PS4 Promised Features - Has Sony Delivered?

On Feb. 20, 2013, Sony made an announcement that would forever change the gaming landscape. They announced the successor to the PlayStation 3 — appropriately dubbed the PlayStation 4 — and announced their lofty goals for the platform to the world via a press conference in New York City. These PS4 promised features included stuff that PlayStation owners now know and love such as Share Play and PlayStation Now, but also included some features that have still not been implemented into the system.

So to make sense of what Sony has and hasn’t achieved yet, we took a look back at the initial PlayStation 4 reveal. Check out the slideshow below to see what Sony has delivered on and what PS4 goals they haven’t come close to reaching yet.

So now that you’ve read what Sony initially promised, did Sony deliver on most of it? What’s the most important one haven’t they delivered on it so far? Let us know in the comments.

Essential Reading:

2 Years Later: PS4 Goals

PS4 Promised Features - Has Sony Delivered?
PlayStation Mobile

"We're also focused on expanding the world of PlayStation content to smartphones and tablets via PlayStation Mobile" - Andrew House
Oh, Andrew. You guys really did try with PlayStation Mobile, but with the recent announcement of PSM ending it is hard to take this quote too seriously. While Sony did try with PSM, it quickly took a backseat to their efforts in promoting the PS4. Sony obviously made the right choice in focusing on the console instead, but it doesn't make PlayStation Mobile's impending death less sad.
PS4 Will Predict What You Want to Buy

“Our long-term vision is to reduce download times of digital titles to zero. If we know enough about you to predict the next game you'll purchase then that game will be loaded and ready to go before you even click the buy button.” - Mark Cerny
Whoa there, Big Brother. This is one goal of the PS4 that I'm glad didn't happen. With hard-drive space already at a premium, I'm glad I haven't woken up to any random games downloaded onto my system!
Resume Play

"The hardware supports suspending and resuming of play sessions. Just hit the power button and the system enters a low power state with the play session preserved in RAM. You'll just hit the power button again and promptly be back playing the game at the exact spot you left off." - Mark Cerny
Resume Play finally got added in version 2.50 of the PS4 firmware. Which is available to download now.
Video Killed the Picture

"Our goal is to make the sharing of video as popular in the PlayStation 4 generation as the sharing of screenshots is today." - Mark Cerny
The share button has made it extremely easy to capture and share video off the PlayStaiton 4. This is one goal that Sony has definitely accomplished as my Twitter feed is always full of PS4 videos. Although, it might not work for everyone.
More Pownce than Facebook

"The PlayStation Network will get to know you by understanding your personal preferences and the preferences of your community, and turns this knowledge into useful information that will help to enhance future gameplay. So like when your friends purchase a new game you'll know immediately, so you can join into the action." - David Perry
The 'What's New' section of the PlayStation 4 does show what friends are buying, but it is hardly enhancing gameplay. Sony's social network for gamers has hardly been as all-encompassing as initially planned.
Instant? Not Really

"Imagine you're in the store, checking out the latest titles and you see something that catches your eye. No problem! You can simply press the X button to hop in and start playing the game. With Gaikai in the PlayStation Store, you'll be able to instantly experience anything you want." - David Perry
While the ability to start games before they are fully downloaded has definitely been implemented, it is far from an instant process. One area where this is the case is the PS Now's storefront where it only takes a few seconds to load into a PS3 title.
Try Before You Buy

"I've always liked the concept of 'try it for free, share it if you like it and pay only for the games that you fall in love with'." - David Perry
That is great that you like that, David, but there isn't currently a way to try every game for free. Share Play has helped in showing off games to friends, but even that still requires somebody to buy it beforehand and that it isn't blocked.
Stream to the World!

"We're making it so that your friends can actually look over your shoulder virtually and interact with you while you're playing; and if you allow them, your friends can also post comments to your screen. You can solicit support from them, or you can just trash talk with them." - David Perry
The PlayStation 4's streaming capabilities have definitely made it easy to let your friends (and the rest of the internet) watch and interact with you while playing a game. This is one goal they have nailed.
Sharing is Caring

"You can ask your friend on the internet who's finished the game, to take over your controller and assist. We're building this capability into the PS4 and the PlayStation Network." - David Perry
Despite it taking quite a bit for this feature to come to fruition, Share Play is currently in full effect. Better late than never!
Untapped Potential

"We're helping fuel the imagination of our developers by giving them new spectating tools. Now, imagine a developer using these tools: if they identify a gaming expert, they can give them director-level status, so they can manipulate levels to assist you during your gameplay. Developers can insert command buttons for certain levels, where friends can drop in special items for you, such as giving you a health potion when you're in critical condition." - David Perry
The potential is there to make spectating a more important experience than it already is, but no developer is really taking advantage of it so far. It is a big risk to take on a feature that not everyone uses, but it could be revolutionary if used correctly. Hopefully, we'll see this in the future, but right now it just isn't happening.
Remote Play Everything

"Our long-term goal is to make every PlayStation 4 title playable on the PS Vita." - David Perry
Before the PlayStation 4 released, Sony decided to make Remote Play a requirement for all games released on the system. This is one goal that they have absolutely achieved with it even allowing players to play Bloodborne on their Vita.
PlayStation Now But Not Right Now

"Although PS3 titles aren't natively supported on the PS4, we're exploring some very unique opportunities enabled by cloud technology, with the long-term vision of making PS3 games ubiquitous on any device. The technology is so advanced that someday we could easily put PS1/PS2/PS3 and the PS Mobile games on any device, including the PS4." - David Perry
PlayStation Now currently allows PS4 owners to stream PS3 titles, but that is it. No retro titles are currently on the system and support for other devices are coming at a later time. This is a good first step, but the service isn't where they want it to be.