For months now, Sony has been teasing an abundance of new features for its upcoming PlayStation 4 console. Features such as remote gameplay on PS Vitas, suspend features for games, and the functionality of the share button on the new DualShock controller have been touted since E3 or before. Sony today announced, however, that many of these features will be unavailable in the stock console at launch, and will require a large day-one patch to activate.
The update will be available on November 15 – the same day that the PlayStation 4 launches in the U.S. The patch will update the PS4 software to version 1.5 and will require a 300 MB download.
The features included in the patch are not trivial. Current-generation features such as online multiplayer and watching Blu-ray or DVD movies will require the update. Other extra features such as multiple simultaneous user log ins, party chat, background music through Music Unlimited, and voice and face recognition for the PlayStation Camera will all require the update as well.
As for next-gen features, remote play with a PlayStation Vita will not work until the patch is downloaded, and neither will the console’s ability to interact with mobile devices through the PlayStation App. The record, screenshot, and upload capabilities enabled by that share button on the controller will also need the patch, as well as the capability to stream gameplay through Ustream or Twitch.
At least one touted feature of the PS4 has not even made it into the patch. The suspend mode that allows the console to sleep in a low-power state and resume quickly will not be a feature at launch time.