We wanted to shed some light on system software update version 1.50 for PS4, which will launch simultaneously with the system’s official North American launch on November 15th, 2013. By updating to system software version 1.50, you’ll be able to experience a variety of new features in addition to the basic functions of PS4.
The system software update 1.50 is approximately 300 MB, and will include the following features:
- Remote Play
Users will be able to access PS4 titles displayed on their living room TVs and play them on a PS Vita system over Wi-Fi networks by using PS4 Link (Depending on network environment or titles, remote play performance may vary outside of the home). We anticipate that most PS4 titles will be playable on the PS Vita system through Remote Play. The latest PS Vita system software version, to be released soon, will be required to use PS4 Link.
- Second Screen
Users can use the PS4 Link application for the PS Vita system, and PlayStation App for iPhone, iPad, and Android-based smartphones and tablets, to use these devices as second screens in supported titles. PlayStation App has the ability to enable users to interact with games with their mobiles devices. For example on The Playroom, a title pre-installed in all PS4 systems that requires PlayStation Camera, users can draw pictures on their mobile device screens and flick them towards the TV. The images then appear as a 3D object within the game.
- Record, take screenshots, and upload gameplay effortlessly
The PS4 system provides dedicated, “always on” video encoding systems that enables seamless uploading of gameplay. Users can share their epic triumphs by simply hitting the Share button on DualShock 4, take screenshots or scan through the last 15 minutes of gameplay, tag it and return to the game—the video uploads as the user plays. At the PS4 system’s launch in North America, users will be able to share their images and videos with friends on Facebook and screenshots with followers on Twitter, though users will need to sign up for individual accounts to use Facebook and Twitter.
- Broadcast and spectate gameplay
The PS4 system also enhances social spectating by enabling users to broadcast their gameplay in real-time to game fans around the globe, using Ustream and Twitch live internet streaming services (users will need to sign up for individual accounts to use Ustream and Twitch). There are two ways for users to view live broadcasts. First, the Live from PlayStation application on PS4 aggregates streams from all PlayStation users. Second, users can spectate friends’ PS4 gameplay from PCs, and applications such as Ustream, Twitch, and browsers, which are installed on their mobile devices. These applications can be easily started up via PlayStation App, and users can also use these applications to post comments to gameplay broadcasts. Furthermore, users with PlayStation Camera can stream camera images and microphone sounds along with their live gameplay broadcast.
- Play as you download
This feature enables users to play supported digital titles as they are being downloaded. The time it takes to begin playing will vary depending on game data size and network environments, and not all titles will support this feature When a game is purchased, users can start playing after PS4 downloads a portion of the data, while the rest of the game is downloaded in the background during actual gameplay. Games may be downloaded in stand-by mode.
- Multi log-in
A maximum of four users can log-in to a single PS4 system simultaneously. These players can use their own save data to play games, and also earn trophies on their own Sony Entertainment Network accounts even when playing a multiplayer game together on a single PS4 system.
- Party (Voice chat)
By using the Mono Headset bundled with the PS4 system, users will be able to chat with up to eight friends enjoying different applications or games. Furthermore, users can use Party to chat between PS4 and PS Vita systems.
- Face recognition and voice commands
Users with PlayStation Camera will be able to register their facial image onto their PS4 system, and login to their system using facial recognition instead of DualShock 4. Furthermore, users can use either the microphone of the Mono Head set connected to DualShock 4, or PlayStation Camera to navigate through the PS4 home screen (PlayStation Dynamic Menu) with voice commands to start up games and shutdown the system, among other features; please refer to PS4’s online manual for recognizable voice commands.
- Background music player
Users can enjoy gameplay while listening to music in the background with Music Unlimited, a cloud-based digital music service. Users can also voice chat with friends while listening to music. Learn more about Music Unlimited here.
- Online Multiplayer
PlayStation Plus members will be able to play PS4 titles online with other players via the network. PS Plus makes it easy for members to join available online multiplayer matches in a variety of ways, including the ability to easily join a game from a live stream broadcast or Party voice chats.
- Blu-ray Disc and DVD player
Users can enjoy not only gaming on their PS4 system, but also Blu-ray and DVD video contents. When using for the first time, users must connect to the internet to activate this feature.
Some features will not be available at launch, such as “suspend/resume mode” which is a feature that keeps the PS4 system in a low power state and promptly takes users back to their game. We will provide additional information about system software update version 1.50 and features available at the PS4 system’s North America launch, and features that will be available after launch, in the near future.
This must be how Sony is going to make up any losses on used games. Selling us $100 Music Unlimited accounts.
The Xbox One will play music in the background no matter what you have playing, games, videos, etc.. (Verified).
I really hope this isn’t the case with the PS4, but as Sony isn’t replying to the tons of questions about this it seems their silence is speaking volumes.
@173
Most of those features are online features.
Since that is the case, you need to connect it to the internet to make it work.
You can still play games with it.
This patch is just because of all the demos that were around, they disabled those feature because the real launch of it hasn’t even started.
I cancelled my PS4 preorder from Amazon due to the realization that it has absolutely no games that I am genuinely interested in. After getting the 3DS, Vita (the Japanese one mind you which came out 2 months before the US), and the Wii U at launch I vow to NEVER, EVER buy a new console at launch and let you guys be the Guinea pigs of jumping head first to an unproven hardware? I’ve been with the PS3 since 2007 and I think it will be still viable for the foreseeable future as we head to this transitional phase of going from one generation to another. Besides, the only game left for me 2013 on the PS3 is GT6 and I hope that game will be an improvement over 5. Enjoy the PS4 and don’t get too mad if the thing has glitches and bugs, you’re the one who jumped in to new hardware.
I’m not worried about the Ps4 issues all of you are talking about but yeah if you compare with what the Ps3 currently has you can easily notice the difference of both consoles. Regarless though Ps4 will be awesome just look at the positive for now. Bet you’ll be dancing once actually buy it :P Besides GREATNESS AWAITS!
will the feature where you can charge you controller while the systems off available at launch?
Not even 3 weeks left. Aww yeahhhh~
that’s awsome
It’s getting closer and closer…….
@ SpooNManX
I can’t believe you implied that Sony intends to make up for losses on used game sales with forced Music Unlimited subscriptions. Dude, are you serious? I didn’t realize you were one of those conspiracy nuts. Sony isn’t forcing you to buy anything. Just trying to stir up trouble with comments like that…
You don’t like Music Unlimited anyway, right? If you’re not going to be spending any more money on it, why does it bother you?
@ Everyone else
You know, back in the day, us veteran gamers had a nifty trick we used to use when we wanted to play music while we were playing a game, which was rare anyway, because we usually liked hearing the accompanying soundtrack to whatever game we played. But anyway, this awesome trick was called, “playing the music on the stereo.” I know, crazy, right? And I don’t see anyone keeping you from doing that. It’ll probably help the console run more smoothly too, not having so much crap running at once. This way, you won’t let those unscrupulous conspirators milk your wallet dry, while still enjoying both your music and your game! Problem solved! Yay!
But you don’t like logical solutions, do you… I know, I know, you wouldn’t get to complain if you always took the independent approach and searched for a smart solution. It’s so much easier to feign victimization, point the finger, and claim it’s the greed of the unseen tyrants at the head of the soulless corporations holding you down! And it totally fools everyone too! ;)
October 2013….. The longest month in history
You guys are literally not going to answer any of these questions?
OMFG an update already and before launch?…ha I see where this is going….hahaha LMAO this is just more proof…this sure is a PS3.5….you should rename it Sony.Let the PS4 name for a true next-gen and necessary machine.
@36 and @213,
If you can’t come on this website and do anything other than ask stupid questions you can find the answers to on your own, or complain about the next trivial thing on your seemingly never-ending list of gripes, why don’t you just kindly pack up your things and head on over to the Xbox and stay there.
We certainly don’t need you here, and you would fit in far better with the mindless dopes that inhabit every corner of Xbox Live.
300 MB is nothing in the grand scheme of things.
I’m glad that these features have been worked on until the last possible moment, hopefully this means that the launch will go smoothly for all. :)
I hope PS1 Emulator can be use on PS4 as well and PS2 Emulator now then having to rebuild the whole game just to get it to work on console. PS3 Emulator would be cool but its impossible unless their someone who can code them perfectly and find way around the PS3 Cell and RSX processioning just to get the codes working.
Three days and no answers.
+ PrimeroIncognito:
You missed my point.
Sony is sounding like they will only support the listening of background music when using their Music Unlimited service (currently $100+ /year).
The PlayStation 3 lets users insert a CD and transfer the music to the PlayStation 3 hdd.
Now, I’ve known the PS4 will NOT support the playback or transferring of music to the PS4 hdd, but to not let us copy MP3’s from a USB stick or USB hdd is downright wrong. The ONLY reason behind this is because they want us to buy MU subscriptions.
If you can think of another reason they are restricting this I’ve love to know.
**No conspiracy theories here. Only facts from one of Sony’s biggest fans since 1995. I still have my PSX, PS2, PS3 connected to my display and I planned on adding my PS4 to that, but I don’t like this sort of thing. Taking advantage of it’s fanbase like this.
when you talk to the camera, does it respond like siri on the Iphone??
or like jarvis on iron man :D
@ 214 JROD0823 – I do agree with you and all that you said about xbox but other than that all that you said was nonsense….what stupid questions did I asked?….I just feel sorry for you if you cant admit that PS4 (read PS3.5) is unnecessary and a pure greedy move by Sony.Ignorance is not your best friend.
welmosca your statement is so igonrant . its not greed and if you want to see greed look at microsoft with poor customer service and hardware copied to match competitors and software as old as i am with cheaper parts in mind dont believe me look it up ill be happy to help you and as far as the ps4 goes e3 game informer and over 3 million ex-xbox fan boys now realize that sony listens they may not always answer right away but as the past has shown they do listen 97 % of the time and sony know the customer comes first .
sorry correction hardware that almost matches its competion
A update on ps4 live streaming capability would be nice , i know we can stream to twitch and others from the ps4 but how about 3rd party capture devices i dont see that in day 1 patch so i assume thats a NOT DAY 1 USE.????
@203
The PS4 at launch will have COD Ghosts, Battlefield 4, AC Black Flag, Killzone Shadow Fall, The Order 1886, Destiny, inFAMOUS Second Son, Drive Club, Watch Dogs, NBA 2K14, Deep Down, Diablo 3, Warframe, Knack, Thief, Dying Light, Blacklight Retribution, and a whole lot more.
If you don’t like any of those, I don’t know what the heck you play.
@221
I don’t know if you know anything about hardware, but the PS4 is a major step-up from the PS3. It has 16 times more RAM, and about twice the processing power. I tried playing Battlefield 4 on my PS3, it didn’t run very well, the PS4 has the extra power needed to run the more complex modern games.
@223
I don’t know if you’re saying that the Xbox One has better hardware than the PS4, but it doesn’t. The PS4 has the same processing power and same RAM. The difference is that the PS4 has DDR5 RAM instead of the Xbox One’s slower DDR3 RAM.
Still no answers for anyone, great job Sony.
Sony is obviously not answering everyone’s questions about the background music playability because it is NOT possible.
I should have know back when they removed the ability to play music CD’s on the PS4. This was a move to keep people from asking why they don’t have the ability to encode their music to the hdd (like we can on the PS3).
Want to listen to music while you game on the PS4 then pay $100 to Sony and get the Music Unlimited service….plain and simple.
@227 based on what you have read what makes you think im saying and btw the xbox one only has 6 core processor and cheap chip set do more research. an another thing i have music unlmited and your crazy to make a conspiracy like this you need to get out more your not obligated to music unlimited an wit most devices able to give you music the way you want why bother if you dont want music unlimited . andanother thing microsoft dev kits only have 720p native resolution and with over textures and upscale to 1080p like wiiu im a developer useing sony dev kits and ivegot to say any statement trying to make xbox one look good how about you know whatyour talking about before comments get posted facts are facts get over it
I think this is a security feature built in so those that have the unit already, cannot access the special features before anyone else. I know they probably won’t answer this right away, but with the voice commands, is it going to be the same as Xbox? What commands are we going to use to run the PS4? Let us know!
defend xbox al you want i can careless . im buy a ps4 and im content with that . but all i can say is sony won the console wars and its in game informer and ect. besides GREATNESS AWAITS
Patch 1.51 wishlist
DLNA and MP3 support returns
.MKV support.
You should be adding and improving features, not stripping them away.
This is going to be awesome!
@225
the PS4 may have those titles when it launches .. in Japan.
currently most of the games you listed are scheduled for release in 2014 (at the earliest.) The PS4 launch lineup is pretty weak.
Now I see why you went AWOL after telling people they are buying a sleek box that don’t do anything!?!?! You were WAITING for the fact to tell us that no mp3’s or any audio will be playable without a subscription fee?
Oh, thank you!!!!
My rear end was ripe for plucking.
You guys have been douchebags since E3 about everything, and remind me more of 2005 Sony arrogance. Go eff yourself.
Is there any way I can request no music be allowed without a subscription fee?
I mean, gamer’s rights!
I am just paying you fifty bucks a year for PS Plus and four hundred for the new console!!!
Why is this inevitable.
This is THE biggest setback in console history!
When I saw Microsofts XB1 launch I laughed at them because of the constant focus on TV/SPORTS and multimedia. I laughed because I genuinly thought Sony would focus on gaming and movies but WITH multimedia and networking also. How WRONG could I be?!?!? Their doing the exact opposite….THE only thing we can actually do on PS4 is….you guessed it: PLAYING PS4 GAMES!!! everything else is GONE! vanished!
I`m trying to wrap my mind around it….WHY can`t we play mp3 on it? WHY can`t we use audio CD`s? WHY can`t we stream from pc/tablets? Do we still live in 1999? According to Sony: YES!
– “Yes you can also use PS4 for Bluray/DVD playback” – WOOOOOOOOOW! We can? Still 1999? Why no 4k video support as promised?
When I watched Sony`s PS4 launch, I was SOOOO excited! This could have been the ultimate console….They should have provided the same great features as on the PS3, and expanded it`s features…instead they got rid of everything that made the PS3 awesome!
I work at a local gamestore….will cancel my preorder first thing in the morning. And I can say for sure….I will NOT recomend this console to any of my customers.
Give your customers what is advertised Sony! No wonder this was so cheap compared to PS3 at launch
Sony…you have officially lost a loyal customer since the first great PLAYSTATION.
“The Xbox One will play music in the background no matter what you have playing, games, videos, etc.. (Verified).”
Can you post the link that verifies this?
more updates on the way lets be patient software takes time to perfect unlike micosoft and its rrodeath
where and when can we start downloading this?
@edopt ^ I was wondering the same thing because any thing to fasten getting play games is always good :D
wow what a miracle baba
Strata Infosys
I was most definitly leaning toward a PS4 because of my experience with PS3 but now that I have read that you will not be able to stream UpnP/DLNA media from your pc it looks like I will be either staying with the PS3 or go for the X One. Sorry, but after playing games the second most used feature for me is streaming media from my pc. Very important issue for me.
I pre-ordered the PS4 as a media box to play video/music/images from my external drive, and play CDs. Now I find that I will not be able to do any of that – not due to the functionality of the device, but due to Sony wanting to push their own services. What a let-down.
Xbox One has confirmed MP3 playback and Sony still is undecided.
What happened to Sony being competitive and beating Microsoft?
This would be such an easy win for them. It’s a tiny patch to unlock it and they will have beaten MS at this.
sony i dont understand why you would takevaway our cd player from us when youve promoted the use of it since day one with ps one? i understand you want ps4 users to utilize music unlimited( which i do) but getting rid of it completely is a total scumbag move and it leaves me to believe that you care more about your wallet size than you do the gamers.
Is there a link to download the update? I would rather download now and load on PS4 on friday from thumbdrive.