Sony offers glimpse of dev opportunities with PS4 sharing

Sony’s SCEE R&D department team lead has offered a glimpse into how developers can harness the PS4’s sharing features to affect gameplay.

Speaking at the Develop in Brighton conference, Neil Brown said developers could provide players and spectators with a set of commands that dynamically affect gameplay.

He explained that, for example, spectators watching a livestream could interact with the main player’s game by providing items such as health potions.

“This type of social interaction can be the difference between winning or losing the battle,” he said.

As well as the potential for developers, Brown also reiterated details on the previously announced sharing features, such as the ability to record gameplay and broadcast content.

Keeping the share button pressed down will allow players to take a screenshot of their game, while pressing it will bring up a number of the aforementioned features.

A PS4 hardware coder automatically records several minutes of gameplay, which Brown said would not take away any resources from the game.

Spectators of videos and livestreams will also be able to chat to each other or even join in on the game. An option to buy the game being viewed is also presented under stream.