PlayStation 4 app sends voice messages from iOS, Android
Sony's brand-new app for iOS and Android will let you send voice messages to your PlayStation Network friends, and even watch them play live.
Sony's brand-new smart phone and tablet app for iOS and Android will let you send voice messages to your PlayStation Network friends, and even watch them play live.
"There are a variety of things you can do with it," PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida boasted to the official PlayStation blog. "You can connect to your PlayStation profile, and send messages -- even voice messages -- to friends between your smart phone and PS4.
"A friend on PS4 can also send out an invitation for a multiplayer game, which you can then check on the App, and you can also purchase PS4 games from PlayStation Store. Your game will immediately start downloading while you're away."
The app also lets you use your mobile or tablet as a second screen for games that enable the feature, Yoshida-san revealed. "There are many big publishers creating their own apps for their games, like WatchDogs or Battlefield, and that's great," he says. "But smaller developers can use PlayStation App to connect to PS4 and load an application, like drawing software for example, so that you don't have to download and install a specific app on your smart phone. It's open to all PS4 developers to use."
That's part of Sony's commitment to indie developers for PS4, which allows one-man bands and bedroom devs to publish games themselves.
The app will launch alongside the new console next month -- not long now! Sony's latest gaming leviathan is set to cost £349 in the UK, about £80 less than Microsoft's Xbox One. The Xbox has its own multi-platform app, called SmartGlass, which can show in-game stats and control manuals, as well as whatever multiplayer features devs dream up.
Grand Theft Auto V has its own iOS app, called iFruit after the game's parody of Apple's devices, which is supposed to let you train your faithful mutt Chop and upgrade your favourite cars. Unfortunately, it has rarely worked since launch -- and become even less reliable since Rockstar's inadequate servers were blitzed by millions of players struggling to connect to GTA Online.
Are you excited about next-gen gaming linking your console with your phone? What's the best example of a second-screen app you've seen? Connect with your friends down in the comments, or over on our seamlessly integrated Facebook page.
