14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation 4 continues to be the best-selling console of the current generation, but with the Xbox One on an upward trend Sony needs to make sure that it delivers the functionality that gamers have been asking for a long time.
A new video seems to show that gamers will soon be able to get pop-ups for friend notifications, a feature which makes an appearance in Destiny but at the moment has not been officially announced by the company as coming in a future firmware update.
The description of the footage only states, “Hook up with friends to play together - or just to chat, no matter what games you're all playing - by setting up a Party on you PS4. This is for the players.”
Presumably the company wants to make sure that the Party feature of its home console will be used by more people in the future.
It’s also unclear how much control users of the PlayStation 4 will have over the feature when it is finally introduced.
The community has been asking for such a feature since the home console was released, but Sony has not talked about it officially until now.
At the moment, the company is not willing to share its plan for firmware updates with the fans, but presumably a new one will be offered in either January or February 2015, judging by the update delivery pace over the past 12 months.
The PlayStation 4 needs more apps and features
PlayStation 4 is currently the leader of the current generation, but the Xbox One has managed to deliver a solid performance in November in the United States, on the back of the extra 50 dollar (35 Euro) reduction in price that Microsoft introduced on a temporary basis.
Sony seems to be unwilling to cut the price of its own device and that means that it needs to focus on adding extra functionality to the console and on launching more exclusive titles.
The company also aims to introduce more features to the PlayStation Network, and in 2015, it will focus more on the PlayStation Now streaming service, which is designed to allow players to get quick access to titles for lower prices.
At the moment, both Sony and Microsoft are focused on moving as many consoles as possible to players in the run up to Christmas, which means some solid bundles are offered in stores and online.
