Sony has announced that PS4 Firmware 3.00, codenamed Kenshin, will be publicly available tomorrow. Until now, this major firmware update has been undergoing private beta testing by thousands of users around the world (and we’ve been involved too). The firmware update focuses on enhancing the PS4’s social features, adding in Events, Communities and enhancements to Sharing, including YouTube Live Streaming and Twitter Video Sharing.
Now that the firmware update is final, here is what you can expect from tomorrow:
- Events: A new Events app has been added to PS4, accessible from the home screen. This will give you an overview of activities taking place in the games you play most, as well as official broadcasts.For instance, this week we have a double XP racing event in Driveclub and a Team of the Week Event in FIFA 16, you can register directly from the Events app. Once registered you can utilise the auto-boot functionality to set your PS4 to automatically turn on and launch the game and Event at the Event start time. Stay tuned for new gaming events and broadcasts.
- Communities: PS4 users will have the ability to create and join communities based around shared interests, like games, genres, and more. Communities include a message board with general discussion, screenshots shared by players, and the ability to join parties/games. You can find the Communities for the games you own on the game’s live detail page. See the Communities your friends have joined in the Friends app.
- PlayStation Plus: We’ve made a dedicated section for PlayStation Plus, which you can access from your PS4’s home screen. Once there you can easily manage your membership, see the monthly free games to download, as well as deals for PS Plus members, and all of the games you’ve redeemed through PS Plus on PS4. And a reminder to PS Plus members, your online storage for PS4 saves has now increased to 10GB.
- Sharing video clips to Twitter: Now it’s easy to share video clips to Twitter directly from your PS4. Maximum video length is 10 seconds, though you’ll have the ability to trim longer clips. Don’t forget – you can double tap the SHARE button to start recording a video, and press it again to stop.
- YouTube live: Now you can livestream directly from your PS4 to YouTube. Livestreams will be viewable across YouTube.
- Request to Share Play and Broadcast: Want to try out your friend’s new game? Now you can Request to start a Share Play session or watch your friend play via a Broadcast. Your friend can chose to start a Share Play session or begin a Broadcast.
- Live from PlayStation: Keep up with the hottest gaming trends by viewing the most popular broadcasts, video clips, and screenshots uploaded from around the world.
- PNG Screenshots: If you’d like your game screenshots to be in a higher quality format, you can now select PNG instead of JPEG. To access, press Share > Share Settings > Screenshot Settings > Image Format. We took some comparison shots.
- Favourite Groups: We’ve added the option for Favourite Groups to the Friends app, making it easier to access groups of people you play games with frequently. You can see we have favorite groups for Call of Duty, Rocket League, and (of course) our Destiny fireteam. Once you’re in the favourite group, you’ll see the online status for players, what games they are playing, and the option to message or chat in party.
- Stickers: From the PS4 system’s Messages app, you’ll see a new option for Stickers. The 3.00 update will contain stickers themed around Uncharted 4, Knack, Little Big Planet3, Resogun, and more.