By all accounts, the PlayStation 4 has been a huge success. It’s selling extremely well, it regularly out performs the Xbox One, and it’s become the de facto standard for third-party releases (much like the PS2 or Xbox 360 in their heydays). Even so, it’s far from perfect. I’ve used the PS4 nearly every day since it launched in 2013, and familiarity has most definitely bred contempt.
Today, I’ll be highlighting 10 of the most frustrating faults with the PS4, and offering up solutions to fix the issues. And even though there’s 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 it if I didn’t enjoy it. With that in mind, let’s jump in.
Increase cloud storage for everyone
For most of the PS4’s existence, the cloud 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 forward, Sony needs to loosen up, and stop being so stingy with the cloud storage space. Truth be told, I think a Dropbox or iCloud model would work well here. Non-paying members should get a gig or two, and paying members should effectively have unlimited save space on Sony’s servers. At this point, cloud storage is so cheap, it’s actually a little embarrassing that Sony is still so tight-fisted.
Allow everyone to update in rest mode
Under the current scheme, only PlayStation Plus subscribers can download app updates while the PS4 is in rest mode. That means if you’re unwilling to drop an additional 50 bucks a year for PS+, you’re stuck twiddling your thumbs while your games and apps update. It’s an absurd limitation.
Boards > Gaming > PlayStation Lobby > Quick tip for faster download speeds on our PS4's. Another quick way to download I find is leaving ps4 in rest mode. Does wonders for me Cruise84, Mar 18. UPDATE (11/5/14): The new v2.01 update appears to fix the widespread Rest Mode issue, so if you've downloaded that, it should be safe to put your system in hibernation again. Put Your Console into Rest Mode. If you've finished playing but want the console to continue to download and install your content, exit to the main menu and push.
PlayStation Plus offers online multiplayer, free games every month, and some really fantastic discounts. It’s a good service, and plenty of people are willing to buy in for those benefits. However, the rest mode updates are a simple quality of life feature built in at the OS level — it doesn’t use any significant resources on Sony’s end. I’m not opposed to all paywalls for premium features, but this specific paywall feels wrong in every way.
Implement a smart HDCP toggle
When the PS4 first shipped, there were some serious concerns about 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 annoying and potentially illegal. Thankfully, a patch last year 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 watch Netflix? You need to manually toggle the HDCP back on. And as someone who needs to capture footage on a fairly regular basis, it’s a real pain.
Ps4 Rest Mode Download Games
So, how does Sony solve this problem? Implement a smart HDCP toggle. If you launch an app that requires HDCP, turn it on. Otherwise, leave it off. It’s a vastly superior user experience that doesn’t require fiddling with settings. Microsoft implemented this back on the Xbox 360, so there’s no good reason why Sony couldn’t figure this out.
Allow apps to be pinned
While the system menu on the PS4 is a step up from the mess that was the PS3’s sluggish XMB, there’s a lot of room for improvement. By default, you get a handful of icons for recently-played games on the home screen, and then everything else is dumped into a huge folder labeled Library. You can sort alphabetically or chronologically, but there isn’t much in the way of filtering.
I think Sony needs to go back to the drawing board, and come up with a completely different way of surfacing your games. Unfortunately, that probably requires a lot of resources, and I don’t expect that to happen anytime soon. However, Sony could easily put a bandaid over this problem by allowing us to pin our favorites to the main menu. Any game disc you have inserted automatically floats the game’s icon to the top of the menu, so we’re already half-way there.
Asynchronous friends lists
When the Xbox One launched, Microsoft changed how friends lists were handled. Just like Twitter, you can now follow anyone you see fit without needing their approval. Those people don’t need to lift a finger, and you can still easily view their achievements, or compete against their high scores.
Unfortunately, the PS4 still works exclusively on the request-accept model. While that isn’t a deal-breaker for most people, it makes the user experience somewhat hellish for public figures. I’d love to be able to “follow” a handful of notable industry folks on PSN without feeling like I’m hassling them.
Obviously, privacy options should continue to be available. Even Twitter allows for private accounts, so the introduction of an asynchronous friends list to PSN wouldn’t necessarily mean any more or less privacy than before. It just makes friends list a bit less time consuming for public figures.
Improve the partial game install UI
From the get-go, Sony’s implementation of partial game installs has been flawed. Some titles will download a subset of the entire game, and then report that the download has finished. In reality, it merely downloaded enough to get the game into a bootable state. For the full experience, you’ll have to wait for the rest of the download to complete in the background.
Partial installs aren’t inherently bad, but Sony needs to completely rethink the 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 main menu should clearly show the download status at a glance.
Support more uploading and streaming options
System update 3.0 will add YouTube streaming to the PS4, but that’s just not enough. I want to be able to live stream to Hitbox, Livestream, and other upcoming services as I see fit. Why can’t I easily upload my videos to Vimeo or Vidme?
Optimally, Sony would allow third-parties to hook into some sort of sharing API, and then it’d be up to each platform to implement support. I think something along the lines of share sheets in OS X and iOS would be the best way forward.
Open up third-party app development
Truth be told, I think Sony needs to take cues from the mobile world in more than just the realm of share sheets. While the process of self-publishing an indie game on consoles is a lot easier now than it was circa 2012, getting an app on the PS4 is still needlessly difficult.
With the new Apple TV and the Steam machines right around the corner, it’s clear that the PS4 would benefit from a full-fledged app store. If Sony wants to stave off competition from consolized PCs and set-top boxes, it needs a bevy of third-party devs willing to keep the PS4 ecosystem enticing to both casual and “core” users.
Invest in a better 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 better. I’m on a nice fiber connection in the mid-atlantic, and my personal experience with PSN download speeds has been fair-to-middling. It certainly doesn’t saturate my connection, but I’ve yet to see the nightmarishly slow speeds reported from the San Fransisco bay area.
Does The Ps4 Download Faster In Rest Mode
Meanwhile, Steam can regularly max out my connection with the incredibly fast CDN that Valve has invested in. Considering how important patches and digital distribution have become in the last five years, it’s unbelievable that PSN is still so behind the times.
Allow for patch rollbacks
On the whole, game patches are a good thing. No matter how thorough your bug testing, developers will never be able to deliver a flawless product. When developers ship patches for their games, that’s usually a benefit for consumers. Earlier this month, Metal Gear Solid Vshipped with a game-breaking bug, and a quick patch fixed it without much ado. Sadly, that’s not always the case.
Amazesoft
Sometimes, patches don’t work the way that they’re intended to, and can cause some serious problems until the developer releases a patch for the patch. Even worse, patches can occasionally significantly impact the existing game on purpose. Recently, BioWare shipped a patch for Dragon Age: Inquisition (a game that’s nearly a year old) that drastically changed the way one of the specializations operates in the single player campaign. Don’t like it? Tough. If you’re connecting your console to the internet, it’s increasingly difficult to opt out of patches.
Do Games Download Faster In Rest Mode
Going forward, I’d love to see Sony (and other platform owners) allow for patch rollbacks à la GOG. And while they’re at it, make it easier to uninstall DLC as well. If the user sees fit, he or she should be allowed to run the game as it shipped — no questions asked.
Easier said than done
Sony bet big on the PS4 as a gaming-focused device, and it’s 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 it.
Does A Ps4 Download Faster In Rest Mode
Of course, it’s worth noting that implementing these changes would be no small task. Minor tweaks like app pinning aren’t a big deal, but changing the CDN or creating an app store 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’m sure Sony Computer Entertainment has to fight for every additional dollar it wants to spend. Let’s just hope that the PlayStation team doesn’t rest on their laurels, and keeps making big improvements to the PS4 for the next couple of years.