As PS4 owners we’ve all grown accustomed to seeing to news on updates. More often than not, they’re very minor. Yet, as we now reach the big 5.00 in the life cycle of our beloved console, some big changes are going down. It’s all too easy to miss the more subtle developments that truly amplify our continued gaming experience. In the interest of being fully aware of the new benefits, we thought it best to list exactly what’s going on right here.
This Update In Particular Is Large
Ever wonder why, when you have space issues, you clear loads of stuff off your console and there’s still loads of excess megabytes? That would be because of the many updates your PS4 has swallowed up over time. This 5.00 bad boy is no exception, coming in at a meaty and compulsory 375MB. But there’s some great news if you happen to be a regular Twitch streamer or just broadcast in general.
Players Who Broadcast Often Will Rejoice
The biggest enhancement made to the console is that it can now broadcast at 1080p, running in 60 fps. For the quality seekers out there, this is great news, internet strength permitting. We’ve also got some great news for VR owners. Notifications will finally display within the headset. And immersion levels are going to be enhanced yet further with renewed 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound now added in.
Even Still, Something Is Going To Benefit You
What if you’re neither a streamer or a VR owner? Well, there’s still plenty going on that will serve to benefit you. Markedly, the PS4’s friends list system has been overhauled. Say you only play Destiny with a specific group of people. Now, you can bundle them all into one area within the PS4 OS and send them all an invite at the same time. Easy peasy!
Netflix And Chill – Uninterrupted
Perhaps you’re fully entrenched in a Netflix session. Your favourite TV show is coming up to that climactic moment and suddenly dannyboi123 sends you an invite. Annoying isn’t it? That vital moment just got crushed by your friend wanting to play games with you. Well now, PS4 owners have the option to disable these notifications while running streaming media. Never again will our Netflix and chill be interrupted.
Parental Control System Overhauled
Lastly, parental control systems have been completely overhauled. Sony have revamped this area, now calling it “Family on PSN”. Originally, we had a “master” and “sub” account system, where full autonomy over the system’s usage of things like playing games over certain age certificates was limited to the master account. It was a little messy to set up and likely put many, less tech savvy parents off.
Parents or guardians can now restrict the features of their children’s accounts in the areas of communications with other players, a spending limit on PSN and use of the internet browser, to name but a few. If it just so happens you are a parent interested in dealing with this, you could always check out PlayStation’s comprehensive how-to.
PS4 Update 5.00 Additional Patch Notes
Finally, in this mammoth update to the PS4, we have the patch notes. For your viewing information, the updates we’ve not mentioned above are listed below.
- You can configure parental controls anytime from your PC or smartphone.
- Players can now follow anyone they like, not just their online friends or verified accounts.
- Recommendations for who to follow are now offered based on the games you play.
- For certain broadcasts, Communities now shows on the Live from PlayStation screen. By selecting Communities, finding streams of games you’re more likely to enjoy will be easier.
- Notifications can now be checked on the Quick Menu
- Indonesian, Thai , Romanian, Vietnamese, Greek, Czech, and Hungarian are now available language settings.
- When broadcasting from PlayStation VR, you can now see spectator comments within the headset.
- You can now enjoy Blu-ray Disc and DVD content in virtual surround sound when you connect headphones to PlayStation VR.
