ASCII Kids A must-see for homes with more new game consoles!Review your child's game account management

The Nintendo Switch, which has been unavailable for a long time, has stabilized the supply before the Christmas season, and I think there are many Santa Clauses who feel relieved. Not limited to Switch, many children will buy game consoles such as PlayStation 4 with New Year's gifts. If you don't know what your child's game account is like or don't remember being asked to set it up in such a home, you may want to check your child's game console as soon as possible. .. With the experience of the author and friends, I have summarized the points to note when managing children's game accounts.

Nintendo is 13 years old and over, Sony is 18 years old and over and can have a main account

You need to create a Nintendo account to play with Nintendo Switch and a Sony Entertainment Network (SEN) account to play with the PlayStation series. Both have network functions and download purchase functions, and there are restrictions on the use of children. Along with that, the types of accounts that can be created also differ depending on the age. Below is a brief summary of each child's account. The point is that any child account can only be created under the control of a parent's account.

Nintendo Account ・ You can create a Nintendo Account if you are 13 years old or older.・ Under 13 years old can create a "children account" under the control of a parent's Nintendo account.

Restrictions on child accounts ・ Can only be linked with Nintendo Network ID.・ The e-mail address cannot be registered, and notifications such as downloads will be sent to the parent's e-mail address.・ You cannot link with an SNS account or use "Easy Login".・ Parents can use parental control functions such as play time on compatible devices such as Switch.

SEN account ・ A master account can be created for those over 18 years old.・ Under the age of 18, sub-accounts can be created under the control of the master account.

Sub-account restrictions ・ There is no wallet function, and the wallet of the master account is used.・ The amount of money that a sub-account can use on the PS Store is limited to the master account.・ It is possible to restrict from the master account such as PSN communication function.・ If you are over 18 years old, you can change to a master account through the procedure.

If you're not interested in games, you can leave it to your child without knowing how these accounts work and how they work. Of particular note is the SEN account used on the PlayStation series. For junior and senior high school students, it is troublesome to rely on parents for setting up game consoles. If you cheat your date of birth so that you are over 18 years old, you can create a master account. It is the responsibility of the parents to keep an eye out for their children to create such fraudulent accounts and to help them manage their accounts without any hassle. I would like to share with the author and his friends what happened at the end of 2017 to see what would happen otherwise. It's a kind of shame, but I hope it helps reduce the number of readers who are bothered by similar things.

Case 1: Parents do not remember the existence of a master account

This is an incident that occurred at my friend's house. The PS Vita used by my child broke down, so I sent it for repair, but it was initialized and returned, so I was asked to sign in again. The child tried to sign in with his account, but at the wrong time. The terms of the SEN account were changed in October 2017, and sign-in with a sub-account was not allowed without parental re-approval.

The troubled child consulted with his parents, my friends. However, my friend was very ignorant of the game, and I didn't even remember creating a parent's account. So I got a consultation that I would be familiar with IT. I'm not familiar with games either, but I have a reliable Google teacher. After some searches, I found out that my child is using a sub-account and that my friend should have a master account just because I don't remember it because it can only be created under the control of a master account. rice field. However, I bought PS Vita more than two years ago. I didn't remember the account I created just for setting up my child's game console.

Eventually, enter the email address that comes to your mind in the password reset form, identify the associated email address, and sign in to the PlayStation Network after password reset. After confirming the new terms, I resumed using the sub-account.

You should be responsible for account management even if you are not interested in the game, as it is necessary for learning and managing your child's account in this case.・ Leave a memo of your account information in a place where you can search later (Evernote or email addressed to yourself is OK).・ Do not use e-mail addresses that may change, such as mobile phone e-mail addresses.

Case 2: A child creates a master account without permission

This time, it's an event at the author's house. I'm ashamed to say that I had no knowledge of SEN accounts until I was consulted by a friend in Case 1. I was only interested in playing puzzle games on my smartphone, so I didn't have a chance to know. It wasn't until my friend asked for help that I had the opportunity to learn about SEN accounts. The case at my friend's house was successfully resolved, but there was something that caught my heart.

My second son also has PlayStaion 4. And I've been using it for over a year now, but I don't remember being asked to create an account for parents. When I asked my second son, thinking that this was ..., it was discovered that he was playing with a master account by pretending to be his date of birth. What's more, he registered his date of birth appropriately so that he would be over 18 years old, so he didn't remember what year he was born. This was a really painful blunder. That's because the combination of email address and date of birth is used for password resets and other verifications of SEN accounts.

I don't know my date of birth — I don't know what I'm saying, but my second son's situation was right. Whenever he tries to make any changes to his SEN account settings, he is almost always asked for his date of birth. I couldn't help because I didn't understand it. Fortunately he didn't buy any paid items, so he decided to delete the account and recreate it as a sub-account. However, I was also asked to enter my date of birth on the account deletion application form.

In the end, he added from the inquiry form that he had created an account with a false date of birth and sent a request to delete the account. Right now, I'm waiting for a reply, and my second son can't play using the network function.

Learning in this case ・ If your child has acquired a device that can be connected to the network, but there is no consultation with the parents, you should check the account acquisition conditions.・ It is also important to teach children in advance that it will be a problem in the future if they create an account with a false age.

To protect your child's present and future, prevent the creation of an account with age spoofing

Having an account for children is a risk. Because of their immature communication skills, they get into trouble on the Internet, or they are so absorbed in the game that they charge too much to pay. It is the role of the guardian to protect from such things. I'm not interested in games, so I want to hit myself a year ago when I threw it, saying that I could set it myself and play it.

When I was searching the internet to solve a series of cases, I found a so-called question-based site saying, "I cheated on my proper date of birth to be over 18 years old, but I can't remember. There is no other way to reset my password. Many questions such as "Is it?" Caught my eye. Just because I'm not interested in it, my child is still creating an account somewhere today by misrepresenting his age. My child may be one of them while I'm neglecting that I'm not interested.

The most painful thing I saw on the question-based site was, "I've been playing for several years by creating a SEN account by pretending to be my age. I made a credit card as an adult and registered it, but credit The card is not approved. The only thing I can think of is the difference in age. Do you know how to correct the age (summary by the author)? " Unfortunately, neither the Nintendo account nor the SEN account has a specification that allows you to change your date of birth. I advised my child that playing with an age-appropriate account is also necessary for a fun gaming life in the future.

I'm sure readers of this site have some interest in digital gadgets, but some readers, like me, are network geeks and not interested in games. I want such readers to check the settings of their children's game consoles as soon as possible.