Last week, Sony released a major PS5 update with a plethora of features and improvements, but there is always more that can be done. Here are five things we want Sony to implement in a future PS5 system update.
Ever since the PS3, system updates have become a common thing for Playstation consoles, ranging from the minor yet infamous "stability updates" to major ones adding big features such as custom button mapping and 3D audio support. Last week's major update was no different, finally allowing users to put in an SSD to expand storage space. Here are five features or improvements that we want Sony to bring in a future PS5 system update.
FOLDERS
With the PS5, Sony decided to ditch the OS/interface they had built for the PS4 and started from scratch. This allowed them to make major improvements in usability but also resulted in losing many features that were available on PS4 before. Folders are one such feature.
They are very useful for organizing and quick navigation to particular games, hence it is a much-wanted feature on our end. Even if they were to bring folders over as they were on PS4, that would be very welcome, but they can improve on the concept as well.
Allowing a game to be in multiple folders would be one way. It was very odd and inconvenient not being able to put one game into more than one folder, which sometimes even resulted in people not using the folders at all since they weren't able to organize the games how they wanted. We hope that Sony has taken that feedback into account when they bring folders over to PS5.
Folder on PS4
VARIABLE REFRESH RATE (VRR)
Also known as FreeSync and GSYNC on PC, this feature lets the graphics card (or console in this case) communicate with the display/TV allowing it to match the framerate that is being sent out, which makes things look smooth even if the framerate is fluctuating.
This feature was promised well before the launch of the PS5. People assumed it would be available from the console's release as it has more to do with HDMI 2.1, which the PS5 has. Not to mention the fact that Microsoft added this feature on the previous generation's Xbox One X via an update. Xbox Series X|S also launched with this feature from day one, so it was a bit of a head-scratcher that the PS5 didn't.
Variable Refresh Rate not only makes minor frame fluctuations imperceptible, but it would also allow developers to feel comfortable providing unlocked framerate modes for more games.
So what's the hold-up then? People speculate that Sony is waiting for their next line of budget-friendly TVs to ship with VRR support before enabling this feature in the PS5. However, we have no indication as to when that will happen or if this speculation is even close to being accurate to begin with.
PINS
This would be a new feature to PlayStation systems. Being able to pin games so they remain where you want them regardless of whatever else you've played would be very convenient. Going the extra mile, they would allow you to have as many pins as there are titles visible on the screen at any time, allowing one to completely organize a permanent layout of sorts for their ps5 home screen.
THEMES
This is another feature missing that is present on the PS4. Sony opted to give game art a focus in the PS5 User Interface which looks clean. However, giving people the option to have a theme with a unique background and specialized icons, or at the very least, allowing them to change the basic colors of the interface would be very welcome in a future PS5 system update.
Nepal Theme on PS4
QUICK RESUME
Another feature that the Xbox Series X|S currently has. Quick Resume allows the system to save multiple suspended states of games and then start them back up exactly where they left off. The system can even be completely powered off and the suspended game state is saved.
It is a feature of convenience that gives people the ability to immediately stop playing games if they have to tend to something more important instead of leaving them at the mercy of the checkpoint/save system. It also allows them to boot up another game if somebody else wants to play for a bit and get right back into the action once they've left.
While it seems Microsoft planned the Xbox Series X|S with this feature in mind, locking away a good amount of storage space for this feature, we hope it is something Sony can implement in a future PS5 system update. Even if it is only for a couple of games as opposed to the five or so games the Xbox is capable of handling.
BONUS: LEGACY BACKWARDS COMPABILITY
The ultimate dream. A PlayStation system that plays PS1-5 games. While such comprehensive backward compatibility is highly unlikely, especially for PS3 titles due to the system's highly unorthodox architecture, Sony should at the very least add in PS1 backward compatibility. Making those titles available on the PS5 store and honoring the purchases made on the previous digital storefront would be a very welcome and consumer-friendly move.
Hopefully, Sony is well aware of how requested these features are and will be bringing them to us in a future PS5 system update, sooner rather than later.