benefits. Leveling up, personal loadouts, trophies, infinite record keeping stats, lots.

[MuhammadJA]

So Sony can brag later that she has more online users! XD

[hellzsupernova]

This for me was the biggest misstep of the ps3
With the trophy system some games wouldn't let you sign in and you didn't get trophies with your buddies. Sure a few games let you eventually but it was always a let down

[showtimefolks]

awesome nice feature

[ziggurcat]

say, in littlebigplanet, you could have 4 different profiles playing MP instead of one profile plus 3 guests. each person playing could earn their own trophies that way as well.

[pixelsword]

@ zigg;

Sorry, I didn't see this particular post when I made my comment answering Nightmare, or else I would have merely agreed with yours.

...Which I just did. :)

[Elimin8]

do it for the VITA! PLSE?!

[kingPoS]

Ever play a fout player co-op game of warhawk only to wish everyone involved could gain experience and level up.

Instead of...

[Joe] psn
[Joe2]
[Joe3]
[Joe4]

It could be...

[Joe] psn
[Bob] psn
[Sam] psn
[Tom] psn

[soniqstylz]

Sports games?

[pixelsword]

If you get a trophy, it goes to your account?

[ziggurcat]

that is likely the case, yes, if you're signed into your own account.

[Mikelarry]

it only makes sense as you can only use 4 controllers at one time on the ps4

[saber00005]

I think 4 profiles are more than enough. How many house holds really have more than 4 people playing games? :P

[soniqstylz]

Not that anyone used it, but the PS3 allowed up to 7 players.

[pixelsword]

People with more than four children, maybe?

[towelie1288]

ps3 already had that...
try again

[Sarick]

This is new to me. Please explain how multiple players can log on PSN using a single PS3 at the same time. I'm very interested in knowing how to do this.

I'd like to play a few multi-player Tales of games and have partners win trophies with me.

[awesomeperson]

I think he misunderstands the premise of what this does.

I think towelie is referring to the profiles you can select (at the left of the XMB), each tied to another account. Which is, of course, different to signing on with 1-4 accounts on a single profile.

[dragon82]

LittleBigPlanet 1 & 2
Warhawk
Resistance 2
Borderlands 2

These are a few games that allowed you to log in with multiple accounts that the same time on PS3. It was up to the developer to program the feature into the game itself.

[Bundi]

Nope. Not even close. One profile per session. You have to log out to use other profiles. Annoying when playing offline multiplayer games.

[Mikefizzled]

Nothing new 360 had this from launch and I'm would of thought that PS3 did something similar. Hell the One can have 8 controllers connected at once which would take sports games to ridiculous levels of complexity.

[bahabeast]

360 did it but you all needed live gold on the ps3 we can play with all those peeps from one free online play profile soo IMO ps3 still wins.

[Mikefizzled]

So by your logic PS3 > Ps4 & Xbox One as you don't need to pay for multiplayer on PS3

[LogicStomper]

Nope, Halo has always allowed guests of a profile to play online in conjunction with the account-holder.

[dragon82]

@Mikefizzled

The difference is that the PS4 and XB1 only require a single account to pay for online and the other sub accounts are covered free of charge.

360 required "each" account to pay for Gold in order to play online in split screen.

PS3 allows multiple accounts to be signed in at the same time for free across the board. The only difference is it was left up to the developers to include the feature in their games.

[awesomeperson]

Not meaning to diminish your hopes, but the PS3 could have up to 7 I think controllers connected at once. Very few games took advantage of it, and although some people might have, I never heard anyone actually using the feature.

It would be nice for sport-game-parties or the like, but it's a feature you soon forget about.

[patsrule316]

We definitely played Rockband on my Xbox 360 with four players all signed in to their own profile.

As far as the $399 US dollars, followed by Nice!!!! as a feature not on the 360 or PS3, that is not a clever dig. Neither system costs that much.

A feature that PS4 has that neither the XB1, PS3 or XB360 has, that is not hardware related...how about watching a friend's game as he/she plays then having the ability to play their game for them? I don't think any other system has that.

There are others, but that is the first that came to my mind.

[MilkMan]

I only have one real question.
Can I change my gamer tag or whatever is the equivalent on PS4? I hate the name I have now, and I don't want sub accounts.
I just want to rename my account. I've been petitioning this for years now, I haven't heard whether or not this can be done on the new console.

[bahabeast]

well the ps3 all 4 could play online but they wouls all be on one profile but with this we all get to use our own profile. this time it will be just like 360 because we will be paying for online play individually

[patsrule316]

not sure if you mean what I think you mean or not, but you don't have to pay for online play individually on the PS4 or XB1 for that matter. If one person pays, everyone gets to play online on that system. On the 360, my son does not have gold, so he cannot play online even though I have gold.

Reading what you wrote, you might have meant that, because there is now a paid requirement for PS4 online, part of the pay means you get to play on-line individually, which is true.

[baodeus]

You actually don't need gold to play online as long as one person with gold account is logged in. You can play with them as GUESS (Halo 3, Gears of War, etc..) online on one console. The draw back is that u cant play rank matches (I'm not sure if u can get achievements though) when u play as a guess.

[HurstDarkStar]

I think SONY did say that as long as there's one account thats paid for all the accounts on the system have access to multiplayer?

[feraldrgn]

I'm assuming this could be used with the VitaTV in some way?

[tiffac008]

Yes, we can assume its for Remote Play purposes.

[GirlOnFire]

It would be crazy if you can play 2 games with 2 different profiles. He plays BF4 and I would play KZ:SF. Ah I just want multiple trophies earn while signed in 2 different profiles. When I played Borderlands 2 people I earn trophies not the other profile. Please fix. ^~^

[zippycup]

but we can do that on ps3 already i play diablo 3 borderlands 2 whit my daughter she logs in whit her account although i cant recall if she was getting trophy's will check on that after work

[Animal Mutha 76]

Trials evo on 360 can do 4 player motocross on screen at once all sep accounts - so this is a good feature for PS4 to have as well.

XB1 can have 6 signed in at once with upto 8 controllers. Not sure how that ratio is useful but it's impressive none the less.

[AceBlazer13]

So no need to have Username(2) in online matches.Wasn't it up to the game? I think bo2 did it,terraria and lbp.

[dragon82]

Yes it was left up to the developers to add it in to the game.

[ZHZ90]

Intersting.

[CrossingEden]

Um....360 has had this feature since it's release. This is nothing new to gaming whatsoever. Are people really getting hyped over this? :/

[mickaelmc]

PS3 has it to, buddy.
The hype is because it'll be a built in feature and, unlike micro$oft, only one person needs a gold (ps+) membership.

[SignifiedSix91]

Derp, only one person needs Gold on the X1 also.

Do some research before you make yourself look like an idiot.

[LogicStomper]

Umm nope. Having researched it, it's up to the developer to allow simultaneous account log-ins. Many of PS3's games do not allow this and will only allow a guest to play in conjunction with the account-holder.

[awesomeperson]

This generation Sony has been behind the ball on online services. They either didn't have the money, or ability to implement the same features as Xbox Live.

For this reason, it's always a tad exciting when Sony announces they're bringing their service up to standard (or exceeding on some cases). It's especially important they do, if they expect people to pay now.

[shorty74a]

People are not over hyping this feature. Most are just commenting on the article. Some are just fanboys that enjoy making this into an all out war on why their console is better.

[eyeDEVOUR]

Great idea!!!

I play with different names for different styles of games. So now if im on my shooter account i can recieve msgs from my friends on my racing account for example...

Really like this idea as i have 5 accounts now on ps3 and ive bought content from ps store on each of the accounts...

[Nocando]

I could see this being very useful when playing something like Dead Nation , because you can earn the Trophies.

[cellfluid]

Hmmmm I wonder how this would work with that new stream vita that just came out!!

[Relientk77]

Sweet that's awesome

[e-p-ayeaH]

game sharing confirmed?

[Allowen]

Now your music unlimited or some other app like(restricted to the country you in where u bought the service) that will work for u even if you are logged on another psn account.

That sounds fantastic if it works.

[corvusmd]

Are we saying PS4 is copying XB1 yet? Or is it still too early to say anything remotely negative about PS4?

[Ima9er4Life]

LoL i could tell that most people here don't have many friends. Look....if you got people sitting next to you wit a gamertag they could log into a game with you to play multiplayer so they could continue upgrading and rank up.....without them being at home. I use this feature almost every fuckin time. Wether be my kids or friends. There you have it you dumbasses

[Grave]

off topic, but if you put a beard on that guy in the picture he would look like the dude from 28 days later who had the daughter. just sayin.

[Shad0wRunner]

Sounds like an awesome feature to have