Beta for PlayStation 4’s 3.50 Update Starts Soon – Key Features Detailed

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Beta for PlayStation 4’s 3.50 Update Starts Soon – Key Features Detailed
PlayStation 4

Our beta program for PlayStation 4’s next major system software update, version 3.50 (codenamed MUSASHI), kicks off tomorrow. If you signed up for the beta and were selected, keep an eye on your email for instructions on downloading.

Regardless of whether you’re in the beta, we wanted to detail some of the key features we’re adding to PS4 in this update. We’re making it easier to play together with friends and adding the ability to appear offline when you’d rather play solo.

New Social Features

  • Friend Online Notification – Want to know the moment your friends come online? With this update, you can, as we’ve added an option to be notified when members of your friends list sign on the network.
  • Appear Offline – Sometimes you want to play a game or watch a movie without being bothered by friends. Now it’s easier to go incognito as we’ve added the option to appear offline. You can designate if you would like to appear offline when you log-in or at any time from your Profile or the Quick Menu.
  • User Scheduled Event – Time for a play date! We’ve added the ability to schedule a future gameplay session with your friends on the system. When your event starts, users who registered for the event will automatically be added to a party so you can start playing right away.
  • Play Together – This features allows all members of a Party to see what each person is playing so that you can easily join a friend’s game, or start a new game together.

Other New System Features

  • Remote Play (PC/Mac) – We’re bringing PS4 Remote Play to Windows PC and Mac. This feature won’t be available to test in the beta, but you can look forward to it soon.
  • Dailymotion – With this update, you’ll be able to live stream directly to Dailymotion on PS4. We’ll also support archiving live broadcasts, like we do for other streaming services.

Stay tuned for more details on MUSASHI, including additional key features and its release date.

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468 Comments

  • Um…what are people complaining about? Some of the most highly requested features are being added. Appear offline and friend login in notification.

  • Still want to be able to change the colour of the systems light bar

  • I also think that holding on the changing the PSN ID is quite hilarious: They thought they were SO CLEVER when they created their PSN ID back then :P Serves you right!!!

  • I’d like to see that purchase now icon removed from the PlayStation Dynamic Menu for games that I purchased as a disc. If I have the disc why would I also want to buy the digital version?

    Also I bought the Trials Fusion awesome max edition(the base game and all dlc is included) from the ps store but on the PDM there is still that purchase now icon and below it there is a start demo button. How is it that I purchased the digital bundle and can play the full game but my ps4 says I only have the demo and is prompting me to purchase the game.?

    My digital copies of infamous first light and the last of us don’t have this issue.

    Hopefully someone could look into these two problems.

  • Just one more vote for folders

  • Not hard for sony to create a new server that allows fir an ID change and dump everyones info onto it. Sony is lazy and doesn’t want to spend the money for a better network even though they make millions on PS+.

    • yes your correct change the entire network because a few thousand people want to change their name

    • @bigsilvs,

      Learn to IT please. It’s is not “easy”, nor is Sony being “Lazy”.

      They are looking into it, to see if it can be engineered. I think they understand it could pay for itself, the question is how they designed the system back in 2005, and if they can change a DB field, that states it isn’t changeable.

    • @ TwinDad: Exactly. Though, if they added a new value, such as “display name”, and copied the ID field into it at inception so everyone’s name showed as they currently are, then allowed the “display name” field to be changeable, wouldn’t that potentially solve the problem? I’m sure it would still take work to do, and I’m not a network engineer so it could be way more complex than that, but I’ve heard others suggest something similar, and it seems like it would work.

  • Please guys, add the option the change our location.
    If it’s once per year or three I don’t care, just do it.

  • Please allow us to disable screenshots of trophies. Whoever thought this was a ‘good’ idea needs to be slapped silly since a good chunk of the screen shots look the same BLACK or, they will look just like everyone else’s which defeats the purpose of this annoying feature.

    Since I have a bit of a soapbox…

    it would be nice to be able to delete instances of games played (xxx Played XXX 10 times) in one fellow swoop instead of, one at at a time.

    And lastly an option to remove unwanted features.

    • You can disable it you nimrod. And I for one like the feature. But look it up so you can feel stupid.

    • @Yo-D_da_Man

      Oh aren’t you a ray of sunshine!

      Instead of being a jerk, you could have told users here how to disable it as others are requesting the same thing. Unlike you, I don’t eat sleep and breath Playstation. I’ve looked at how to disable it and don’t know where it is, but hey, being a jerk is way more productive than being helpful to your fellow gamers now isn’t it?

    • Again @Yo-D_da_Man

      Nope, don’t feel ‘stupid’ at all. Hidden in Share Factory? Yup, that’s REAL easy to find (especially for users who DON’T use this feature).

      For those who want to disable the useless screen grab feature here is the guide.

      http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2015/09/guide_how_to_turn_off_automatic_trophy_screenshots_on_the_ps4

      As for Yo-D_da_Man, welcome to my block list.

  • I guess it’s time to disconnect the Vita TV from the upstairs television now that I can remote play to my PC.

    Also very much appreciate the “Appear Offline” feature. Sometimes I just want to play a game solo and I feel bad constantly telling my friends “No” when they ask if I want to MP. Now I can just appear offline and play in peace and quiet when I’m feeling anti-social.

  • Wait Sony? Can the Remote Play also run in Regular or powerful Laptops too? Same as PC?

    • Presumably, it’s just streaming.. So it shouldn’t require more than a solid internet connection and a computer that can handle streaming adequately….

  • While folders and pinning applications to the main list is missing, online notifications and incognito have been must haves since day one… Glad to see this finally taken care of. Remote play on mac is also a huge plus. Glad to see you guys are listening. :)

  • 3 years later and still no folders or external hard drives?? Come on Sony step it up please I’m begging you.

    • External Hard drives – at least for game installs – are never gonna happen on PS4. Don’t think the OS would play nice when you unplugged the hard drive and it didn’t understand why the game isn’t there.

    • 3 years later!? Try 2 years and 3 and half months. Basic math isn’t your strong point, eh?

  • What happen to Oovoo aims to bring in-game video chat to the system, letting you video chat with a friend while bringing any PS4 game.

  • Seriously when will we get custom avatar support

  • 90% of people still waiting for ID change….

  • Billcipher123618

    So we’re mostly getting Xbox 360 features?

  • You say you’re bringing Remote Play to PC and Mac? Will you also include direct PlayStation Now support on the PC and Mac clients too? Please say you’re not going to just relay a PS Now video stream through a PS device to Remote Play, cuz that’d just totally suck…. The service is sensitive enough to any lag that requiring it be set up this way would just be ridiculous.

    Also, I wish the $99/yr PS Now subscription promo was available all the time.

  • Open up party chat to a bigger audience. A good number I think would be 10 or 12. This is especially good for FPS like BF and COD.

    Thank you

  • Am I the only one who wants to be able to create ‘favorites’ on your friends list? Like, so they appear at top of your friends list so you can quickly see what they’re doing? Also, so you could choose to make just your favorites have online notifications instead of everyone.

    Give us “favorite” friends groups!

    • They already have this. It’s the second option on the friends list.
      Granted it’s more intended for messaging, but you can totally create groups of players without sending a message within the group, then you can check them to see who’s online from a specific group. Just save the group to the “Favorite Groups” tab and you’re set to go.

  • brooklynblaze007

    I really think they shouldn’t be any upgrades ,ps4 should have already step there software game up also carried PS3 features and software the ps4 I can’t even put a MP3 cd in my ps4 but my PS3 can what’s wrong with this picture

  • So, out of likely hundreds of good requests for OS updates, you pick one? ONE?!? Thanks for finally giving us friend notifications, but still no way to organize this **** UI into folders? Still no way to change PSN ID? Thanks Sony for not listening to ANY of the features your users want

  • EmeraldLeviathan

    STOP with the online/social media updates. The Playstation community is not asking for them. The PS4 has been out for well over two years now and we can not even organize our applicationsite on the homepage. How about removing the ‘buy now’ button from games we ALREADY OWN? How about the ability to change a PSN ID that some players for YEARS now have been asking for. How about the ability to completely delete trophy lists that we no longer want? Each new ‘update’ just gives us cap we don’t want and more useless icons on the PS4 homepage that we can not hide or even organize. Seriously.

    • Speak for yourself, i myself want the online updates, as do so many others. TRUE ps community members already understand we will NOT be able to change our online ID.. you shouldve listened and read the message that clearly told you once you chose, there was no changing it. This isnt xbox, so dont pull ” well if xbox can..” just make a new profile if its such a big deal to you. Besides, you dont need your trophies anyway… you dont care about online features remember? Just your wittwle name..

  • Thank you Playstation for the Appear Offline function. Been waiting for that lol. Hopefully I get a key, I remember being in the beta for the last update and I was excited to share what I knew.

  • you’re including Mac users? THANK YOU!!!! since we use Macs at home for our family this is a wonderful surprise.

  • THE-PLASTICA-MAN

    Please update PS4 and PS App to let us delete real name and only display SEN ID nickname on PS4 home screen and on PS APP profile: goo.gl/4yOgHq by letting us go back to previous state only showing PSN nickname only on profile just before entering the real name letting us keep the spaces empty for the real name on PS APP and PS4: goo.gl/bJ4FvL

    • Easy to fix already. Delete anyone who has real name showing, and re-add them. Do not accept real name requests anymore and voila!.. stops turning your ps4 into facebook recommendations

    • Alternately, you could just add a version of your PSN name into the real name fields, so that it’s what you see whenever it shows your name. Several of my friends who livestream on a regular basis have done this.

  • There seems to be a lack of complaints about no supported external hard drive feature. So allow me, I want the hard drive feature. I want to be able to plug my dang FLASHSTICK in and watch some stuff. Like, why wasn’t this a day one feature?

  • I second the notion…Folders or something, backwards compatibility at the very least PSone classics, native music app (no more USB stick please), while on the topic of music hows about a music visualizer (brought to you by the fine folks at Q Games), Beats Bluetooth Headphone support and iPhone Remote Play would absolutely kill it! #StopHoldingBackSony

    • Oh, and just one last thing. Full support for SSDs. Please, Thank You and God Bless! Long Live Playstation!

  • Unknown_error171

    A bunch of whinny little children in here. Thanks for the “appear offline” feature, Playstation! Now I can make sure annoying little children like the ones we have in this comment section don’t bother me while I’m gaming ^_^

  • Oh Man, you can’t reply to a reply? Who’s in charge of updating the PSP catalog, I mean I still can’t play my digital copy of Wipeout Pure on my Vita, this sucks on so many levels. Europe gets to play Wipeout Pure on their Vitas, why can’t we?!

  • “Friend Online Notification”

    Because PS3 didn’t already do it, right?
    I don’t understand why they saw it necessary to remove this feature in the first place.
    The “appear offline” feature seems pretty nice, in case you just wanna watch movies or play privately.
    You know what would be really useful? If we could actually see if PS4 users were online on PS3.

    The streaming to PC feature is probably garbage.
    My network’s apparently “too slow” by Sony’s standards to handle remote play on my Vita, which is funny,
    because it worked just fine when remote play was still a thing on the PSP.
    So that feature will most likely be absolutely useless to me.

    It would be nice if PS2 disc support was added, but I don’t expect anything anymore from Sony.
    I don’t care at all about trophy support for specific games, I just want to play them in high-resolution,
    and enjoy them with the much nicer dualshock 4 controller. Not to mention, tons of games won’t see
    a re-release because either the publisher has ceased to exist, or the game’s considered unprofitable.
    Instead, we’re stuck with a very limited selection.

    Anyway’s those are my thoughts, I’ll probably never comment here again.
    Good day to you all.

  • One more polite vote for folders please.

    Also, being able to change what games are shown on the OS bar, and not having to go to the library.

  • Organizing the UI and more Apps I think should be top priority. If your install base is really going to be 100million then you need to get HBO Now, PBS etc etc that Roku has. Don’t need 1000 but more than 10!

    The whole procedure in trying to connect with friends and then put together a community game with voice involved 25 button presses! On Steam it is so easy.

    Communities are a good idea – but the execution is the worst. You can’t search?

  • Sony, please give us control of our home screens.

  • Sony here are a few other that you can add to this Update or Future updates…

    – Turn off in-game Music or all Sounds when you have PlaystationMusic/Spotify app playing Songs
    (get reall annoying when im Playing Fifa and my spotify has a certain song on and FIFa has its soundtrack on)

    – When starting up a game have a Pop-up Notification of how many friends are also playing that same game..

  • Very disappointed still no folders or external HDD support but some of those are welcomed

  • Yes, I’ve been waiting for the offline option. These are some we’ve been waiting for. We just need offline trophies, folders and external hardrive support(to save/play games)

  • Pretty excited about an offline mode.
    Would prefer that to having to use an alternate account.

  • Awesome! Some great requested features coming. Biggest feature for me is the scheduling user events as that was my feedback from the last firmware beta. Thanks for update Sony and keep up the hard work!

  • No Folder Options Still!!! Please, …or at least a Hide or Dim option for the Library. And have that Limit Items On The Start Screen/Home Screen Option in System Setting set to a number we choose or at least a couple of different choices Please. Saw some one above posting XMB integration. I don’t think its possible unless PlayStation takes the time to do all the recoding it would take. But that sure would be nice to use all the themes i have for the PS3. But thanks for just including new features in this update PlayStation…!

    • they do it on porpuse… to push there other crap.. im tired of seeing the music app and spotfi and other in the front of my games… i thought it was what ever you used last would be in the front???

  • Hmmm I wonder if I can Remote Play going but still play on the console itself. This would allow for custom Layouts to be used on Twitch without need for capture card. Which would rock.

    • yeah i want that to a year ago but just bought a elgato… i hope that do it were it has 4k on the pc part…

  • really guys and gals what do we need folders for??? if you cant mange your home screen then you have a problem that sony cant solve….it like its ps3 or xbox..and stop asking about changing your name… if you want to change your name so bad then.. change it… just make a new one…

  • ID changes and Region Changes will never happen people, stop whining about it already. When you signed up for psn it clearly warned you that you cant change those things once you chose them, and yet here everyone sits whining over it. “Well if xbox can… ” then go buy an xbox. Lets face it.. you thought the name “up_in_your_girl_007” or other stupid stuff was “cool” when you made it, now you have to live with it.

  • Appear offline!! Thank you finally!!!

  • So if I “appear offline” can I still play online games such as Destiny?

    • Should be able to. This is how it worked on PS3. All the feature does is show you as offline when other people look at their friends list. It doesn’t disconnect you from PSN or game servers.

  • Hopefully they will fix SharePlay. it used to work fine then something broke on it.

    • SharePlay isn’t broke. They just upgraded it to do 60fps, and your upload speed can’t handle that. You need to go in and manually change the setting back to 30fps and you’ll be fine again.

  • PlayStation please try to add in the ps4 that by the live stream that there is more suff you can add to the stream like what you could do on a PC. So we can make your streams way more professional I want to make my streams better so please let us customize our streams more please

  • AND PLEASE let us change our online ID

  • 1) LET ME HIDE THINGS IN THE LIBRARY
    2) LET ME MAKE FOLDERS
    3) FIX THE BUG WHERE IF A DISC GAME CANT INSTALL I HAVE TO REBOOT CONSOLE AFTER DELETING STUFF BEFORE TRYING AGAIN!

  • codename SUKASHI !! lol

  • Wow, Sony, you really don’t listen do you? Where is the folders, external HDD, custom dynamic themes and backgrounds, auto syncing trophies and offline trophies and name change? You make us wait this long for a only a few new features and most of which nobody even asked for. Why is it that whenever a company gets on top, they stop listening to this customers? This is why they always fall. This taking way to long as now we have to wait another 6 months just to see if we’ll get the missing features, all the meanwhile, they are needed right now.

    • Trophies sync automatically every night at either midnight or 4am. Keep your system in rest mode ffs.

      Also, how do you sync offline trophies? Magic I assume? If you mean next time you go online… it will the moment you go to trophies (force a sync), or nightly on its own.

      Lastly, almost every feature listed is requested… so obviously they are listening.

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