Sony appears to have taken your complaints about firmware updates from the previous generation a little too literally, as it is looking a little tardy with the PlayStation 4 right now. The next-gen console’s last major software overhaul deployed several weeks ago, and we haven’t heard a peep from the platform holder in the time since. That's because its operating system team’s been busy beavering away behind closed doors, Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida assures.
“Our team has been working on it,” the affable executive told Kotaku when asked about the ‘friend-takes-over-your-game’ feature that was revealed at last year’s PlayStation Meeting press conference. “There are some things that we announced in February of last year that were not planned for the launch timeframe.” Sadly, the system’s suspend feature falls into the exact same category. “It’s not ready yet,” he reiterated.
So, when will it be ready? “I am asking the same question to my tech team every other week,” the likeable suit laughed. “Every day I get reminded by lots of people: 'Where is this? Where is that?' It's a great reminder for me.” The lesson here, then, is that if you’re waiting for a feature, it might be worth pestering one of the platform holder’s upper-ranking executives on Twitter. Just please remember to be polite with your messages.
[source kotaku.co.uk]
Comments 38
I'm glad to find out I'm not the only one wondering about where are those features
Mp3. Give it to me now.
This seems to be Mass incompetence of the worst kind. I find it a bit odd that the Playstation's Studios and hardware division are in the west yet, their OS team is still in japan.I mean Microsoft has been doing monthly OS updates and yet somehow Nintendo has been doing major updates in a timely manner.
I wonder what's the exact reason its taking them so long cause the updates and aspects of the OS really need to be addressed. However it could be that were going to see these once the Youtube app comes.
Off the top of my head I can think
MP3 support
DLNA Support
An Actual Library system
A good web browser
Suspend/Pause
fixing the share button.
I really want some organization options along with all these features that have already been mentioned
It does seem like Sony know they are doing quite well at the moment so they are just taking their time with firmware updates which of course by the time they actually add basic media playback and organisation options we will all be lapping them up and praising the new firmware
I want the suspend feature! i want to be able to bounce between apps with out having to close down one.
The suspend feature is already on the PS4. I can bounce between a game and netflix without closing out either one.
It would be great if the interface looked nicer to the eyes and if you could organize it. They really need to do something there.
Ok I'd like the Bluetooth feature that ps3 had so I can use my px5 totally wireless please
Still we wait.... When can we rec party chat and our own voice same time... Would be nice play my ps3 games I payed for from ps3 store i thought we could cross over digital games to ps4..... Next gen will not be fully next gen till next year we are testing it out that's all ppl
@Demi_God
By suspend they mean it suspends when you go into power save mode. Like say your playing a game and you go somewhere. When you get back and turn the system on the game would be right where you left it.
this next gen sucks ,,, i wish i never bothered waste of money and time
SONY are just to slooooooooooooooooow This is my only negative thing about the PS4 i have. Games i know take time to make but these basic updates for basic things seem to take ages :-/ Can't SONY just employ more people to work on the updates(for now) until they have given us the basic things we want like MP3/DLNA/Folders/Suspend&Resume etc etc???
Apart from that moan the PS4 is still excellent
I only want one feature and that is the ability to pause downloads. My internet speed is atrocious, hovering somewhere around 1.5mb/s, so when 3 patches pop up at once, as they did yesterday, a 40mb update becomes an hour long download.
Don't forget that Sony rushed out the PS4 because Microsoft announced the Xbone! I'm pretty sure they were serious about the PS3 being a 10 year console but had the PS4 in development just incase. The suspend feature is the only thing I want them to hurry up with as I've left the room for longer than planned and when I've come back it's gone into sleep mode and I've lost everything I've just done! MP3 and all that I don't need on a console I've got phones, iPod, stereo, laptop, CDJ's and a smart TV!
Id rather they take all the time needed than update with a bunch of glitches like last time. Also the update I would like is just give all memory and resource possible to the game, not bothered about the rest ;P
@shingi_70 the problem is, I don't want most of the things you listed and think its a waste of their time that would be better spent elsewhere. Different people want different things so what do they prioritize? I would tell them to prioritize advertised features, then fixing actual issues with their OS and enhancing what they already have, and then if they have time after all that, additional bonus features like MP3 and DLNA, etc...but only after everything else is complete.
*Not saying your opinion is any less valid than mine, but that everyone has their own list of what is important to them. Its not a universally agreed upon list.
I'm pretty happy with everything the way it is. Take your time Playstation.
I have plenty of other ways to do all the features everyone complains about not having. Organising the games would be the thing I would most like, but it's not essential.
@thedevilsjester
Main Problem is most of those features were on the PS3 or stuff like Suspend/Resume were big parts of last year's PlayStation meeting keynote. I understand these things take time but Microsoft and Nintendo gave us a vauge timeline on when to expect updates, and in the case of Microsoft being a software company aside they've had major OS updates every month since may. The xbox didn't launch with video recording but when it did it brought along a full twitch app and upload to youtube.
I sort of just expect much more out of sony I guess.
It's not like they forgot about themes or something. It's the dumb 1st attempt at an OS. Just be patient and let them do it. Or should I make a twitter and ask for them to shorten the time it takes to turn off the ds4 by holding the PS button and to remove the screensaver dimmer that happens after 20 min of video playback
As much as I'm interested in the features, one thing interests me more: Being able to alter, change, or otherwise customize that God-awful interface! I love my PS4, but that interface is complete ****.
@IronManDS it's still better than the xbones though
on topic am I the only one who doesn't want the "friend takes over your game" feature because knowing my friends they will just keep trying to mess up my game (all in good fun of course)
@shingi_70 Things like MP3 and DLNA are not "missing features" from a gaming console. If it was a PC, or if Sony had tried to market it as an all-in-one media center, then absolutely. Its not, and has never been, marketed as anything other than a gaming machine. These features will likely be added in a year or two, but they are not more crucial to its core functionality than watching Netflix on my watch is to its functionality. The fact that its predecessor, a completely different machine, with a completely different OS, marketed as something completely different, in a very different era, had these features (and many of them years after launch, btw), does not even enter in to it. Its not like they can just "copy and paste" from the PS3.
As for Microsoft, they likely had these features (the ones like recording to twitch) almost complete but missed the launch window. They are not working faster, or doing any better, they just happened to have some things (some that Sony did at launch!) near completion so it appears like they are "updating more".
I do think that features Sony advertised should be priority, but you have a lot of very vocal people that wanted more streaming functionality, more video editing functionality, etc..., so Sony listened to them. Sony cant work on everyones wishlist at the same time.
@Midzark what Bluetooth functionality is missing? Every BlueTooth device I have used on the PS4, from controllers (obviously) to mice and keyboards, work great. Is there something missing from the PS4 Bluetooth profile?
@shingi_70 God how much can one person rant really? Seriously MS and Nintendo did so many updates because they were needed, their OS was in a MUCH worse shape than Sony's. Ask any of the early adopters. Sony's OS might be missing features for leisure, luxury and to widen the experience but it's stable and fully functional. The updates will come, why not just play games meanwhile?
Gotten my frustration out of the way the only thing's I'm really waiting for are:
That's it for me.
@thedevilsjester Unfortunately yes, all BOSE devices don't work via bluetooth. I would have loved to use my Bose Around Ear BT with the System, as it would be the perfect gaming headset for me (works with VITA and PC so far). So the bluetooth support needs to be widened, other than that, see my above post, I'm pretty much satisfied with what's on offer!
@Scollurio @thedevilsjester
And now Sony's OS is missing features that should have been there by now. A year or two is a terrible time table when most modern day operating systems are changing at a pace of every six months for Major overhauls. Plus I'd expect that the successor to the PS3 would have shipped with all the features the PS3 already had right?
I would consider MP3 and DLNA support missing features from a company who's freaking parent company has this supported in nearly all the rest of their products.
Oh and I would say Microsoft is doing much better than Sony in this regard. Them missing the launch windows for the Twitch streaming is terrible as well but since than they've had monthly updates adding new features. Now I will agree its sort unfair to compare them when you see how Mircosoft and SOny manage their OS teams, but I just wish shu/Sony was less BSy about certain things.
@shingi_70 I fail to see how them not constantly updating their system is "mass incompetence of the worst kind." And Microsoft has a much bigger software development team than Sony, not to mention that their updates don't add much of anything.
@Sneaky Except for the fact that Sony announced their system exactly 4 months before Microsoft and Microsoft had to cut the number of countries they would launch in due to manufacturing issues.
@Scollurio At least someone gets it. Sony doesn't have much of a need to constantly update the PS4, instead they send out a fairly large update and then start working on the next. Microsoft tricks people by breaking up their updates to make it seem like they're putting in more work, when in reality, 2-3 of their updates is practically one of Sony's.
@BornOfEvil
Mass Impotence may be a little harsh, but sony had these problems last generation due to their OS team being so Japanese focused. You'd think with everything else about the system being western focused, the OS/UI would be as well.
I agree with the software development teams being bigger at Microsoft with the windows/windows phone/xbox OS all being one team since last year.
Also I'd disagree with the one big update thing, that a terrible route to go when Android/Ios have gotten users used to more frequent updates through the decoupling of items from the OS itself. (but that's certainly a topic for another time at the very least).
The major stuff that Sony has to address is
A major overhaul of the UI, the gamelist just doesn't work once you have a ton of games.
Getting PSN updates at a timely matter.
Fixing the share button.
@shingi_70 I wish Sony would just not focus on things like MP3 and DLNA and actually focus on gaming machine features. This is the problem, too many people pulling them in different directions. Remember also that Sony is doing a lot more in their PlayStation division that Microsoft is in their Xbox division. They have the Vita and Morpheus as well as the move/camera where all Microsoft has is the Kinect so they can devote more time to the non essential features like TV.
Customizable interface
The two that matter to me most:
-MP3
-Ability to use External Hard Drives (Don't want to change my hard drive in the system)
To be honest, I think Sony should just take their time and release the updates when they are ready and not rush them out due to people moaning, as for the features, if you want to play mp3's on your console then use your ps3/iPod/phone/PC/other device, the ps4 was released as a games console and not a media centre, I would like to be able to arrange the games and apps how I want but I'm not in any rush, I just want Sony to fulfil their promises they gave at the reveal last year
@Kie1976 I think they should release an update at least once a month. But currently my ps4 is not any better than my ps3 except for the share button and higher resolution in games.
@Mattym92 I'm with you on that! For those of us with slower connections the ability to pause downloads is a must!
What I wanna see in the future:
-Some way to organize the home screen
-psone/ps2 classics
-ability to pause downloads
That is all for now
honestly, I don't see why so many features that were on the ps3 are not on the ps4 at launch.. this is just a handful of those features:
webcam chat
UI theme, font, colour, other features
folders (not sure if it was for games, but I know you could organise photos)
these are just a few.. but honestly, the most surprising one that I found was that you could not customize the UI at all. there is so much that they could add such as:
features from ps3
bring back dynamic backgrounds
style your own backgrounds
glowing icons
custom icons
photo slideshow backgrounds
what I'm basically trying to say is that rather than wishing for all of these things that are the same for everyone such as mp3 support,, surely we should want something that make our ps4's feel like they belong with us and they are unique. I just really hope Sony starts coming out with more updates.
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