Following Sony’s confirmation of PlayStation 4 firmware update 2.50, Sony Computer Entertainment America Director of Product Planning and Software Innovation Scott McCarthy went on the PS Blog to talk about the upcoming firmware.
First off, McCarthy addressed the release date, saying, “We’re in BETA, you know that means getting it right, then committing to a release date. We’ll be ready to announce a date soon.”
Next up, he was asked about when the PlayStation 4 might get features like friend notifications and DLNA. According to McCarthy, Sony wants “PS4 versions of these features, not a cut/paste from last gen. Stay tuned.”
Switching to the new Trophy feature of being able to remove games from the list that are at 0%, he confirmed this is “currently” only a PS4 feature. As for why it’s only applicable to games at 0%, McCarthy replied, “0% is really the only way to maintain the sanctity of PS Trophies, which we fiercely guard. Any other number would be arbitrary.”
Meanwhile, Brad Douglas of Global Third-Party Relations at PlayStation, was asked about being able to sort Trophies in chronological order as part of the new Trophy sorting features. He said, “I think that’s coming in 2.5! If not, it’s on the list for a future update.”
There were also a variety of other topics McCarthy discussed, which you can read about below:
- When some asked about some new features they’d like to see when downloading games/content, he said, “Pause was Step 1. Moving to Step 2…”
- On image compression: “We are limited by the upload compression of the social media networks just like any other device. Throw the screen-grabs down to a thumb drive and there’s no loss. Upload those grabs and… you are at the mercy of the upload compression.”
- While it’s not the “intended purpose,” the ability to reassign DualShock 4 buttons does mean you can force custom controls into any game.
- Expanding on the topic of button reassignment, he said, “Currently Button Customization will be assigned to an account, not an individual game. Keep in mind the primary intent of this feature is to assist gamers with limited dexterity, reach or strength. That said, if a lot of you guys are using the feature we can look into extending system wide.”
- A user named YouraFatty mentioned the lack of PSN name change. McCarthy replied, “I can see why this would be important to you.”
- When someone mentioned they enjoy the Xbox One’s features more, McCarthy said, “Do a side by side of features that you really use and tell me what we are missing. I want to know. We look at this all day.”
- On the subject of possibly adding custom controls to Remote Play: “I will say that, without going into development speak, Remote Play does rest in the hands of devs to give them the freedom they need to give you the games you want. That said, got it.”
- There’s no official word on more avatars coming to PS4, but McCarthy wants to hear any suggestions you might have.
- If you’re worried about Rest Mode hurting your console, he said, “Rest mode will not shorten your console’s lifecycle. In fact if the fan is on it’s because it’s adding life to your console. Rest Mode uses VERY LITTLE power but auto-updates patches and system software updates. You do not have to be at ‘full power’ when downloading a file.”
- The Suspend condition won’t save if your PS4 is disconnected from the AC power.
- On “nearly” all PS4 titles supporting Suspend/Resume: “There’s some basic functionality that requires developer support and, there are cases where general game architecture prevents jumping back to exactly where you left off. Currently support is widespread. General architecture issues are very rare.”
- “Data backup cannot be confirmed at this time. Don’t believe everything you read on the interwebs…”
Do you plan on using Suspend/Resume quite a bit?
[Source: PS Blog]
