Minecraft on PS4 to feature touchpad support; PS3 upgrade discount confirmed

Mojang has detailed a number of new features scheduled for inclusion in the PS4 version of Minecraft.

Developer 4J has implemented support for the DualShock 4’s touchpad for menu navigation and crafting, although it will remain completely optional.

There will be a discount upgrade option for existing PS3 owners. The price hasn’t been specified but is described as a small fee – this applies to everyone who’s bought Minecraft digitally and transfers their PSN account to their new console,” Mojang’s Owen Hill confirmed.

Our intention is to make this work for the disc version of Minecraft too, but it’s proving a bit trickier to set up. We’ll post more info on this as soon as possible.”

PS4’s gameworlds will apparently be 36 times bigger than those found on PS3. Plus, existing PS3 saves can be imported into the PS4 game so they can be expanded.

Making old saves compatible with the newer versions of the game was priority for Mojang and our trusted developer chums at 4J,” Hill added. We value the loyalty of the Sony fans who bought Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition last year, and want to make things as simple as possible for any early adopters. I’ve experienced the pain of lost progress many times; it’s not cool.”

There will be PlayStation-specific DLC too, although this hasn’t yet been detailed.