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PS4

By all accounts, the PlayStation 4 has been a huge success. It'southward selling extremely well, information technology regularly out performs the Xbox Ane, and it'south become the de facto standard for third-party releases (much similar the PS2 or Xbox 360 in their heydays). Even then, it'south far from perfect. I've used the PS4 nearly every day since it launched in 2022, and familiarity has nigh definitely bred contempt.

Today, I'll exist highlighting ten of the most frustrating faults with the PS4, and offering up solutions to ready the issues. And even though there'south going to be a lot of complaining here, this isn't an indictment of the platform all together. After all, I wouldn't be using information technology if I didn't savor information technology. With that in mind, let's jump in.

Cloud Saves

Increase cloud storage for everyone

For most of the PS4's existence, the deject save situation has been rough. PlayStation Plus subscribers got a gig of cloud storage, and those who don't pony up for a subscription got nothing. Starting with system software 3.0, PS+ users will get 10GB of storage, but everyone else still gets nothing.

Going forrard, Sony needs to loosen upward, and stop being then stingy with the cloud storage space. Truth be told, I call back a Dropbox or iCloud model would work well here. Not-paying members should get a gig or two, and paying members should finer have unlimited save space on Sony'due south servers. At this point, cloud storage is so inexpensive, information technology'southward actually a little embarrassing that Sony is however so tight-fisted.

Rest Mode Update

Allow everyone to update in residue mode

Under the current scheme, but PlayStation Plus subscribers can download app updates while the PS4 is in balance mode. That means if you're unwilling to drop an additional l bucks a yr for PS+, y'all're stuck twiddling your thumbs while your games and apps update. It'south an absurd limitation.

PlayStation Plus offers online multiplayer, free games every month, and some really fantastic discounts. It'south a proficient service, and enough of people are willing to buy in for those benefits. However, the remainder mode updates are a simple quality of life characteristic congenital in at the OS level — it doesn't utilize whatever significant resources on Sony'south end. I'm not opposed to all paywalls for premium features, simply this specific paywall feels wrong in every way.

HDCP

Implement a smart HDCP toggle

When the PS4 first shipped, at that place were some serious concerns nigh external video capture. It only offers an HDMI output, and the signal was protected by HDCP. That DRM solution can be stripped, but it's both abrasive and potentially illegal. Thankfully, a patch last twelvemonth allowed users to toggle off HDCP completely.

Unfortunately, the toggle is a hassle in and of itself. When it's off, you can easily capture the video signal with HDMI capture gear, but pretty much every app will stop working completely. Want to picket Netflix? You need to manually toggle the HDCP back on. And as someone who needs to capture footage on a fairly regular ground, it's a existent pain.

So, how does Sony solve this problem? Implement a smart HDCP toggle. If you launch an app that requires HDCP, plow information technology on. Otherwise, go out it off. It's a vastly superior user feel that doesn't require fiddling with settings. Microsoft implemented this dorsum on the Xbox 360, and so there'south no good reason why Sony couldn't figure this out.

Pinning

Allow apps to be pinned

While the arrangement menu on the PS4 is a step up from the mess that was the PS3's sluggish XMB, there'due south a lot of room for comeback. Past default, you get a handful of icons for recently-played games on the home screen, and so everything else is dumped into a huge binder labeled Library. You can sort alphabetically or chronologically, merely there isn't much in the way of filtering.

I think Sony needs to get dorsum to the drawing board, and come up with a completely different style of surfacing your games. Unfortunately, that probably requires a lot of resources, and I don't look that to happen anytime soon. However, Sony could easily put a bandaid over this problem by allowing us to pivot our favorites to the main menu. Any game disc you take inserted automatically floats the game'south icon to the top of the carte du jour, and then we're already half-way there.

Friends

Asynchronous friends lists

When the Xbox 1 launched, Microsoft changed how friends lists were handled. Just like Twitter, you can now follow anyone y'all see fit without needing their approval. Those people don't demand to elevator a finger, and you can still easily view their achievements, or compete confronting their loftier scores.

Unfortunately, the PS4 all the same works exclusively on the request-accept model. While that isn't a deal-breaker for nearly people, it makes the user feel somewhat hellish for public figures. I'd love to exist able to "follow" a scattering of notable industry folks on PSN without feeling like I'g hassling them.

Patently, privacy options should continue to be bachelor. Even Twitter allows for individual accounts, so the introduction of an asynchronous friends listing to PSN wouldn't necessarily mean any more or less privacy than before. It just makes friends listing a chip less time consuming for public figures.

Download UI

Improve the fractional game install UI

From the kickoff, Sony's implementation of partial game installs has been flawed. Some titles will download a subset of the unabridged game, and then written report that the download has finished. In reality, it merely downloaded enough to get the game into a bootable state. For the full feel, you'll have to await for the rest of the download to complete in the background.

Partial installs aren't inherently bad, merely Sony needs to completely rethink the electric current interface surrounding this feature. Instead of forcing users to dig into sub-menus to find out whether or not something is completely installed, the icon on the principal menu should clearly show the download status at a glance.

Broadcast

Back up more than uploading and streaming options

Arrangement update three.0 will add together YouTube streaming to the PS4, but that's just not plenty. I want to be able to alive stream to Hitbox, Livestream, and other upcoming services as I run into fit. Why can't I easily upload my videos to Vimeo or Vidme?

Optimally, Sony would permit third-parties to hook into some sort of sharing API, and then it'd be upwardly to each platform to implement back up. I recollect something along the lines of share sheets in Os X and iOS would exist the best style forward.

Apps

Open 3rd-party app development

Truth be told, I retrieve Sony needs to take cues from the mobile world in more than merely the realm of share sheets. While the procedure of self-publishing an indie game on consoles is a lot easier at present than it was circa 2022, getting an app on the PS4 is however needlessly difficult.

With the new Apple Tv and the Steam machines right around the corner, it's articulate that the PS4 would do good from a full-fledged app store. If Sony wants to stave off contest from consolized PCs and set-summit boxes, it needs a bevy of third-party devs willing to keep the PS4 ecosystem enticing to both casual and "core" users.

Download Speed

Invest in a amend CDN

PSN is slow across the board. Some people have worse download speeds than others, but we all know that Sony could do a lot meliorate. I'm on a nice fiber connexion in the mid-atlantic, and my personal feel with PSN download speeds has been off-white-to-middling. Information technology certainly doesn't saturate my connection, just I've yet to come across the nightmarishly deadening speeds reported from the San Fransisco bay expanse.

Meanwhile, Steam can regularly max out my connection with the incredibly fast CDN that Valve has invested in. Considering how of import patches and digital distribution have become in the last five years, it's unbelievable that PSN is still then behind the times.

Patching

Allow for patch rollbacks

On the whole, game patches are a good thing. No matter how thorough your problems testing, developers volition never exist able to deliver a flawless product. When developers ship patches for their games, that'due south usually a do good for consumers. Earlier this calendar month, Metallic Gear Solid V shipped with a game-breaking bug, and a quick patch fixed it without much ado. Sadly, that's not e'er the case.

Sometimes, patches don't piece of work the way that they're intended to, and can cause some serious problems until the programmer releases a patch for the patch. Even worse, patches tin occasionally significantly bear on the existing game on purpose. Recently, BioWare shipped a patch for Dragon Age: Inquisition (a game that's virtually a year old) that drastically changed the manner one of the specializations operates in the single histrion campaign. Don't like information technology? Tough. If you're connecting your console to the net, information technology's increasingly difficult to opt out of patches.

Going frontward, I'd love to see Sony (and other platform owners) allow for patch rollbacks à la GOG. And while they're at it, brand it easier to uninstall DLC as well. If the user sees fit, he or she should exist allowed to run the game equally it shipped — no questions asked.

Easier said than done

Sony bet large on the PS4 equally a gaming-focused device, and it'southward paid off. However, that shouldn't come at the expense of usability and functionality. The competition is fierce, and the public is fickle. If Sony wants to stay on top, it needs to fight for information technology.

Of course, it'due south worth noting that implementing these changes would exist no small task. Pocket-sized tweaks like app pinning aren't a big deal, but irresolute the CDN or creating an app shop would require a lot of resources that Sony might not have. After all, Sony's been in a rough spot for a while now, so I'chiliad sure Sony Calculator Amusement has to fight for every boosted dollar it wants to spend. Let'southward simply hope that the PlayStation team doesn't remainder on their award, and keeps making big improvements to the PS4 for the side by side couple of years.