Sony announced more details for their upcoming PS4 firmware update 2.0 today, and most of them focus around making PS4 a more rounded Entertainment System. Sony had earlier announced that the PS4 2.0 update wil add features such as Share-Play (which will allow players to share their game with their friends even when they don’t own that game). Their most recent release add the ability to change your wallpaper. FINALLY!!!
The latest update will also allow players to play music direct from a USB stick; and stream music while you play the game. The update will also add native YouTube support, a Players You May Know feature, and easier ways to sort and filter your content library.
Below is a detailed list of all the features you can expect in the PS 4 update:
- USB Music Player: PS4 owners can play their own music in the background while playing a game using USB Music Player*. After inserting a USB stick loaded with music into the PS4, a new option for USB Music Player will appear. Supported filename extensions include MP3, MP4, M4A, and 3GP.
- Change colors: In addition to the ability to add a theme, PS4 owners can also change the background of the home screen from light blue to one of seven new colors: gold, blue, red, green, purple, pink, and gray.
- Players You May Know: PS4 will now suggest players you may know in the ‘What’s New’ section, recommending gamers your friends frequently play with.
- Enhancements to Live Broadcasting: Masamune brings a variety of improvements to live broadcasting on PS4. In the Live From PlayStation app, PS4 owners can now select a Featured channel, which includes official broadcasts from PlayStation, broadcasts from people on a players friend list, and any game channel that the player has followed. Additionally, Live From PlayStation now has filters for searching broadcasts on a specific game, as well as support for archived broadcasts.
- Content Area and Library: PS4’s Content Area, which shows the latest games and apps a PS4 owner has used, has been redesigned to help make it easier to quickly find and access content. It now shows 15 of a player’s most used apps or games, and additional items will be added to a player’s Library. The Library on PS4 has improved filter and sort functions to help organize contented by type (game / app / TV & video), name (a – z or z – a), recently used, or install date.
- Enhanced Voice Commands: The ability to control PS4 using voice has been improved. Players can now say ‘PlayStation’ to begin commands, and ‘All Commands,’ to see a list of all voice command options available. New voice commands were added for live broadcasting, including “Start broadcast,” “End broadcast,” and “Find face.”
- Add To Library: The monthly free PlayStation Plus games will have an ‘Add to Library’ button in the PlayStation Store. This button will add a game to a PS4 owner’s library without downloading it – saving space on their hard drive.
- Back Up Data: Data on PS4 can be backed up and resorted using USB storage. This will back up all data for the console, including settings, save data, screenshots, video clips, download data, and more.
The 2.0 firmware update is more in the direction of creating a more Multimedia centric center out of the Playstation 4. The latest X-Box October update aims to do the same, with adding DLNA abilities to the Xbox One. Personally Sony has always been behind Microsoft in the software department, but I also think this is a step in the right direction.
With Far Cry 4 releasing soon, the game which would headline the Share-Play feature, it was expected that the Sony update will be arriving soon. The update will also bring a sembalance of organization to gamers who have a huge gaming library, and also to players who like to stream their content directly onto Youtube.
Does this update make you happy. What more features would you like from future updates?