PS5 and PS4 System Software Betas Introduce Open Parties and Voice Commands

Sony will be starting their second PS5 console beta tomorrow, introducing a host of new features including a trial of voice commands for tasks like finding and opening games. There will also be another PS4 system software beta, and both PS5 and PS4 will get to try out the community-requested Open Parties feature.

PS5 and PS4 February 2022 System Software Beta Features

The betas will introduce new party chat options on both consoles. When starting a party, players can now choose between open or closed parties, although open parties will only be accessible to other people with beta access. For now, all players can be invited to closed parties. There are also improvements to voice chat reporting and the option to access Share Play from the voice chat card on PS5. PS4 players get the option to adjust the voice chat volume of each player too.

PS5 players will also get game base enhancements. Voice chats have been renamed to parties, friend requests are easier to decline, and an indicator has been added to the party when one of the party members is sharing their screen. The Game Base control menu and cards have new friends and groups options too.

New PS5 user interface feature include the ability to filter by genre and the option to keep up to five games/apps on the home screen permanently.The number of games and apps visible on the home screen has been increased to 14.  Trophy cards and the trophy list have received another design update, and Share Screen can be started from the Create menu.

Additional accessibility features include six extra screen reader languages and mono audio support for headphones. While the latter is for PS5 only, it is assumed the former is for both consoles. Finally, voice command will let players find and open games, apps, and settings, as well as control media playback on PS5. More details on all of these features can be found on the PlayStation Blog. The voice command beta is limited to those in the US and UK, whereas the other features can be accessed in Canada, Japan, Germany and France too.

In other news, Call of Duty: Vanguard and Warzone Pacific Season 2 will kick off next week, introducing chemical warfare and more armored machines. Elsewhere, Ghost of Tsushima has added an Aloy outfit in honor of the imminent arrival of Horizon Forbidden West.

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