More good news for PS4 console owners means that 2019 could be a great year for PlayStation owners.
Sony is looking to make big changes to how their PSN usernames work, something that fans have been waiting some time for.
It’s been years since the system was put into place, but it has always lacked some key features its rivals boast.
Now it appears PlayStation are hoping to catch up in 2019, starting with letting PSN users change their details.
The service first launched in 2006 with the limitation in place, taking almost 13 years to have things tweaked to player needs
The last major update on the subject came from the PlayStation Experience last year, in which it was teased that username changes would arrive in 2018.
However, in a blog post earlier this week, Sony confirmed that fans will have to wait a bit longer for the feature.
The PlayStation Network Online ID Preview Program has been scheduled to start this year, before being expanded to other users in 2019.
Those who have pre-registered as testers for previous PlayStation 4 system software betas will get first access.
The changes to online ID will be sorted through the Settings menu or the Profile page of your PS4.
Sony has confirmed that the first change will be free, with further changes costing €9.99/£7.99 for those who do not have a PS Plus account.
For PlayStation Plus members, it will cost €4.99/£3.99 after the first change, a little bonus for those with an active subscription.
To stop their being confusion for PSN users who have changed their ID, Sony will allow for the previous ID to be displayed as well.
However, this appears to be an option you have to pick before completing the ID change process.
When it comes to compatibility issues with older games, Sony has this to say:
“This feature is compatible with PS4 games originally published after 1st April 2018, and a large majority of the most played PS4 games that were released before this date.
“However, please note not all games and applications for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita systems are guaranteed to support the online ID change, and users may occasionally encounter issues or errors in certain games.
“If for any reason you experience issues after changing your ID, you can revert back to your original ID for free at any time (you will only be able to revert once during the preview program). Reverting back to an old ID will resolve most issues caused by the ID change.
“In addition, when this feature officially launches, a list of compatible games published before April 1, 2018, will be provided on PlayStation.com for reference before you make a change.”
It follows the news that the PlayStation Experience will not be held in 2018.
PSX is typically held in December and features a smattering of new game announcements and gameplay reveals.
Unfortunately, however, Sony doesn’t feel it can justify an event this year, which suggests the PS4 is starting to wind down.
The news was confirmed by Sony’s Shawn Layden, who told the PlayStation Blogcast that the company didn’t want to raise expectations.
“Now that we have Spider-Man out the door, we’re looking down in 2019 to games like Dreams and Days Gone but we wouldn’t have enough to bring people altogether in some location in North America to have that event,” he said (via Gamingbolt).
“We don’t want to set expectations really high and then not deliver on it.”