Grave Gamer News & Views — mp3

PlayStation 4 Will Support CD and MP3 Playback… Someday

Following fan outcry over the PS4’s inability to play MP3’s and CD’s as well as its lack of support for DLNA, Sony’s Worldwide figurehead Shuhei Yoshida confirmed the features will be worked into the system post-launch.

Gabbing it up on Giant Bomb’s Interview Dumptruck, Yoshida admits his entire team was surprised to hear such vehement feedback over a feature that, apparently, nobody really talks about.

“It’s not like we actively decided ‘let’s not do this feature so people will have to subscribe to Music Unlimited,’” said Shuhei. “The focus has been more on the game features. Some of the features we wanted but we couldn’t get in on day one.”

Yoshida goes on to say “the system guys” in Japan are already figuring out when to incorporate the omitted feature.

Sifting through IGN’s comments section on the issue, there seems to be some confusion as to why MP3 and CD playback, in particular, is a big deal; one user even quips that Sony was correct in thinking nobody cared about the feature, that they simply saw the other guys had it and demanded their fanboy informed console decision house the feature, too.

Let me clarify why MP3/CD playback is important to me: motherfuckin’ custom tracks, son. That’s it. I love jamming to my own tunes while I game. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not like I’m masking Jack Wall’s score on Mass Effect or overlaying Stone Temple Pilots where Nobuo Uematsu should be. If I’m kicking on music, it’s usually to spice up the humdrum military anthems that accompany online sessions of Call of Duty or circumvent the head-on collisions caused when Skrillex splits my ear canal in Need for Speed.

Music Unlimited’s ability to play tunes during every game session leads me to believe that gone are the days of the PS3’s brutally selective custom track feature. Thanks for listening, Shuhei. Now knock your team’s heads together until the patch goes live.

PS4’s Lack of MP3/DLNA Support: Yoshida Speaks

Nearly two weeks out from the PlayStation 4’s launch date, Sony shared with the public a gigantic FAQ composed of every known fact about the next-gen console.

A lot of the information are regurgitated tidbits we’ve been hearing over the months since the console was officially announced. But if you really sat down and poured over the list (because your time is as worthless as mine), some interesting facts stick out and slap you in the eyes.

Notably, the complete lack of MP3 and DLNA support. We’re talkin’ none. You can’t stream from your computer or a music device. You can’t even play a standard audio CD. Unlike the PS3, the PS4 doesn’t let you store music on the console’s hard drive in the very least. If you’re a custom tracks loving sort of gamer like me, that unpleasant feeling clouding your vision is rage.

What’s the ploy here? Music Unlimited is that ploy – the only way, at launch, to play background music during games… or any music at all on the PS4. And, yes, good guess; Music Unlimited does require a paid-for subscription.

Now, a lot of the folks I run into aren’t as prolific with the feature as I am. Understandable. A majority of PS3 games don’t allow for custom tracks. But enough of you out there shared your contempt for the removal of MP3 playback (you gorgeous people, you), and Sony’s Worldwide Studios president responded.

Shuhei Yoshida, taking to Twitter no less, stated, “Thanks for the feedback to the lack of MP3 and DLNA support at the launch of PS4. I’ll share with the PS4 Dev team for future consideration.”

All right, that’s… promising. It wasn’t quite “We’re fixing it” but it was a far cry from “Deal with it, jabronies.”

Then, being the man of his word he is, Shuhei took to Twitter again. “Had a very good discussion w the PS4 Dev team today.”

Hells yes. Yoshida saw our concerns, adjusted his tie, and said, “Not on my fucking watch.” Barging down the dev team’s door, I imagine he began slapping every team member there with a Dualshock 4 until it broke. Then he unboxed another one and broke it across their faces all over again. So what’d he accomplish? What’s the verdict, Shuhei?

“We’re happy & appreciative to learn so many people use and like PS3’s media feature.”

Goddamnit, he doesn’t sound like he even so much as fractured a jaw. Ah, well. At least they know what we want, and something in Yoshida referring to the MP3 lack of support as an “at launch” issue makes it sound like it’s a feature that can easily be implemented into the PS4. Eventually. Maybe.