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By David Cornell
PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50 arrived on Wednesday with the added benefit of remote PC play for gamers running at least Windows 8.1 or OS X 10.10. However, much in the vein of what Sony usually does, there were some hidden secrets included which they didn’t mention.
As stated above, the remote PC or Mac play won’t work if your operating system isn’t recent within the last few years. Windows 7 gamers will have to stick with Xbox 360 level titles at best, since Windows 7 isn’t capable of handling anything from the latest consoles. Just try to play Watch Dogs on a laptop made in 2011, and the game will crash before it even starts.
Many gamers have reported that PC remote play still doesn’t work the way it should, to which Sony has stated that they encourage gamers to report these problems. The next PlayStation 4 firmware update after 3.5 might fix the issues based on your feedback.
If playing your PS4 titles from your PC or Mac isn’t your thing, it’s okay. Sony added some other features which early adapters might find relief in.
Taking screen shots was once potentially annoying, especially when friends signed in to PSN and the notification got stuck in it, immortalizing their interruption as part of your accomplishment. Now you have the option to turn notifications off, eliminating the moments when you finally got that perfect screen shot, only to discover that it had an ill-timed header stating that “EvilGuru13” just messaged you.
Also if you want to focus on your game and not get messages from overly social friends who absolutely must chat while you’re trying to get that tricky extra objective, PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50 gives you the option to appear offline, even when you’re signed in. If your friends don’t see you online, they might not bother you during those moments. Of course if they see you earned a trophy or two while they wanted to chat, they’ll know your ruse.
Did you use to play your own music via USB while playing a game? Now you can do it again, as the latest update put the capability back. If you want to listen to Five Finger Death Punch while you play Need for Speed, or perhaps Kanye West during Call of Duty, it’s your prerogative. You have the option again thanks to PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50.
You can also now swap out that old hard drive for a 4TB one, useful if you have a lot of games and don’t want to delete them to make room for more. The stock 500GB hard drive could only hold about 10 large games, and most gamers end up with a lot more than that. This might not be such great news if you already upgraded to a 2TB hard drive, since it means you possibly wasted your money.
Do you have a handful of games you always come back to? PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50 now gives you the ability to “pin” three titles to the top of the list, so you no longer have to search your library to find older favorites you haven’t played in a while.
You can now limit the size of a party from two to eight players as well, in case you just want an exclusive competition with your favorite group of gamers. We all know how annoying it can be having a multiplayer game with strangers who are obviously too young to play the game.
Sadly, there isn’t any support for the VR headset included with PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50. You’ll have to wait for the PlayStation 4K to arrive for that, and it’s still unknown how Sony plans to make it profitable while keeping the cost reasonable. The hardware needed for 4K resolution isn’t cheap.
What do you think of the new features added to the PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50?
PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50 arrived on Wednesday with the added benefit of remote PC play for gamers running at least Windows 8.1 or OS X 10.10. However, much in the vein of what Sony usually does, there were some hidden secrets included which they didn’t mention.
As stated above, the remote PC or Mac play won’t work if your operating system isn’t recent within the last few years. Windows 7 gamers will have to stick with Xbox 360 level titles at best, since Windows 7 isn’t capable of handling anything from the latest consoles. Just try to play Watch Dogs on a laptop made in 2011, and the game will crash before it even starts.
Many gamers have reported that PC remote play still doesn’t work the way it should, to which Sony has stated that they encourage gamers to report these problems. The next PlayStation 4 firmware update after 3.5 might fix the issues based on your feedback.
If playing your PS4 titles from your PC or Mac isn’t your thing, it’s okay. Sony added some other features which early adapters might find relief in.
Taking screen shots was once potentially annoying, especially when friends signed in to PSN and the notification got stuck in it, immortalizing their interruption as part of your accomplishment. Now you have the option to turn notifications off, eliminating the moments when you finally got that perfect screen shot, only to discover that it had an ill-timed header stating that “EvilGuru13” just messaged you.
Also if you want to focus on your game and not get messages from overly social friends who absolutely must chat while you’re trying to get that tricky extra objective, PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50 gives you the option to appear offline, even when you’re signed in. If your friends don’t see you online, they might not bother you during those moments. Of course if they see you earned a trophy or two while they wanted to chat, they’ll know your ruse.
Did you use to play your own music via USB while playing a game? Now you can do it again, as the latest update put the capability back. If you want to listen to Five Finger Death Punch while you play Need for Speed, or perhaps Kanye West during Call of Duty, it’s your prerogative. You have the option again thanks to PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50.
You can also now swap out that old hard drive for a 4TB one, useful if you have a lot of games and don’t want to delete them to make room for more. The stock 500GB hard drive could only hold about 10 large games, and most gamers end up with a lot more than that. This might not be such great news if you already upgraded to a 2TB hard drive, since it means you possibly wasted your money.
PlayStation 4 System Update 3.50 Supports 4TB Drives, Re-Enables USB Music Player And More (video) – Geeky Gadgets https://t.co/Ye3YSg3USa
— Heather Weaver (@GeekMomMashup) April 9, 2016
— Heather Weaver (@GeekMomMashup) April 9, 2016
You can now limit the size of a party from two to eight players as well, in case you just want an exclusive competition with your favorite group of gamers. We all know how annoying it can be having a multiplayer game with strangers who are obviously too young to play the game.
Sadly, there isn’t any support for the VR headset included with PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50. You’ll have to wait for the PlayStation 4K to arrive for that, and it’s still unknown how Sony plans to make it profitable while keeping the cost reasonable. The hardware needed for 4K resolution isn’t cheap.
What do you think of the new features added to the PlayStation 4 firmware update 3.50?
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