PS4 Remote Play For PC, Mac Coming Soon With 'Musashi' Update
For a few PlayStation 4 owners, a new update is on the way. The beta test for update version 3.50, codenamed “Musashi,” starts today, and it comes with a few interesting features for Sony’s flagship console.
Remote Play
The most notable addition in the Musashi update is Remote Play functionality on a PC or Mac, which means that you could stream PS4 gameplay to a computer. The feature was initially revealed in November with a tweet from Shuhei Yoshida, the head of Sony Worldwide Studios. In the past, Remote Play worked only on the PlayStation Vita handheld and the Xpera Z2 and Z3 smartphones.
With Remote Play on a computer, Sony joins Microsoft in the streaming race. In August, the Xbox parent company allowed users to stream gameplay from their Xbox One to a Windows 10 PC at 1080p and 60 frames per second. However, it’s still unclear as to what resolution and framerate will be available on Sony’s Remote Play platform.
Even though it’s coming with the update, beta testers won’t be able to use it. Sony is probably still in the process of developing the streaming app, or ensuring that controllers are supported on both PC and Mac with its own driver. However, the announcement said that “you can look forward to it soon.”
Play With Friends Or Stay Invisible
The rest of the update includes more features for online play. You can plan a scheduled event for group parties, so when everyone shows up at the specified event time, they will automatically join a party, which saves time in the setup process.
If you want to remain invisible to online friends, you can change your settings to appear offline. You can toggle your online status manually, or automatically appear offline once you enter your account. Conversely, if you want to keep track of a friend’s online status, you can set up a notification that tells you when they’re online.
Even if you’re not playing the same game, you can join a party with your friends. In the new update, the party menu also shows you what games your friends are currently playing. You can either choose to join them and play the same game, or start a completely different title altogether.
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Coming Soon
Sony didn’t put a release date on the Musashi update, nor did it specify how long the beta test would take. PC and Mac Remote Play is the most notable highlight within the update, and Sony will likely keep fans informed on its progress as it continues to polish the next big update for the PlayStation 4.
Follow Rexly Peñaflorida II @Heirdeux. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.
Rexly Peñaflorida is a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware covering topics such as computer hardware, video games, and general technology news.
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10tacle Hey Fit is that you from the old AnandTech forums? I miss all the flamefests over there in the good old days, heh (I was Nfarce).Reply
In any event, I hope the requirement is not like Microsoft and requiring Win10 to work. It's pretty obvious with the XBone that MS wants to push the stragglers like me into updating to 10. But I have not upgraded from Win7 on any of my PCs/Laptops, and I see no incentive or hardware/software reason for Sony to mandate a Win10 requirement. -
SpAwNtoHell In regards to win 7 been my favourite for a very long time till recent and it still is on more then 3 years laptops i have but win 10 is more fluid in games more obvious on skylake then the haswel and ivy desktops but still noticeable there especially for fast pacing games.Reply -
SpAwNtoHell I still do not get why if you have a pc you will want to do this tho as a pc always offered a better gaming experience unless you want to play 2-3 titles specific to ps4Reply -
realnoize ReplyI still do not get why if you have a pc you will want to do this tho as a pc always offered a better gaming experience unless you want to play 2-3 titles specific to ps4
Well, not everyone has a powerful enough PC that can run games at a quality similar to what a PS4 can do. Also, for those gaming primarily on PS4, this could act like an easy way to play their games on a second screen when someone else wants to use the TV for something else. Personnaly, I'm not sure I'll use the feature as I game mostly on PC and my PS4 is mostly used by my kids, but I guess it's a nice feature for those who may benefit from this.
But if it's the same streaming engine used for the Vita/PSTV or Android remote play, then I would say it's far from perfect and needs a very strong network connection to work well. But I guess if both PS4 and PC run on a wired connection, it will work well. -
falchard When will they implement the important update. Play the game on the pc instead of a ps4.Reply -
falchard When will they implement the important update. Play the game on the pc instead of a ps4, or stream to the ps4.Reply -
NoN1120 would it be possible to use a mouse and a keyboard with just this update??Reply
cause that would be great.