PlayStation 4 users have been toying with the 5.0 Nobunaga system update beta for more than a month now, and Sony apparently feels it is ready to be let loose into the wild. The update is available today, and while it doesn"t add many new features, it does revamp and overhaul a bunch of old ones.
Among the changes include better broadcasting options, allowing streaming at 1080p and 60fps on the PS4 Pro. Also if you own a community, you can bind it to your broadcast. PlayStation VR users can also now see comments during broadcasts. You will also notice while using PSVR that you will now get support for 5.1 and 7.1 virtual surround sound.
Team Tournament functionality has also been added, and will officially kick off on October 5. You can join or own up to 60 teams, and each team will have a manager or captain. Not all titles will support tournaments, however, but the initial list includes Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, World of Tanks and Mantis Burn Racing. More are expected to be added down the road.
The update also adds a new "Family on PSN" system that changes the old Master/sub-account process. One person is designated as the Family Manager, who can then designate parent or guardian, add other adults, or control child accounts through parental controls. Those controls can be set to limit the "use of online features and communication with other players, set restrictions for games, restrict the use of the internet browser, and set spending limits for PlayStation Store."
Other changes include messaging and notification modifications, and Quick Menu updates.
Here are the patch notes:
Main features in system software update 5.00
- You can now add users of your PS4 as family members. This makes it easy to manage your child"s account information and to restrict PS4 features. To add family members, select (Settings) > [Parental Controls/Family Management].
- - As the family manager, you can set up your family.
- - Up to seven family members (including you) can be in your family and use online features.
- - Multiple adults can be in your family. The family manager can make other adults in the family parents or guardians. The family manager and family members who are parents or guardians can adjust parental controls for the children in your family.
- - You can configure parental control settings for each child. Using parental controls, you can restrict use of online features and communication with other players, set restrictions for games, restrict use of the Internet browser, and set spending limits for PlayStation Store.
- - You can configure parental controls anytime from your PC or smartphone.
- You can now follow anyone, not just verified accounts. Select (Follow) on a person"s profile screen, and their activities and broadcasts will appear in [What"s New]. You automatically follow your Friends, but you have the option to unfollow them.
- - Recommendations for who to follow are now offered based on the games you play. Select (Friends) > (Follow).
- - You can now choose who can follow you and who can see your follow list. Select (Settings) > [Account Management] > [Privacy Settings], and then configure each setting.
- Custom Lists has been added to Friends. Create custom lists to easily organize your Friends and choose players to send messages or game invitations to.
- For certain broadcasts, (Communities) now appears on the (Live from PlayStation) viewing screen. To access the broadcaster"s community, select (Communities).
- You can now view (Notifications) on the quick menu.
- The following languages have been added as system languages: Czech, Indonesian, Hungarian, Romanian, Vietnamese, Greek, Thai
- When broadcasting PlayStation VR gameplay, you can now see spectator comments on your VR headset screen.
Other new or revised features in version 5.00
- For (Messages), screen layout has been improved, and the following features have been added.
- You can now receive music that has been shared with you as a message. Select the message to play the music.
- Messages containing a URL now display a preview.
- The following features have been added to the quick menu.
- You can now select [Leave This Party] to leave the party.
- You can now see albums and playlists for songs playing in Spotify®.
- A clock has been added.
- The following features have been added to (Settings) > [Notifications].
- You can now disable pop-up notifications during video playback.
- You can now choose the color of pop-up notifications.
- You can now choose to show or hide message details in notifications.
- You can now choose to broadcast in 1080p (60 fps) when using Twitch on your PlayStation®4 Pro.
- You can now enjoy Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD content in virtual surround sound when you connect headphones to PlayStation®VR.
Yesterday, Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed that CEO Andrew House is leaving after 27 years with the company. He is being replaced by SIE veteran Tsuyoshi "John" Kodera. House, familiar to PlayStation fans around the world, had been part of every PlayStation iteration and launch since the console was first released in Japan in 1994, and North America the following year.
Image: PlayStation Blog
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