Sony promises to add MP3 and CD support to PS4, just not on day one

Rik Henderson | 13 November 2013

Pocket-lint Sony promises to add MP3 and CD support to PS4, just not on day one

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When Sony released its PlayStation 4 FAQ, answering many questions customers might have about the new console, there were a couple of bombshells lurking within. The document revealed that the next-gen machine will not feature the ability to playback MP3 or CD music content, nor will it be able to stream media over a home network as it will not support DLNA.

These omissions have caused a massive backlash among gamers, with some reportedly even cancelling their pre-orders. After all, the PlayStation 3 can do both tasks capably and many claim that these are important and much-used features.

Sony is yet to formally respond about the possibility of adding DLNA support in the future, but it has answered questions about MP3 and CD playback. It will be adding the feature after launch.

READ: PS4 release date and everything you need to know

Some had speculated that the reason why the company didn't want you to listen to music in traditional ways is that it wanted to restrict you to a Music Unlimited subscription - Sony's answer to Spotify - which comes pre-installed on the PS4. Not so, claimed Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony's Worldwide Studios.

"The biggest surprise for us all internally at Sony was there are so many people who passionately reacted to our announcement that there's no MP3 support or CD support on day one. It's not like we actively decided 'let's not do this feature so people will have to subscribe to Music Unlimited. The focus has been more on the game features. Some of the features we wanted but we couldn't get in on day one," he said during an interview with Giant Bomb's Interview Dumptruck.

"We didn't really think about MP3 or CD. We thought 'we're going to do that eventually.'

"It caught us off-guard. People don't really talk about these features, right? Some people get really mad and [say] 'I'll cancel my pre-order!' So as we speak, people in Japan - the system guys - are discussing when we can put these features in."

Hopefully, this will include DLNA support, like many have asked for.

READ: PS4 hands-on pictures and video

The PlayStation 4 comes out in the US on 15 November and the UK and Europe on 29 November.