The PlayStation 5 Finally Got A Desperately Needed Update
The new PlayStation 5 update has some good news for gamers, which doubles as good news for Sony. The company's been in need of a PR boost after it deeply upset "Helldivers 2" fans last month by trying to force PC players onto the PlayStation Network and then repeating the same mistake with "God of War Ragnarok." This PS5 update doesn't do anything to fix Sony's fascination with its own PSN, but it does make it significantly easier for anyone using a PS5 to connect with their friends on other platforms.
Discord has finally been fully integrated into the PS5 experience. That's great because anyone who's played a PS5 (or a PS4, or a PS3) can tell you that the PSN isn't the best way to connect with your friends. It's enough of a headache that plenty of players have spent years keeping their phone or a laptop by their side so they can just use Discord anyway. Now those days are gone, and everyone's favorite messaging platform is just as easy to use on PS5 as it is on your PC. This comes at the same time that Sony is bringing more of its games to PC, which helps cement the idea that Sony is making cross platform play a huge priority moving forward. If we could just get the company to stop trying to integrate the PSN into all of its PC ports, we'd really be cooking.
Don't forget about your Xbox
As though it didn't want to be outdone, Microsoft also rolled out an Xbox Series X|S update at the same time that Sony launched Discord integration on the PS5. The Xbox update is a bit more of a scattershot of small features, but all of them are pretty welcome. Now your Xbox can store multiple Wi-Fi connections, so traveling with your console just became significantly more streamlined. The UI also got a little update to make managing subscriptions easier, and there's finally fully keyboard and mouse integration for the console. Get ready to start looking through that Cloud Gaming catalog a little more thoroughly because with some games there's just no denying that keyboard and mouse is the better way to play.
The Xbox update feels more like a series of broad strokes to make the console more flexible than ever. That makes sense considering Microsoft recently announced a new line of Xboxes that will presumably take full advantage of this slew of new features. Whether you're an Xbox loyalist, a Sony diehard, or even someone who still appreciates the advantages of the Nintendo Switch, it's a good time to be a console gamer.