The new system software update for the PS5 console was released to all PS5 players yesterday, and most of you have already experienced new features like Discord Voice chat and 1440p VRR support.
To get a behind-the-scenes look, we caught up with Tokyo's Vice President of Product Management, Hiromi Wakai, to discuss how the new features are being integrated and what's coming after this latest update.
Mr. Schoeman : Nice to talk to you again, Hiromi! Can you tell us about your role at PlayStation?
Hiromi Wakai: My team is responsible for managing hardware products, system software updates and online services for PlayStation, working closely with teams in the US and Europe. I am fortunate to help lead our product strategy globally.
I joined the Sony team in 2001 and moved to SIE in 2005, so I've been working on PlayStation products for 18 years. It's been a great journey to hear from our fans and game development partners as we work to create new features and products that unlock the power of gaming.
Sid: Discord voice chat is a great addition.
Hiromi: Voice chat on Discord is one of the most requested from our community, and we've worked hard with the Discord team to create an experience that we hope our players will enjoy. I've been using Discord while playing Final Fantasy XIV Invasion with friends who play on PC, so voice chat on Discord is an important feature for me and something we want to bring to our community. With Discord, we want to make it easy for people to connect with each other wherever they want to play.
Syd: What features did you like about this new update?
Hiromi: I'm very happy to offer variable refresh rate support for 1440p as this feature is requested by gamers who prefer to play on 1440p screens. VR is a great way to improve the visual performance of PS5 games, so it's great to see so many of our players enjoying this feature.
The ability to wirelessly update your DualSense controller is another feature that I find more convenient for gamers and makes updating your controller software easier.
Sid: How do you decide what features to include in a system update?
Hiromi: We are inspired by our players, so we are always listening to their opinions. We always think about what our fans want to see and make PS5 games more fun, social and connected. It's also important to us to reduce the complexity of making it easier for players to explore the experiences they want to enjoy on PS5. We have an incredibly long list of features, and we think strongly about how we prioritize our time and resources to deliver features that have the greatest impact on our players' experience.
We focus not only on improving core PS5 functionality, but also on providing the best integrated platform experiences for new products like the DualSense Edge wireless controller and immersive control options for PlayStation VR2. We are excited to bring more new features to players in the future!
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Syed: What challenges did you face while updating the system? I think some of them are tougher than they look.
Hiromi: Of course. Each system update is a massive development effort that includes dozens of updates, from major features to minor fixes. Even small updates can require a lot of engineering resources and development time, so keeping track of all the details and delivering a quality gaming experience that meets the needs of our players is always a dynamic and exciting task. That's why we're counting on gamers to test this feature in our beta and help us ensure a great experience when we roll it out globally.
Fortunately, I work with an amazing team in Tokyo and around the world. Successful system reforms require active collaboration across the region. I would like to thank our global team for their hard work and positive feedback and for always putting our fans first.
Syd: How do you take feedback from beta testers into account?
Hiromi: Beta testing is an important quality assurance step when introducing new system software features. It gives us a chance to extensively test new features and identify major changes we need to make before the official global release. But the process doesn't stop there: after each system software release, we're constantly listening to player feedback and collecting data on how players interact with new features so we can improve the experience for everyone. This is our mission and passion.
Syd: After the latest PS5 update, what has your team been working on?
Hiromi: We are working on a new feature for players that we can share soon. I'm glad more players are enjoying the features of this latest update, but our mission to make PS5 games as fun as possible remains.
We are honored to deliver this update to our fans and believe it is a collaborative effort. Thank you to everyone in our community for your continued support. Stay tuned for more to come!