Recently while contemplating the arrival of the PS5, in the summer of this year, we are reminded about that in four weeks, it will no longer be summer.
Sony continues to entice us with tiny bits of information released in bite-size chunks as if to keep its consumer interested right to the end.
So what’s the latest from Sony HQ and Mark Cerny? According to Wired an online magazine, Sony is changing its approach from the block data of the PS4 to a more configurable style of installation in the PS5. What does this mean?
It’s all about the access, and that means quicker installation and faster play. So you get your new console, and you’re keen to play the updated GTA or Assassin’s Creed Valhal. You want to dive straight into the multiplayer function and start a campaign – Now you can, with instant access you can do this, you don’t have to download the entire game to play.
Regardless of multiplayer or solo player, the new facility means you can keep up with what’s happening in real-time. Unlike the PS4 that does not allow access to anything your friends are doing without launching an entire campaign, so if you haven’t played for a while, those painful updates means nothing is going to happen very fast.
Cerny is keen to stress that the PS5 will have a fast upload anyway, but the ability to see what’s going on without actually having to boot the game is new and not a feature in any other device.
The PS5 multiplayer server will provide the console with a set of activities that are in real-time, this feature is unique to the PS5. In contrast, the solo or single-player games are given more information about what missions are accessible and what rewards you could receive for a completed task.
So the long and the short of it is, as a player you can literally jump in whenever you like! Insiders say you will have instant deep links from the start menu onwards so you can access the juicy bits of the game right away, but is this a good thing?
So what now, no foreplay, no anticipation and no moochin around the game, checking out the competition. Instant access might be excellent if you’re in a hurry, keen to get on to the next stage but it’s about the long hall, the long game, surely?
PlayStation Activities is an excellent feature if you’re on your lunch break or fancy a quick bit of kill and spill before breakfast. Still, in my mind, it’s not a selling point, it’s nice to have, but loads of features sell the PS5 but this part, the PlayStation Activities menu isn’t one of them, it’s just a bit meh.
Give me the incredible new hard drive with an inbuilt SSD, a solid-state drive able to support 8k worth of graphics; this is brilliant considering a regular smart TV only supports 4K. And what about the enhanced AMD, the CPU is a third-generation AMD’s Ryzen line tracing rays of light to simulate complex 3D interactions creating the environment to give you the best big film production-style graphics with enhanced sound to match, fantastic right?
I compare the PlayStation Activities feature with instant noodles; personally, I don’t want instant noodles when I can have chow mein, but if you live on super noodles, then PlayStation Activities is for you, just don’t blame me if your hungry again in 30 minutes.