The latest PS5 console system software update was rolled out worldwide to all PS5 players yesterday, and many of you have already discovered new features such as Discord voice chat and VRR support. 1440p.
To take a peek behind the curtain, we sat down with Hiromi Wakai, Tokyo-based VP of Product Management, to discuss how the new features came together and what’s next. this latest update.
sid shuman: It’s good to talk to you again, Hiromi! Can you tell us about your role at PlayStation?
Hiromi Wakai: My team covers the product management role for hardware products, system software updates and network services for PlayStation, working closely with teams in the US and Europe. I get the chance to help guide our product strategy globally.
I joined the Sony group in 2001 and arrived at SIE in 2005. So I’ve been working on PlayStation products for almost 18 years. It’s been a wonderful journey listening to our fans and game development partners as we work to deliver new features and products that unlock gaming possibilities.
Sid: Discord voice chat is a big addition.
Hiromi: Discord voice chat has been one of the biggest requests from our community and we’ve worked hard with the Discord team to deliver an experience that we hope our players will enjoy. I use Discord when playing a Final Fantasy XIV raid with my friends who are playing on PC, so Discord voice chat is a feature that is important to me and one that we are very excited to bring to our community. Together with Discord, we want to make it easier for users to connect wherever they like to play.
Sid: What are some of your favorite features in this new update?
Hiromi: I’m very happy that we’re providing variable refresh rate support for 1440p, as it’s a much-requested feature by gamers who like to play on monitors that support 1440p. VRR is a great way to improve the visual performance of PS5 games, so it’s exciting that more of our gamers can take advantage of this feature.
The ability to update your DualSense controller wirelessly is another feature that I think adds convenience for gamers and makes it much easier to update your controller’s device software.
Sid: How do you determine which features are part of a system update?
Hiromi: Our inspiration comes from our players so we constantly listen to their feedback. We’re always thinking about what features our fans might want to see and how to make their PS5 gaming experiences more fun, social and connected. It’s also important to us to minimize friction in players’ ability to easily embark on the experiences they want to enjoy on PS5. We keep a very long list of features and think carefully about how we prioritize our time and resources to deliver the ones that will have the most impact on our players’ experience.
Our goal is not only to improve the basic PS5 experience, but also to provide excellent integrated platform experiences for new products, such as in-depth control customization options for the wireless controller DualSense Edge and PlayStation VR2. We’re excited to introduce even more new features to players in the future!
Sid: What challenges do you face when developing a system update? I guess some of them are more complicated than they look…
Hiromi: Absolutely. Each system update is a very large development effort with several dozen updates, from major features to small improvements. Even a small update can take a lot of engineering resources and time to develop, so keeping track of all the details and ensuring we deliver quality experiences that meet our players’ expectations is always a challenge. dynamic and exciting challenge. That’s why we rely so heavily on players to help us test these features in our betas and help us ensure they provide a great experience when we roll them out globally.
Luckily, I work with a great team here in Tokyo and around the world. It takes a lot of collaboration between different regions to deliver a successful system update. I want to thank our global team for all their hard work and our fans for always giving us great feedback and ideas to keep raising the bar.
Sid: How do you incorporate feedback from beta testers?
Hiromi: Beta testing is a critical quality assurance step when we deploy new system software features. They give us the opportunity to test new features on a large scale and identify important changes we need to make before the official global release. But the process doesn’t stop there: we continually listen to player feedback after each system software release and collect data on how players interact with new features so we can continue to improve the experience for everyone. the world. This is our goal and our passion.
Sid: With the release of the latest PS5 system update, what is your team currently working on?
Hiromi: We are working on new features for players and hope to share more soon. I’m glad to see so many players enjoying the features of this latest update, but our mission to make gaming on PS5 the best experience possible continues.
It’s a privilege for us to bring these updates to our fans and I truly believe it’s a collaborative effort. Thank you to everyone in our community for your continued support. There’s more to come, so stay tuned!
