Can you download PS4 game updates to USB storage so you can SneakerNet them?

[CerealExperimentsLain]

I feel like the answer is 'LOL, you think Sony cares if you don't have always on internet in 2021???' but it's worth a shot, I'm looking for a method to download and store PS4 game updates to external storage so it can be mailed/SneakerNetted to a remote location, specifically for NHL'21.  Before anyone says 'Just tell them to get better internet', the destination is a PS4 located on a warship in the ocean, so 'Better Internet' isn't happening.

[leclod]

I'd try to ask Sony, your question is fancy.

[AMD A10-9600P]

I'm afraid that doesn't sound very possible, I doubt Sony would let you or provide any sort of mechanism for you to be able to do that. Even then, EA love their always online stuff, so if the internet on the ship isn't enough to download the updates, the game probably wouldn't be much fun to play on that internet either. To be honest as well, by the time you got the update to the ship, it's likely that they'd need the next one in order to be able to play anyway.

[CerealExperimentsLain]

1 minute ago, AMD A10-9600P said:

so if the internet on the ship isn't enough to download the updates

Yeah, she let it run all day to update the roster and it didn't finish.  Safelight internet was just not up to the task.  Also not sure how well such downloads work in chopping internet where ping is sometimes measured in whole seconds.

 

1 minute ago, AMD A10-9600P said:

the game probably wouldn't be much fun to play on that internet either

 

...You know that single player and local multiplayer are a thing, right?

[AMD A10-9600P]

1 minute ago, CerealExperimentsLain said:

Yeah, she let it run all day to update the roster and it didn't finish.  Safelight internet was just not up to the task.  Also not sure how well such downloads work in chopping internet where ping is sometimes measured in whole seconds.

 

 

...You know that single player and local multiplayer are a thing, right?

That internet must be super fun to use then...

 

Yep I do, but sometimes EA can be scummy and block the entire game if you don't have internet, I've never played NHL so I wasn't aware you could do singleplayer offline. In that case, if they could somehow get the PS4 to somewhere with decent internet, then update, and then take it back to the ship and use it completely offline, then they could probably get an update and be able to play.

[CerealExperimentsLain]

6 minutes ago, AMD A10-9600P said:

 if they could somehow get the PS4 to somewhere with decent internet, then update, and then take it back to the ship and use it completely offline, then they could probably get an update and be able to play.

This might have worked any other time of recent history but not in 2020 and 2021.  This is a COVID deployment, if anyone steps off that ship they are not allowed back onto the ship.  No leave, no visiting port cities... Just 6 months in a floating steel coffin, occasionally docking and never seeing those cities any closer. =X

 

I am able to send files, I aggressively shrink down/transcode media for her to download, but we have to use Resilio Sync to do it.  The internet was too spotty to even do Google Drive, downloads would keep resetting.  Sync is like if BitTorrent and Gdrive had a baby so it resumes and gets random chunks very easily.

[dilpickle]

https://www.gamesradar.com/ps4-external-hard-drive-transfer-games/

 

I assume your friend has the disc version? I'm not sure if this transfer feature would work for that.

 

But it should work for the digital version. The only catch is you have to use the same PSN account. So you should download the game and updates while you are logged in with your friends account on your PS4. (Or download with your own account and give friend access to it. Or create a new account you can both share.)

 

It will require online authentication but it sounds like your friend has good enough internet for that at least.

[CerealExperimentsLain]

4 minutes ago, dilpickle said:

https://www.gamesradar.com/ps4-external-hard-drive-transfer-games/

 

I assume your friend has the disc version? I'm not sure if this transfer feature would work for that.

 

But it should work for the digital version. The only catch is you have to use the same PSN account. So you should download the game and updates while you are logged in with your friends account on your PS4. (Or download with your own account and give friend access to it. Or create a new account you can both share.)

 

I'm sure it will require online authentication but it sounds like your friend has good enough internet for that at least.

Uhh, this might work...  See, the ship has the disc version on it's PS4, however she also has it purchased digitally on my PS4 Pro sitting just 8 feet away from me...

 

I'm not sure if she uses her actual PSN account on the ship or just a generic local log in, but if so... This should work, she'd just have to login briefly on PSN on the ship to authenticate the goods.

 

Let's go look into that.

 

Copy it to a cheap SSD in an enclosure, I have a 128GB right here even, mail it, it arrives like 3 weeks later (I hope... Again, COVID...) She plugs it in, logs into PSN, copies the install to the PS4's local storage and boom?

[dilpickle]

6 minutes ago, CerealExperimentsLain said:

Uhh, this might work...  See, the ship has the disc version on it's PS4, however she also has it purchased digitally on my PS4 Pro sitting just 8 feet away from me...

 

I'm not sure if she uses her actual PSN account on the ship or just a generic local log in, but if so... This should work, she'd just have to login briefly on PSN on the ship to authenticate the goods.

 

Let's go look into that.

 

Copy it to a cheap SSD in an enclosure, I have a 128GB right here even, mail it, it arrives like 3 weeks later (I hope... Again, COVID...) She plugs it in, logs into PSN, copies the install to the PS4's local storage and boom?

Sounds about right. Just make sure that the copy on your PS4 is under her account and not yours.

[CerealExperimentsLain]

2 minutes ago, dilpickle said:

Sounds about right. Just make sure that the copy on your PS4 is under her account and not yours.

That's no problem, I'm sure it was purchased under her PSN account while my unit was the purchasing unit.  I'd need her login credentials though, but first checking if she even uses PSN on the ship's PS4.

Funny till now I was joking to myself 'I mean, I guess I could mail her my PS4'

[CerealExperimentsLain]

"If you can access your PSN account on the ship, I can mail you the game on an HDD with all the patches installed."
"I have no idea what my PSN login info is."
"...Then how did you buy the game on my PS4???"
"I used whatever account it logged into."
"MY PSN ACCOUNT IS BILLING YOUR CREDIT CARD???"

 

Welp, there goes that idea.  Guess who's just gonna mail off some games for her Switch instead.