PlayStation 4 Update 3.0 Leaks, Reveals YouTube Broadcasting But No #BetterPSN

The PlayStation 4 is receiving a new update soon with the 3.0 designation, which means it should be a significant leap forward from the previous incremental patches. Information from a beta chest leaked Tuesday revealing new features, such as broadcasting to YouTube and the creation of Communities on the console. Unfortunately, the #BetterPSN complaints from users haven’t been addressed.

Japanese site Pocket News got the scoop on the new features for the PS4 after beta testers leaked the information online. Gematsu helpfully provided a translation along with a separate post in the PS4 subreddit with an image that confirms their authenticity.

The headliners for the PS4 3.0 update include the addition of Communities, Events, YouTube broadcasting, Twitter video clips, and some general cleanup of the user interface.

Communities is an interesting addition, as it is meant to be a way to gather together PS4 gamers around the games that they are interested in and play. Users can join communities or create their own to play games and join parities. Without seeing it in action, it sounds like a way to create something similar to a gaming clan without actually calling it a clan.

YouTube broadcasting is also being integrated. This makes the PS4 the first of the current-gen to jump on the video services’ new game broadcasting features meant to compete with Twitch. That’s assuming that Microsoft doesn’t sneak the feature into one of its next monthly updates before the PS4 3.0 update is released.

What the 3.0 update does not address so far is the multitude of #BetterPSN complaints that erupted from console owners in July after a myriad of PlayStation Network issues. This includes items like the capability to appear offline, increased cloud storage, and more.

We don’t know if the leaked notes from the 3.0 update beta are final, but it does demonstrate the contrast between Sony and Microsoft’s approach to console updates. Microsoft has taken a very user-centric approach with its user updates and has a dedicated User Voice community, where owners recommend and vote on changes. This drove the addition of backwards compatibility to the Xbox One, among other features.

Here are the leaked PlayStation 4 3.00 beta update notes.

Main features in version 3.00 beta update

• (Events) has been added to the function items. All events associated with PlayStation are now brought together, enabling you to discover, participate in and watch these events in a centralised area.
• (Communities) has been added to (Friends). (Communities) is a feature that enables you to find players who have similar tastes and interests. You can join an existing community or create your own community. You can also play games, join parties or talk about shared interests with members in the community.
• You can now go to (Now Playing) to see what games or parties members of the community are enjoying right now. You can also easily start a game, join a party or send a request to watch a member’s gameplay in (Now Playing). You can access (Now Playing) from What’s New, (Friends), (Communities), the message screen in (Messages) or Profile.
• The layout of the message screen in (Messages) has been improved. From the message screen, you can now select (Now Playing) or easily start a party. You can also add your favourite groups to [Favourite Groups] in (Friends).
• You can now broadcast your gameplay on YouTube™.
• You can now upload video clips to Twitter (10-second limitation).

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• The layout of (Live from PlayStation) has been improved. In addition to broadcasts, you can now view video clips and screenshots.

Settings

• You can now change the speed for automatic text scrolling in (Settings) > [Accessibility] > [Auto-Scroll Speed].
• [Community], [Requests to Watch Gameplay], [Events] and [Current Song] have been added to (Settings) > [Notifications] > [Display Pop-Up Notifications].

Other

• You can now post your comments for activity feeds in What’s New.
• You can now enjoy fun conversations with your Friends using (Stickers) in (Messages). (PlayStation®Plus) has been added to the function items. You can now see all of your PlayStation®Plus benefits, such as free monthly games, exclusive discounts, news and more, in one place.
• Accessibility features are now available when playing content from Blu-ray Discs™ or DVDs. Application of these features has also been expanded. You can now restrict the use of games while looking at age level information and rating icons.
• You can now create a sub account for a minor by selecting [New User] in the screen for selecting a user.
• You can now adjust settings for Web filtering services from (Settings) > [Parental Controls]. You can use the service to block objectionable websites from being displayed in the Internet Browser. (Additional fees may apply for use of the service.)

[Images via PlayStation, GameSpot, Play Mag]