PS4′s Share Play feature in action – new video

PlayStation 4′s system software update v2.00, codenamed Masamune, launches next Tuesday, 28th October. One of the features included in the update that I’m most excited about is Share Play.

[press-start]

NICE!! can't wait for this 2.0 update to come out i want to try it for my self

[Gazondaily]

Sounds too good to be true. A killer feature for sure. This is crazy. So if you have Fifa and your mates dont, you can basically play together and the other mate doesn't even have to buy the game! Crazy!

So unlimited 60 minute sessions means you can keep re-inviting mates to the games right?

[ForgottenProphecy]

Most likely. It's probably only limited to 60 minutes so you can't just give your friend the controller (figuratively of course) and let them get all they need out of the game so they have no reason to buy it.

[Fireseed]

The only downside I see cropping up is any that you would normally see with services like OnLive or Playstation Now. The games video is being streamed to the other players PS4 so there'll be some slight input lag. I don't see players being able to competitively play a fighting game but it'll be awesome for casual play sessions.

[AliTheSnake1]

This could be good for trophy hunters. People helping other people getting a hard trophy.

[Why o why]

All this and more to come without the need of draconian restrictions.

Im expecting some teething but expect it to be a great innovative feature ones fully operational

[ABizzel1]

Truly a game changing feature, for online gaming.

Kudos Sony, this is much better and way more than I expected.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing the end of "Biased reviews" for PlayStation games.

This is how it starts and I predicted this back in February 2013 when the PS4 was announced. Now you can try a game before you buy it. So when a so-called "journalist" tries to sh!t on a PS game for no reason, not only will he reveal his true nature, but he will also risk his reputation and like Adam Sessler, risk leaving the industry.

I have been waiting for this moment for a long time.

" I can it coming in the air at night... Oh Lord, oh lord.
I've been waiting for this moment all my life... Oh lord, oh lord." -Phil Collins

[spacedelete]

it says you can watch and spectate a friends game but does the friend have to give permission for you to spectate or can anyine in your friends list just watch you play ?

[MRMagoo123]

This is by far the best feature on a console ever since online started.

[fr0sty]

@Cupid, yeah, this will alter gaming journalism forever, at least on PS4 games. Now all you have to do is ask a friend if you want to try a game for yourself and see if the mediocre (or good) reviews are actually true or not. This is the ultimate game demo system. I once was bummed about how few demos there are available for PS4 vs. actual games, and how I felt that Sony was forcing us to buy games blindly or rely on reviews...

But now I see what was actually going on. They were changing the game behind the scenes...

Input lag will be a limitation, but it's basically free (depending on how you use it, yet another + benefit for other ways) and there are a ton of really good games that are surprisingly tolerant of input lag. I rented Twisted Metal on PSNow and actually was able to play even a fast paced game like that without problems. I lost control of my vehicle once for 2 seconds throughout the entire time I had the game (5 days iirc).

One drawback is that the stream will likely be limited to 720p, as if I'm not mistaken I think that's the resolution that the PS4's built in encoder chip outputs at. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I've noticed that PS4 will only stream at 720p, so it's likely a hardware limitation of the chip.

[GribbleGrunger]

Here's another video of what I consider a killer feature:

https://www.youtube.com/wat...

Absolutely brilliant idea.

[ThatOneGuyThere]

its the same video.

Edit: nevermind. my bad. I just got here from the kotaku article with the same title.

[OrangePowerz]

It gives a date for end of October :) Certainly an interesting feature if it works properly.

[Saigon]

Its just too good to be true...omg!!!

[SniperControl]

Whoe, did he just say that only one person needs PS+ to give the controller to another person, the other person does not need PS+.

Jesus, that is a killer feature right there.

[mark3214uk]

guess the friend would need to give permission for you to watch him play?

[geddesmond]

Do Sony own the rights to this like MS did with party chat last gen? If so then this is gonna be a big killer app. If not then I expect MS to follow suit in a few months or so.

I lost count at the amount of times I tried to persuade a friend into getting a game so we could co op together but getting replies like, I don't have the money or it looks like a game I wouldn't enjoy. Or even free to play games like Warframe that I love to bits but a certain friend of mine won't download because he won't support that type of model. Boy I can't wait to pass him my controller and show him how good it can get with a lvl 30 Warframe and leveled up weapon with fully leveled mods.

[AiirJordann23]

Freaking awesome I can't wait

[Crazyglues]

Yeah this is a game changer, type of feature...

I mean wow, this is going to be so cool, there are too many times when I wish I could just tell a friend, here you try it..

(or have a friend walk you through a part, but this time actually take the controls) Man this feature is going to rock.

This is going to be amazing.. Can't Wait'

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[StormLegend]

OMG!! I can't wait for this!!!!

[Mikey94]

To bad its limited to 60 min. And only certain games will be supported not all games will.

[GameDev1]

eh? Did you even look up this feature?

A session is 60 mins, but you can start that 60 mins session all over again at once a session is finished

And it does support all games, Sony made that very clear during the announcement, any game at all

[DVS-Zev]

Don't bother.There will many like him soon.Trying very hard to downplay this incredible feature.

(until MS copies it) Then it will be amazing for everyone.

[G20WLY]

^I'm not sure they are able to copy it, at least not with the same effectiveness - doesn't PS4 have a separate chip that looks after streaming?

[Antifan]

The douche already knows that.
He's just trolling because it's not on the bone.
But if it was on the bone, it's the best feature ever.

[tlougotg]

This is a Sony feature like remote play, all if not most games will be using it wth are u talking bout lol

[Clunkyd]

@DVS Don't forget the PC elitists, they like to hide when it comes to anything that is not res or fps.

[Avernus]

Arguably one of the best new features for these next gen consoles. Wished they'll get the DLNA sorted though, tired of plugging in my PS3 when I want to watch a movie.

Overall a nice update though. MP3 support, YouTube app + direct upload, themes etc.

[SmokingMonkey]

Incredible! This is the most "next gen" feature I've seen!

How many times have you gotten so pissed off at a game, that you handed off the controller to a friend, who promptly aces the part that you couldn't even fathom!

I had a friend who was just a natural at Tony Hawk games. He would never touch the ground and linked the whole course together!

But I would regularly kick his ass in Street Fighter/Samurai Shodown! HAha

[BattleTorn]

I did that for my friends' Last of Us play through quite a bit.

[MrSec84]

Best feature of any games console too date, Sony really are killing it this generation!

[Father__Merrin]

this is a killer feature

in fact this could possibly be the best console update ever

[johndoe11211]

Pretty much.

[ps5fanboy]

Amazing feature in my opinion.

[MitchellK]

Anybody know what the minimum required upload speed for SharePlay will be?

[GameDev1]

Basically like remoteplay

[Eonjay]

I assume it just needs to be stable. It was said that they use the Gaikai servers so probably 5mbs wired connection is recommended.

[MitchellK]

Alright thanks because i have 30Mbps download but only between 5-8 up. My ps4 is wired so hopefully that's enough. Can't wait for this.

[SoapShoes]

Remote play works great for my PS4 so I'm thinking that this will work great for me also. No telling if it will for my friends or not...

[StormLegend]

I got a even better video of Share Play ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Eonjay]

Thanks for sharing.

[StormLegend]

NP ;)

[ThatOneGuyThere]

it makes the european one look....cheap.

[gamingisnotacrime]

this is just impressive, allowing a online friend to play/test a game you own. amazing

[purp13m0nk3y]

I can see this feature being used a lot by my PSN group. Many times I have bought a new game and been so excited to share the experience with a friend. Now that will be seamless and convenient to do.

Also quite often a mate will be undecided about a purchase and will wait to play my copy first. Now he/she can do that from the comfort of their lounge.

In that sense it should help sell some games too.

[Genuine-User]

Shareplay looks too good.
Time to upgrade my Internet connection.

[PR_FROM_OHIO]

Wait so me an my brother can play NBA 2k15 together even though he doesn't own a copy??

[kingboy]

I Believe yes provided his got PS Plus if im not mistaken

[PR_FROM_OHIO]

Then wow is that an awesome feature!! #GameChanger imo that's insane!!

[GezForce]

Affirmative! :)

[Eonjay]

Thats right!

[kingboy]

This right here is a game changer ,can't wait..

[Roman3mPiRe86]

I think this is good news for gamers and bad news for devs. Why? Because now people can try out games for free from their friends that bought them and decide whether they want to buy it or not. I was waiting to see if this update would drop before COD so I can try it out instead of buying it right away.

[SmokingMonkey]

Good question.

I constantly check live streams on PS4 for new games for this exact reason. Commercials don't usually show gameplay so.

But it goes both ways, someone who is on the fence might get the controller passed to them and then promptly make a trip to the store.

[Roman3mPiRe86]

Business wise, I think Sony screwed up dropping this update before COD because I think many people are going to share play before they buy it. So if the new COD isn't that great, well then the #s are going to reflect just that. Good for us gamers.

[dragon82]

How is that bad for Sony though?

[Revengeance]

Then who's fault is it for making a bad game? Surely it can't be Sony's?

[elazz]

Well, this would also mean that devs and publishers need to step up their game resulting in better quality games.

On the other hand certain gems that don't have the marketingbudget and have the risk to be unnoticed or where people are uncertain of a purchase will maybe cause an increase in sales because of these shareplay sessions.

[Kane22]

im pretty sure every dev and publisher knew about this feature since last year. and if they didn't like it they wouldn't allow it. remember devs don't have to put this feature in their game if they don't want to.

[mushroomwig]

"Because now people can try out games for free from their friends that bought them and decide whether they want to buy it or not."

You mean like people have been doing for years through borrowing games or letting friends play it over their houses? The core idea is something that's existed since two-player gaming has been around, Sony are just taking the idea to the next level.

[SmokingMonkey]

I wonder if it would support 4 players?

LBP3 is just around the corner....

[Mikey Mike]

Man we just got two, LOL.

[akaFullMetal]

What a great next gen feature, can't wait to try it. I'll now be able to help some of my other psn friends now.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

Can't wait to use this to spread word on lesser known gems. Hopefully it makes for a higher correlation between sales and quality. Is COD a good game? Sure! Is it 10x better than Infamous (20m sales vs. 2m)? NO! Not at all.

[Roman3mPiRe86]

Exactly! The games that deserve that spotlight will most likely get it instead of games that don't and just get hyped up by the media.

[gamingisnotacrime]

yeah!! lets share those GEMS, thanks to blogs and comments here i have played some of my favorite games

[CPTN MITCHELL]

The only way to play nba wax 2015 without spending $60.00

[JMaine518]

Wow this feature is truly amazing. Even if it is streaming. It's still playing a game you don't own whenever your friend allows you to. You can't beat that!

[Eonjay]

"You can't beat that!"

Oh but you can beat it, without ever owning it... with SharePlay ;)

[Mikey Mike]

Bam Bam Bam...another nail in the X1 coffin.

[gamingisnotacrime]

well this has nothing to do with XONE, but....

yeah its hitting those nails hard

[Jaqen_Hghar]

With direct rivals like this one always effects the other. Think of PS4 as Optimus Prime and Xbox as Megatron. Or PS4 is Sherlock Holmes and Xbox is Moriarty. Or PS4 is Batman and Xbox is the Joker...no that's too cool for them maybe Two Face (get it? Cause of 180s?). Oh and WiiU is Bumblebee, Watson, and Nightwing in these scenarios respectively. When PS4 gets an upgrade it will effect how Xbox sells and how people perceive each against each other. A man hopes the analogy helped.

[MasterCornholio]

I agree but it really is a killer feature that the competition doesn't have.

[yezz]

This sounds almost too good to be true!

So often I find myself in a pickle with some of my friends where we don't have any common games to play online and this feature solves that problem perfectly!

[Tripl3seis]

This is awesome I can't wait to try it

[KevWriter]

I love how they are releasing this update the same day Sunset Overdrive releases on Xbox One. Take some attention away from Xbox. Well played Sony, well played.

[gamingisnotacrime]

i see some hostility from Sony to insomniac, kind of betrayed by insomniac, not really but kinda

[Mikey Mike]

Have you seen Sunset videos? It's Infamous trying to be funny. Insomniac will be sleeping in SONY's bed again.

[Spid3r6]

This can backfire if PSN cannot handle the strain of the download and the new strain in share play!

[Whirlwind_Fanfare_08]

This is so awesome! can't wait for tuesday.

[James Vanderbeek]

ps4 for the win. this is awesome. this might end twitch. haha. why would you need it anymore when you can actually test the full game out now for free.

[Mikey Mike]

I was thinking the same thing, it also marks the end of IGN and other bias sites. SONY just ended trolling and handed power back to gamers.

[Buck_Johnsin]

Yea but I think it might actually work well given ur viewers/subscribers through Twitch. you can potentially gain far more subscribers and more donators by people who may want to play a game they don't own with you through share play...meaning more revenue for twitch and the streamer by viewers who wanna get a shot a playin with their favorite streamers. I do see people asking streamers all the time asking for game invites. That's how i foresee it but correct me if i'm wrong

[chikane]

great feature Sony love it

[Mikey Mike]

I just think the feature is super cool, I can't wait till Tuesday.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Neat!

[mushroomwig]

This is a game changer, seriously innovative feature.

[TheBoy]

I love how they forget to mention it's only for 60 minutes in the video, meh idea.

[mushroomwig]

They didn't mention it because it's a moot point since you can simply restart the session after the time is up.

[MasterCornholio]

BINGO

The limit is to prevent the host from handing the control over and walking away. It was done to appease publishers and to prevent people from playing a whole game for free easily.

[ashen122]

if this isn't for the players i don't know what is lol

[ghostface9]

So this only work if its a coop game or if you want to play multiplayer with them it has to be local which also takes away most games . this feature wont be able to be used in a lot of games unless your going to let your friend play while you watch which is seems worthless cause for me personally I would rather just tell my friend to go buy it than watch him play my game.

[NatureOfLogic_]

This is possibly the best console feature ever.

[kingvendrick]

Best update/feature ever. Share play looks superb can't wait,

MS gonna be well salty along with their fans^ lol.

PS4 the win :)

[feedthereaper]

It is an excellent feature and all credit to Sony,..... BUT..... and not to reign on their parade, how do the developers and publishers feel about it?
IF they are all happy about it and and fully support it then this is a killer feature.

However, if a few gamers pick up games and mass-share these games for periods of time like is theoretically possible (for example, let dozens of friends play a couple of hours of a average rated game) then the publishers and developers are going to quickly turn their back on this idea and either find some legal issue with what Sony are offering to try and shut down Share Play or get massive compensation for losses in sales..... or they are going to turn their backs on making games for the PS4 completely and turn to PC/X1 only.

I think the big thing here is that its brand new and so far fairly limited on full details and hands on for anyone. The idea is definitely a pro-gamer/purchaser feature and its pushing new boundaries..... but its only a couple of months after it launches (say January) that we will properly see how the Publishers who sell these games feel about it. If revenues remain the same or even increase thanks indirectly to Share Play then all will be fine and Sony will reign supreme once more..... but if sales over Xmas drop heavily and it appears from media and surveys that more and more people are forgoing buying a copy of a game to just "share" other peoples (which destroys the impulse purchase market) then the only people who will win is the big publishers with the huge franchises, and the smaller publishers will be up in arms over it. For example.... look at Evolve.... mixed reviews over whether it is a great game or majorly average at the moment. A lot of gamers who might be tempted to buy it regardless of the reviews (thus money in the publishers pockets) may now hang back, wait for a friend to buy it and play their copy for a few hourly sessions and decide it was ok but not worth paying a full price for.... and suddenly that is one sale less that may have been bought on impulse. For the publishers, it could be as devastating for them as second hand game sales or piracy!
This excellent feature is going to lead for a very interesting 2015 and one that I believe will either be a massive success (and see X1 try and mimic something like it soon after!) or a publisher nightmare that ends up with more games heading away from the PS4, or end up in the law courts over the legality of what Sony are offering.

Nobody will know the outcome of it until next year, but until then, it looks like gamers are going to have an enjoyable end to 2014!

[mushroomwig]

"However, if a few gamers pick up games and mass-share these games for periods of time"

You mean like what gamers have been doing since console gaming existed? This feature really isn't anything new, gamers have always been able to share their games with their friends. You've done it yourself I'm sure. I can't remember the amount of times my friends and I swapped games so we could try something new. Sony have just brought this feature to the next level, that's all.

Dude, you're thinking way too much into this.

[Moe-Gunz]

It may increase software sales. The feature can lead to more PS4s being sold which leads to more software sales.

Sure you can keep sharing but you're reliant on another player. I see people trying games out then buying it themselves. I know people who'll get a PS4 because of this feature.

[MasterCornholio]

"It is an excellent feature and all credit to Sony,..... BUT..... and not to reign on their parade, how do the developers and publishers feel about it?"

People keep asking why owning a huge amount of market share matters and its because of this. With such a huge amount of market share Sony can implement features like this and either the publishers accept it or lose 50% of sales on current gen systems.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

My buddy says his brother shares full games with his friends over the One all the time? Any truth to that? I couldn't see MS allowing something like that... Especially before Sony!

[mysteryraz11]

better then any feature on any other platform

[NewAgeisHere]

Wow, never seen a better idea..........killer app!

[sin7279]

incredible feature

[mastemikegee]

"This... is for the players"

No.

THIS... is f**king awesomely insane!

3 days to go :3

[Pikminmaniac]

A next gen feature! Sounds great, but I don't have many psn friends... also, is this just for ps4 players, or can a ps3 friend play with youon ps4 with a ps plus membership?

[ironmonkey]

truly innovative. has never been done before but yet im sure us as gamers were thinking about this like ten years ago. makes me wanna buy another ps4.

[crowsticky1234]

This is great news, this is beneficial for us gamers who can't determined to buy the game or not buy the game and it's great for developers cause now they don't have to release demos. And PS+ is worth more than what it's selling which is a huge PLUS.

[MAULxx]

My download speed is much faster than my 3Mbs upload. Will I be able to Shareplay a decent game for a friend with 3Mbps?

[mokkeyrg2]

nice but i can load of problems with the connections when we try it.

[redknight80]

I have a sister in prison (due to very unfortunate circumstances) been there a few years and will be there just a couple more...and her mind was absolutely blown when I told her about this. When she gets out, this will be something that will truly bring us together (we are several states apart). Thank you Sony :)

[Antwan3k]

Definitely has that "cool" factor and undoubtedly takes us a step further in terms of connected gaming.. Great job

But in the end, isn't this a glorified demo?.. Free demos for friends is indeed awesome but I think some people are going way overboard on the hype for SharePlay..

For the person who owns the game it's "oh cool, let me give my friend a try and/or do some quick co-op".. Awesome, no doubt

For the person who doesn't own the game it's "oh cool, I can play a game I don't own".. Awesome, no doubt..

But these experiences still depend on a streaming service (which means varying quality depending on the internet connection), the host player being online at the time for both people to play, and a 60 minute time limitation per session..

How is this better than the Family Share service that Microsoft originally planned for Xbox One (and is still planning to implement) where anyone in my "family" (10 XBL friends of my choosing) can download any full game from my digital collection?.. My friend would still be able to play a full game that they don't own, play co-op if I'm online, but do so without any variable quality that would result from a streaming service since the game would be installed on their HDD, and there would be no time limit.. That sounded awesome yet the outcries against DRM and "always online" put that ambition on hold..

Once it is reintroduced, Microsoft will have it's own Sharing service that will be arguably superior to SharePlay in many ways.. SharePlay looks awesome but all the "that's the last nail in the Xbone's coffin" comments seem a bit premature considering what Microsoft has already announced to be in the works..