PlayStation 5: Sony apologizes for the voice chat situation

Sony he wished to clarify the issue linked to the new changes implemented in the system Voice chat dedicated to PlayStation 4 e PlayStation 5, and chose Catherine Jensen, head of the brand's Global Consumer Experience division, to speak to players, through the pages of the official PlayStation Blog.

For those who have no idea what we are talking about, it is easy to say: in order to ensure greater security, for prevent abuse and harassment of players, Sony has implemented a system of recording and rapid signaling of audio messages transmitted through the PlayStation 4 Voice Chat (and the same system will be implemented on PlayStation 5). The new feature was introduced with the release of thePlayStation 4 firmware update version 8.00, but without it having been well highlighted by the Japanese giant to its customers.

In summary, in order not to bore you, we report the fundamental passages expressed by Jensen on the issue:

Managing online safety is an important part and we at Sony believe it is essential to allow players to quickly report any kind of harassment or abuse they experience while connected to the PlayStation Network. This is the only purpose for which we have introduced this feature on PlayStation 5 and Ps4. It is necessary to bear in mind that the only purpose of this new addition is to report inappropriate behavior and in no way will private conversations be heard by third parties in real time.

Furthermore, he then added:

With the launch of the PlayStation 8.00 update version 4 we should have indicated this new feature clearly and unambiguously. We apologize for this lack. When the PlayStation 5 is launched on the market, players will be able to interact via Voice Chat with PlayStation 4 users, which is why we should have included a notice with the latest update dedicated to PlayStation 4.

We learn, for the occasion, new details on the Voice Chat recording functionality for sending reports related to abuse and harassment:

Once PlayStation 5 is launched, the player will be able to send a report that can include 40 seconds of audio communication. In fact, the previous 20 seconds and the next 10 seconds will automatically be added to the 10 seconds selected by the user. Only the most recent 5 minutes of a voice chat will be available for the player to report.

It will not be possible to disable Voice Chat recording, this is because we want all users to feel safe when playing online against other people.

PlayStation 5, Sony's next-gen console, will make its debut next time 19st November. For about 24 hours we have known that the console will boast, among the new features, the "Activities", useful for complete specific goals.