The latest Beta for the PlayStation 4 firmware is now available to download for those who have been selected by Sony. The firmware in question is firmware 5.00—code named NOBUNAGA.
Those lucky enough to be selected for the Beta will have received an email with a code that will let them download the 5.00 Firmware file to test drive. For those who missed out on the opportunity, below is a detailed list of all the new changes and features Sony has added to its popular console.
Family on PlayStation:
Starting things off is a feature called “Family on PlayStation”. The 5.00 update addresses a long standing issue on the PlayStation 4 ecosystem: parents setting up accounts for their children. The 5.00 update addresses this is by overhauling and retooling the entire master/sub account system.
With the update, users can set up as many adults as they want per family to have administration rights over child/sub accounts on their console. Additionally, the Family Manager can now promote any adult they wish to a parent/guardians status, giving them control over child accounts.
Finally, the 5.00 update fixes an issue where administrative parental control features were applied to all accounts; with this new update, parental controls will only affect the desired account.
Friend List and Social Improvements and More:
The NOBUNAGA 5.00 update also brings a lot of features to the social aspects and online communities within the PlayStation 4 environment. One great quality of life improvement is the addition of a custom lists menu to the friends list menu within the PS4.
Prior to the update, PlayStation users were only able to have favourite groups, which now has been upgraded to custom lists, and features the option to not only add your favourite people into specific groups, but also set up teams or groups for specific games such as Destiny, making it easy to set up a fire team for Strikes, Nightfalls and even Raids.
Users that like to broadcast and also happen to own a PlayStation Community can now tether and bind their broadcast to any of their community pages, making it easy for those who share a similar interest in a particular game watch a stream related to it.
PlayStation VR:
For those who own Sony’s Virtual Reality platform, the new update also adds the ability to receive spectator comments during broadcasts. Prior to the update this only occurred during cinematic mode, but now users will still be able to read and keep up with messages from viewers even when in VR mode.
Additionally, VR users can now also enjoy 5.1ch and 7.1ch virtual surround sound through the use of supported headphones, making the cinematic experience in VR even more immersive.
PlayStation 4 Pro:
Streamers that like to use the popular Twitch platform can now stream in full 1080p/60fps.
Messaging improvements:
Through the use of PlayStation Music and Spotify, users were able to send their favourite songs to other users through social media apps such as Facebook. With the new update, users will be able to directly send songs and Spotify links via the PlayStation 4’s messaging system, in addition to the PlayStation mobile app.
Additionally, users in group chats with multiple people can now easily leave multiple groups by simply mass selecting them through the new update.
When viewing content or even gaming, sometimes messages can be distracting. The new update allows users to turn off message notifications when using apps such as Netflix. It should be noted this feature will be turned off by default, but can easily be flicked on by going into the system settings after verifying the PlayStation 4 is on firmware 5.00. The messages themselves can be also be turned off—meaning that a notification will still be sent, but a preview of the message will not be visible until the recipient actually opens the message.
Quality of Life Improvements:
The quick menu pop up side bar has also been tweaked, and users will now be able to change the colour from the default black to white, giving the option of contrast for whatever looks better to the user.
Additionally, information that can normally be viewed under the Notifications tab can now also be quickly accessed via the quick menu, by holding the PS button for several seconds. This ensures that users won’t have to pause or leave their game and dig through menus just to see the notifications.
The Tournament system has also been overhauled, adding to it a new bracket viewer that illustrates Single and Double Elimination Tournaments, making easier to see current tournament standings.
Finally, several new system language options have been added to the console, which include: Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Romanian, Thai, and Vietnamese.
A more detailed look at the update is also available on the Official PlayStation Blog.
