The company shoots down rumored or oft-requested features

Mar 12, 2015 07:13 GMT  ·  By

After officially confirming that PS4 firmware update 2.50 is now coming soon to the home console, Sony has shed some light on what features might not be making their way onto the PS4 with the new system software version, such as the rumored data backup to external storage or the oft-requested PlayStation Network name change.

The PS4 has been around for over a year and Sony has released quite a few different firmware updates for the home console. Unfortunately, many of them limited themselves to just improving the stability of the device, instead of adding new features or applications.

The next big system software version is 2.50, codenamed Yukimura, and it already received a list of confirmed features, such as suspend/resume options for applications and other such things.

Quite a few oft-requested features might not arrive onto the PS4

Now, Sony's Scott McCarthy, the SCEA Director of Product Planning and Software Innovation, has answered questions from fans on the PS blog concerning some of the features that might not be making their way onto the console with the new update.

First up, the data backup to external storage mechanic, which was leaked yesterday through a photo of a PS4 running a beta version of update 2.50, can't be confirmed at this time. McCarthy emphasizes that fans shouldn't "believe everything [they] read" on the internet.

When asked about the often requested ability to change your PlayStation Network account name, McCarthy mentions that he sees why that might be important for users stuck with outlandish or disappointing names, but declines to mention anything about the feature in firmware 2.50.

Overall, McCarthy emphasizes that the new system software is still in beta testing and that Sony is more focused on getting things right than on releasing the update as soon as possible. So you can expect to see more features, or polished ones to appear within the new firmware for the PS4 soon enough.