With the PS4 and Xbox One including massive hard drives, more and more games will be distributed digitally in the next generation. Paying for those games will obviously be done digitally as well, but it won’t just be relegated to the next-gen consoles. Sony today announced that digital purchases on the PlayStation Store can be paid for by using PayPal on PS3, an all-new tool that’s launched today.
Paying for games via PayPal on PS3 isn’t just a matter of logging into PayPal every time. Instead, PS3 owners can add funds to their Sony Entertainment Network wallet via PayPal directly through the PlayStation Store on PS3. Similar functionality was made available last January, when Sony enabled PS3 owners to add funds to their wallet from PayPal via the web.
More recently, that PayPal on PS3 wallet-building was made possible via mobile devices using the new Mobile Billing option. However this is the first time gamers have been able to add funds to PayPal on PS3 directly, without the use of an outside tool or website.
Adding PayPal funds to a Sony Entertainment Network wallet is pretty straightforward. When checking out from the PS Store cart, click “Add Funds,” then “PayPal,” and transfer any amount from $5 to $150. Face it: that maximum amount is going to save you from yourself.
The Sony Entertainment Network wallet can be used to purchase full games, DLC content, movies, TV episodes and basically anything you may see on the PlayStation Store. Having PayPal on PS3 will likely be a bigger draw among younger gamers who don’t have a credit or debit card, but adults who’d prefer to not give Sony their personal credit card info — remember that PSN hack? — will likely appreciate it as well.