PS4 Always Online questions answered by Mark Cerny

It seems like it’s been months since we’ve first heard rumblings about the PS4 and Xbox One requiring players to be “always online”.  The first indications came from rumors, which were later given credence by a Microsoft employee via Twitter.  After the Xbox One reveal it became a certainty when Microsoft explained that there would be some form of “check-in” for their new system.  Popular consensus thought that Sony would probably be heading in that direction with the PS4 as well, they just hadn’t spilled the beans just yet.

The PS4 is not a permanent connection system but the experience is richer if you are

As it turns out, this might not be the case at all.  Mark Cerny, the architect behind the PS4, recently sat down with a Spanish publication to clarify the alleged always online requirements for the PS4.  In the interview, Cerny says that the PS4 will not require a permanent connection to the internet.

“PlayStation 4 is not a permanent connection system in that sense, but the experience is much richer if you are connected.  You will have access to digital content and updates for your games, along with a wide range of social functions: upload videos and screenshots, see your friends play and interact with them in various ways within the games.”

Microsoft’s Xbox One on the other hand has already been announced to require a check-in for the console to operate, the frequency of which has yet to be determined.  We’ll have to wait and see if the restrictions are so limiting as to put people off of buying the new console, but it’s certainly a check in Sony’s box as to the PS4 being more friendly towards its purchasers.  We’ll have to wait for more details as they come in out of E3 2013.