PS4 Voice Commands Will Be Limited at Launch

Sony intends to add more voice command options for the PS4 further down the road.

In case you missed the Xbox One reveal back in May, Microsoft put no small emphasis on the ability of its users to control a bulk of the console’s operations through voice commands. Despite the fact that some were a bit miffed that Microsoft didn’t focus more on games in that initial unveiling, the voice commands and Kinect driven interface were actually pretty spiffy. That being the case, it’s natural to wonder what the PS4 will have in its own voice command department.

Sony has, in turn, revealed that while a PS4 equipped with the PlayStation Eye and corresponding microphone array will have access to some voice commands, they’ll be very limited. At launch users will be able to turn the PS4 off (but not on) and open games with spoken commands. Beyond that none of the console’s third party apps will utilize the tech at release. Sony representatives have said that more commands, both voice and gesture based, will be added in the future.

This could seem like a potential disadvantage for the PS4, but it honestly shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. Sony may have originally planned to package the PS4 with the PlayStation Eye, but its decision to remove it to lower the console’s price arguably sidelined the peripheral. In turn, while future PS4’s may come packaged with the Eye, it makes sense that the company would invest its attentions elsewhere when not many people are going to be using voice commands at launch any ways.

Source: Engadget