Playstation 4

Everything you need to know about PS4 system software update 5.50, launching today

8 March 2018 5:53 PM
Custom wallpapers, play time management, Quick Menu enhancements and more

Custom wallpapers, play time management, Quick Menu enhancements and more

The 5.50 update rolls out today and to give you a closer look at some of the key features, including a few new additions, take a look at what you’ll be enjoying from today.

Custom wallpapers from USB
One major feature that was included with the 5.50 update beta trial was the ability to customise the PS4 home screen with your own images from a USB stick.

To get started, save your pictures into a folder named “IMAGES” on your USB stick. Ensure this folder is at the top of the USB directory, i.e. not saved within another folder. Note the max image resolution is 1920×1080 for PS4 and 3840×2160 for PS4 Pro.

Then with the USB stick connected to your PS4, select Settings > Themes > Select Theme > Custom > Select Image > USB Storage Device. Once your image is selected you can zoom and crop it, all while seeing in real time how it looks on the home screen.

You can also customise the thumbnail of group message threads with images taken from USB. Select Messages > Select Message > Group Settings >Image> Change Image> USB Storage Device.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3t0cYyEato

Play Time Management
Another major update is Play Time Management. This feature gives Family Managers (and adult family members set as Guardians), the ability to control when and for how long each individual child can play for. Playtime can even be set to vary depending on the day of the week, for example you could allow your child to play for two hours between 4-7pm during the week and then for 4 hours between 8am-8pm on the weekend.

This joins a long list of parental management features already available, including the ability to individually set what each child in your family on PlayStation Network (PSN) plays, watches and accesses online. All these features can be accessed on your PS4 via Settings > Family Management.

What’s more, you can also monitor and change these settings on the go from your PC or Smartphone via the PSN account web portal – giving parents greater flexibility and peace of mind.

Play Time for Today

Play Time for Today

Library improvements
New tabs and filters are also being added to the Library, to make it easier to organise and find content.

New “This PS4” and “Name/Avatar” tabs allow you to split content between everything you own and what’s currently installed on your PS4.

There is now a dedicated PS Plus tab too showing all Monthly Free Games you have access to, along with the ability to hide certain apps under the “Purchased” tab – such as old trials or demos of games.

Quick Menu enhancements
The Quick Menu is also getting some UI enhancements. You’ll shortly be able to access the custom friends drop down list directly from it, making it easier to see who’s online and send them messages or invitations.

Furthermore, if you’re using Spotify on PlayStation Music, the ‘square’ button will now serve as the shortcut for volume control. And when you’re on the Media Player or the USB Music Player, ‘triangle’ will work as the shortcut for play or pause, and the ‘square’ button as the volume control.

Notification management
You can now permanently remove old notifications from your PS4 – to help you keep on top of game invites, status of downloads etc. Just go to Notifications and press the ‘triangle’ or “OPTIONS” button to open up a menu that will allow you to select a single or multiple notifications you’d like to delete.

Tournament page improvements
In addition to being able to import your pictures from USB to use as your Team Logo or tournament page background, some further UI improvements are coming too. For example, with 5.50 you can now schedule events directly from the tournament page, and more easily filter between Team vs Team and 1v1 events.

As a reminder to set your tournament team logo and background, head over to Events > Teams > select your team > Edit Team Profile.

PS VR Support Icon
Never miss out on an opportunity to augment your experience with PlayStation VR. After this update, a PS VR icon will be shown next to all content on your dashboard and library which support the headset.

Supersampling Mode for PS4 Pro
The system level optional mode gives more control to the player, helping them further benefit from the power of PS4 Pro, even if they don’t have a 4K TV.

Once enabled, all games output at a higher resolution, which for many PS4 Pro enhanced titles is above 1080p, and up to 2160p. Then, with up to 4x the amount of visual and colour information to work with, the PS4 Pro is able to deliver a more refined image when down-scaling to HD.

As a result some games will receive a clarity boost, feature sharper details and benefit from a reduction in jagged edges on objects. Performance will vary by title, as games are optimised differently for PS4 Pro.

To enable supersampling select Settings > Sound and Screen > Video Output Settings > Supersampling Mode.

Supersampling Mode for PS4 Pro

Supersampling Mode for PS4 Pro

Source: PlayStation Blog (Europe)

PS4 system update 2.50 codenamed “Yukimura” rolls out tomorrow. Rundown with features detailed..

25 March 2015 6:31 PM

Tomorrow PlayStation 4 will get an update to system software version 2.50, codenamed “Yukimura,” which will bring an onslaught of new features: some you’ve been anticipating, many you’ve requested and others that might surprise you.

This update will make significant improvements to your PS4 experience, making it even more streamlined and enjoyable. Following the update, you’ll be able to smoothly pick games up right where you left off, find and connect with friends quicker, customise your experience and share your most epic moments in a more meaningful way.

Features coming to PS4 with “Yukimura” include:

  • Suspend/Resume: Supported by nearly all of your PS4 games, you can jump in and out of your games with just the press of the PS button.  Quickly switch from Rest Mode to powered-up so you can pick up where you left off.
  • Back-up and restore HDD to USB: Back-up and restore your hard disc drive data associated with users on your PS4, including settings, saved data, screenshots and video clips as well as games, patches and download data, to and from an external USB drive.
  • Find and connect with friends: “Yukimura” adds to an already robust set of social tools, bringing several updates to continue making PS4 the best place to play with your friends, including:
    -> Facebook friend finder – Using your linked account, you can expand your network by searching and connecting with your Facebook friends.->  Improved friend requests – Friend requests and Real Name requests can be sent together in one step when adding a friend on PS4.
    -> Streamlined Party process – The process to create a Party has been streamlined with a reduction in the number of steps required.
    ->  Find friends who play your games – Easily view what friends are playing on each game detail page with a real-time “Friends Who Play This” section, which also highlights which friends are currently online and playing it, and allows you to jump directly into the game.
    -> Join Friends directly from news feed – A new tile will be added on your What’s New feed where you can see what your friends are currently playing, enabling you to join in the game if you own it.
  • Share earned trophies and optimise your trophy list: We know that Trophies are important to many gamers, so we’re bringing more control with how you show them off:
    -> Automatic Trophy screenshots – A screenshot will automatically be captured when a Trophy is earned, preserving the moment to share with friends.
    ->  SHARE Trophies – Players can share Trophy information to Facebook, Twitter or via Message by pressing the SHARE button.
    ->  Additional Trophy sorting options – Sort your Trophy list by Earned Date, Not Earned and Grade.
    -> Delete 0% Trophies – Remove games from your Trophy list that have zero percent completion.
  •  Improved and expanded accessibility options: New options added to customise the user experience include:
    -> Customised button assignments for DUALSHOCK 4.
    -> Zoom for displayed pictures and inverted colours for all system functions, apps and in-game.
    -> Text-to-speech for all graphical user interface, including Message and Party.
    ->  Enlarged text for all graphical user interface, including Message and Party, as well as the system’s browser.
    -> Bolder fonts and higher contrast UI for all system applications (but will not apply to games or third-party applications).
  • Remote Play and Share Play: For games that support 60 fps, users will be able to automatically enjoy those games with 60fps for both Remote Play and Share Play* on supported devices.
  • Automatic installation for system software updates: Enable automatic installation for future system software updates.
  • Sub-account upgrade: Enable users 18 years of age or older with sub-accounts to upgrade to a master account directly on PS4, removing restrictions on chat and enabling users to add funds to their Wallet, purchase content and more.
  • Verified Accounts: Select game developers, producers, designers and community managers will be verified with a badge.
  • Dailymotion: Upload video clips directly to Dailymotion via the SHARE button.

 

PlayStation Vita and PlayStation App for smartphones and tablets will also receive system software updates tonight, adding complementary features to those added to PS4. PS Vita update version 3.50 and PlayStation App update version 2.50 will add new accessibility options, including enlarged text, increased contrast and more. This update also enables PS Vita to support 60fps streaming for Remote Play.

 

Source: 

Call Of Duty: Ghosts Tops $1bn (£621m) On First Day

6 November 2013 7:15 PM
Call Of Duty: Ghosts - Poster

Call Of Duty: Ghosts – Poster

The latest Call of Duty video game made more than $1bn (£621m) from its first day on sale, its publisher has confirmed.

Call of Duty: Ghosts went on sale worldwide on Tuesday and its debut eclipsed that of Grand Theft Auto V, which raked in $800m (£496m) on its first day in September. Call of Duty: Ghosts has already been branded ‘lazy’ for reusing Modern Warfare 2 cut-scene.

At the time, the game beat the record for single-day games sales held by the last Call of Duty game, Black Ops II, which made $500m (£310m) in November 2012.

Fans queued overnight at hundreds of stores across the UK, which were open at midnight for the release of the 10th Call of Duty instalment.

The $1bn figure represented sales to retail store, which may not reflect consumer purchases, according to publisher Activision.

Eric Hirshberg, chief executive of Activision, said the game “has delivered yet another epic thrill ride in the campaign, and what I think is our best multiplayer game yet“.

The company claimed the series was “the largest console franchise of this generation“.

The latest military shooter series is set in a desolate US, devastated by a satellite-guided “kinetic” weapon strike on San Diego.

Ghosts can be played on PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii U and Windows computers, and will also be available on other consoles in future.

The game is also compatible with smartphones and tablet computers.

Many reviewers agreed that the game did not take the franchise in a new direction or break from the old format.

The Computer and Video Games website said: “There is an overwhelming sense of familiarity one gets from playing Call of Duty: Ghosts and that’s probably because an iteration of this series drops every year without truly reinventing the wheel.”

Ghosts will also be the first Call of Duty game available on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as launch titles for both consoles on November 15, 2013 (November 29, 2013 in Europe) and November 22, 2013 respectively.

Source: news.sky.com

Xbox One drops used games and online requirement policies

19 June 2013 10:16 PM

Xbox One has changed its policies for used games and online connectivity for disc-based games.

In a bid to win over Sony’s PlayStation 4 the Xbox One console will no longer require to be online once every 24 hours, instead only needing an internet connection when initially setting up the system.

The Xbox One

Discs will function as they did on Xbox 360, with no restrictions on borrowing or selling used games.

“There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360,” explained president of interactive entertainment Don Mattrick.

Full retail games bought from Xbox Live can also be played offline, and like today, can’t be resold or shared.

As with Xbox 360, any disc-based games on Xbox One must have the disc in the tray for them to run.

Region locking will also be lifted, meaning games from any region can be played on any console.

“Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback,” said Mattrick.

“We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds. Thank you again for your candid feedback. Our team remains committed to listening, taking feedback and delivering a great product for you later this year.”

The used games and online requirement policies have been a big talking point since the console’s unveiling last month, with one research firm describing it as “deeply flawed”.

Microsoft previously hinted that games will be freely playable on Xbox One after the system’s demise.

Read Don Mattrick’s open letter in full http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/update