Gaming

For the uninformed, the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition systems come with a new DualSense controller. This game pad features adaptive triggers that makes it harder to press down in some scenarios. It also offers haptic feedback for a more precise vibration. Both of these are designed to add a little extra immersion to your gaming experience. 

To see if a PS5 game you are planning to acquire support the adaptive triggers and/or haptic feedback features of the DualSense, you can take a look at this article from Seeking Tech. 

1. For the first step, you need to turn on your PS5 console if it is not currently powered on. 

2. Next, you need to head over to the home menu and then open the PlayStation Store App. 

If you don’t know how to go home, then you can simply press and hold the PS button. After around 1 second, the home screen should open up. You can also quick press the PS button to bring up the Control Center menu, where you can then select the house icon at the bottom left side.

3. Once you are inside the PlayStation Store App, you need to open the product page for the game you are interested in. 

If you have a hard time finding your game, then you can use the search function in order to find it. Keep in mind that some upcoming titles may not be listed on the PlayStation Store yet. 

4. On the product page, move the cursor over to the box on the right side.  

5. After doing so, you should see the Read More option pop-up. Press the X button to continue. 

6. You should now be in the Compatibility Notices menu. Here, you should see the following message if the game take advantages of the DualSense’s unique features: 

• “Vibration function and trigger effect supported.” 

7. The product pages of some games won’t show the aforementioned message even if adaptive triggers and haptic feedback are supported.  

In these cases, you can return to the product page and then move the cursor down to the Game and Legal Info section. Afterwards, press the X button on the controller to read more. 

In the product description, you may be able to find details about the game’s support for adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. 

You are required to be a member of PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, PlayStation Plus Deluxe or PlayStation Plus Premium in order to play online multiplayer for a vast majority of PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games. The only exceptions to this rule are free-to-play such as Apex Legends, Call of Duty Warzone, Destiny 2, Fall Guys, Fortnite, Genshin Impact, Multiversus and Rocket League. 

To see how you can check to see if a specific game requires PS Plus for online play, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech. 

1. To start off, make sure you turn on your PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console if you haven’t done so already. 

2. Next, you need to head over to the product page of the game. 

If the game is already installed and on the home page of your PS5, then you can move the cursor to the game’s icon. From there, go down and then select the three dots icon. Finally, select View Product in the pop-up menu. 

If the game is not on the home page, then you can go to the Game Library menu. Select the game from there and then select the three dots icon. In the small window menu, you should then select the View Product option. 

Alternatively, you can simply search for the game on the PlayStation Store of the PS5. Searching the online shop is also the only way to view a game’s product page on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro console. 

3. Once you get to the product page on your PlayStation 5, look for a small box located to the right.

You can also select the same small box to open the Compatibly Notices menu.  

If you see the “PS Plus required for online play” line, then it means that you need to subscription in order to play this specific game online. 

On the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro, you should see the following yellow-colored text on the game’s product page if it requires you to be a PS Plus member: 

“Paid PlayStation Plus subscription required for online multiplayer.” 

Even if you aren’t subscribed to any of the PlayStation Plus tiers, you can still be able to play online if someone else is willing to share their benefits with you. To see how you can share PS Plus benefits across multiple PSN accounts, you can follow the steps laid out in this step-by-step tutorial. 

When inserting a game or media disc on your PlayStation 5, the console may have a hard time reading it. Eventually, you may end up seeing the following error message appear on the home screen: 

• “Unreadable disc. Make sure it’s not damaged or dirty, and that it’s not inserted upside-down.” 

To see how you can potentially fix this problem, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech. 

Before we start, it should be noted that this error should only appear with the PlayStation 5 system that has a disc drive. The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition does not have a disc drive and, thus, isn’t capable of reading any discs.  

1. For the first step, make sure that your disc is compatible with the PS5. 

This gaming system can read PS4 and PS5 game discs. It should also be able to recognize 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs. 

To find the full list of readable disc formats for the PlayStation 5, you can take a look at this listing.  

2. If you are sure that your game or media disc is compatible with the PS5, then the next step you can try is to make sure you inserted it into the console directly.  

The top label side of the disc should be facing the middle black part (where the power button, eject button and USB ports are located) of the console. This applies to both the vertical and horizontal positions.  

You can find photos of how to properly insert a disc below: 

Vertical Position: 

Horizontal Position: 

3. We also recommend taking a look at the bottom of your disc. If you see fingerprints, smudges and/or any other type of grimes, then you can try cleaning it with a microfiber cloth.  

When wiping, Sony recommends that you start from the middle of the disc and then move towards the edge. 

4. If cleaning the disc does not make it readable, then you can try rebuilding the database of your PlayStation 5 by taking the following steps: 

• Start by turning off the console if you haven’t done so already. Make sure that it is fully powered down and just being put in Rest Mode. 
• Next, you need to press and hold the power button until you hear a second beep coming out of the console. This indicate that the PS5 is being booted up in Safe Mode. 
• Connect your controller, via USB, to the console in order to open the Safe Mode menu. 
• From there, select 5. Clear Cache and Rebuild Database > Rebuild Database. 

5. A factory reset may also help. 

In order to do so, boot up the PlayStation 5 console normally and then open its Settings menu. From there, select System > System Software > Back Up and Restore > Back Up Your PS5. This will back up your games, apps and data so that you don’t lose them during a factory reset. 

Afterwards, go to Settings > System > System Software > Reset Options > Reset Your Console. 

Once the factory reset has completed, head over to Settings > System > System Software > Back Up and Restore > Restore Your PS5 to restore your previous data. 

After all that, try to insert the disc again to see if your PS5 can read it this time. 

With the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition system, you will be able to download multiple games and expansion packs at the same time. You can check out this guide at Seeking Tech to see how you can change the download order. 

1. For the first step, you need to head over to the Control Center menu, which you can do by simply pressing the PS button. 

2. With the Control Center menu opened, move the cursor to the bottom menu and then select Downloads/Uploads. By default, this option should be in between the Voice and Sound options.  

3. In the new screen, make sure you are in the Download section. If you are in the Upload section instead, then you need to move the cursor all the way to the left and then go up to Downloads.  

4. After making sure you are in the Downloads section, we recommend that you pause all your current downloading process. The games and DLC packs that you are currently downloading should be shown at the top of the list in the Downloads/Copies section. 

In order to pause a download, you can move the cursor to the game or DLC and then press the Options button. In the small window menu, you then need to select the Pause option. 

Alternatively, you can select the game or expansion pack from the Downloads/Copies section and then select it again in the next screen to bring up a small pop-up menu. From there, you can select Pause. 

5. With all your current downloads paused, you should then be able to change the download order. 

To select the game or DLC pack that you want to download before anything else, head back to Downloads/Uploads from the Control Center menu. 

Next, you need to move the cursor over to the content that you want to download first. 

With the game or DLC selected, press the Options button and then select Resume. Alternatively, you can press the X button and then X again on the next screen to open a small window menu where you can select Resume.  

6. Once the download has been completed, you can resume the download on the second game or expansion that you want to download. 

7. If you can’t wait for the download to complete, then we recommend pausing all the downloads again. This time, you need to do the following: 

• Resume the game or DLC content that you want to be downloaded after the first download is completed. This should make it #2 on the priority list. 
• Next, you need to resume the first game or DLC pack that you want to download before anything else. By doing so, this content should now be #1 in the priority list. 
• The PS5 should start downloading the last content you resume, which should be the #1 in the priority list. 
• Once that download has completed for the #1 content from the priority list, the console should automatically start downloading the #2 content from the priority list. 

Keep in mind that you won’t be able to add a third game or DLC to the priority download list as doing so will just revert the priority to the original listing after the first download is completed.

PlayStation Plus Premium members can play select PlayStation 4 games on a different device using cloud servers. This means that they can play a game natively on a PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console and then transfer the save file over to cloud streaming version of the same game in order to continue your progress.  

You can check out this tutorial to see how you can transfer the saved data from the PS5 console to cloud streaming. 

1. Before we start, it is important to note that you can only stream games that are native to the PlayStation 4. Therefore, you need to be playing the PS4 version of a game on your PlayStation 5 console if you want to transfer saves. 

There are a few titles that support cross-progression where you can transfer the save data from the PS5 version to the PS4 version. By doing so, you should then be able to transfer the save from the PS4 version to the cloud streaming version. 

2. To begin, move the cursor over to the PlayStation 4 game on your PS5 console.  

3. With the game highlighted, press the Options button on the DualSense to bring up a pop-up window. 

4. From there, you need to select Upload/Download Saved Data.  

5. You then need to select Upload from the Upload/Download screen. 

6. Afterwards, select the “Upload All” option if you want to upload all your save files or the “Select and Upload” option and then select the saved data that you want uploaded. 

7. If you have existing data of the game already uploaded on the cloud storage, then you will be asked to overwrite the old data in order to continue.  

8. Once the save file have been uploaded from the PS5 to the cloud, you then need to start streaming the game. 

9. After the stream has been connected and booted up, press the PS button or tap the PS icon in order to being up the quick menu. 

10. From there, you first need to select the Now Streaming card. 

11. Afterwards, select Managed Saved Data. 

12. You should now be bought to the system menu of a virtual PlayStation 4. Here, you need to select OK to close the game.  

13. In the Application Saved Data Management menu, you then need to select Saved Data in Online Storage. 

14. In the Saved Data in Online Storage menu, you should then go to Copy to Game Streaming Storage. 

15. The virtual PlayStation 4 console should then load a list of the save files you have stored on the cloud server. Here, you need to select the game that contains the save file that you want to transfer over. 

16. Next, select the saved data and then the Copy option in the Copy to Game Streaming Storage menu. 

17. You may be asked to overwrite the old data from the Game Streaming Storage in order to continue. 

18. Once the transfer has been completed, press the circle button several times to exit out of the virtual PlayStation 4 menu and re-connect to the game you were previously playing via cloud streaming.  

19. You should now be able to resume your progress that you saved on the PlayStation 5.

If you have multiple PlayStation Network accounts on the same PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 console, then you are able to share some of the PlayStation Plus benefits. To find out how can use PS+ across different accounts, you can follow the steps laid out in this guide from Seeking Tech. 

What PlayStation Plus benefits can be shared on multiple accounts? 

You will be able to share the online multiplayer benefit for paid games across two or more PlayStation Network accounts. As a result, you should be able to play these titles online on an account that don’t have PlayStation Plus as long as you have another account that is subscribed to the service on the same gaming system. 

The other accounts can also be used to play games that were purchased using a PlayStation Plus discount as well as titles that were redeemed from Monthly Games Catalog, The PlayStation Plus Collection, Game Catalog and/or Classics Catalog. 

Non-Plus users can also use the Game Help feature as well. 

What PlayStation Plus benefits can’t be shared on multiple accounts? 

When it comes to PS Plus benefits that can’t be shared, you won’t be able to directly take advantage of discounts or redeem games from the service on non-Plus accounts. You also won’t be able to directly take advantage of timed game trials or PlayStation Plus discounts unless you are logged into the PSN account that is subscribed to the PlayStation Plus service.  

How to share PS Plus for two or more accounts on the same console 

In order to share PlayStation Plus benefits across multiple accounts on the same gaming system, you need to make sure that the PSN account that is subscribed to the service set the current console as the primary one. 

On the PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 5 Digital Edition console, you need to head over to the Settings menu and then select Users and Accounts > Other > Console Sharing and Offline Play. You then need to select the Enable button from the Console Sharing and Offline Play menu if the console isn’t already activated. 

On the PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro console, you need to open the Settings menu and then select Account Management > Activate as Your Primary PlayStation 4. From the Activate as Your Primary PlayStation 4 menu, you then need to select the Activate option if your console hasn’t already been activated as the Primary PS4.  

Once you are done setting your console to primary, log out of the PlayStation Network account that is currently subscribed to the PlayStation Plus. You can then log into a non-Plus account on the same console. 

If done correctly, you should now be able to use the non-Plus account to play online matches as well as games that were bought and/or redeemed from PlayStation Plus.