PS4 Access Video Confirms 2,000 Friend Limit, Free Party Chat

UK-based media outlet PlayStation Access released a new PlayStation 4 centric video to help educate and inform the gaming audience at large about some of the features and capabilities of the upcoming next-generation PlayStation console.

So the video is pretty short and sweet and features PS Access' Hollie Bennett explaining some of the features and abilities of the upcoming console. The host runs through a few questions and offers some concise answers that clarifies a few things people may or may not have been informed about.

A lot of the information is kind of old and mostly re-verifies what was made known during the February 21st reveal and later on again at the Sony press conference during E3 this past June.

For those who didn't know, the PlayStation 4 now supports cross-game party chat, and even if you did know that you probably didn't know that it's access is freely available to anyone using a PS4 and is not restricted to PlayStation Plus or put behind a pay wall. This is a huge incentive to bring in more gamers and cultivate them toward the multiplayer aspects of the PS4 given that gamers can play games and chat with friends without actually engaging in the game's online multiplayer portions.

This brings about an interesting circumstance where gamers could technically buy a PS4, which comes with a headset, and then download and play a game like Warframe or Planetside 2 and then use the cross-game chat to talk it up with friends. Those are pretty cool features to be free.

Additionally, the video makes it known – or strongly reaffirms through reiteration – that none of the ancillary surfaces for the PS4 will be behind a paywall. You won't have to pay to access Netflix or Hulu or streaming content.

While the video doesn't drop a whole lot of new information, it does provide a nice axis of access to easy info on the PS4. Also, in case it wasn't broadcast enough before, the PS4 will have a new friend limit of 2,000. Yes, you and your 2,000 friends can get it in on in the lobbies and the chat rooms and the games.

Why so many friends? Well, it's aimed at taking advantage of the new streaming culture of today's gaming atmosphere, where some popular personalities interact and engage with a ton of people and may require a rather bevy friend list.

You can learn more about the PlayStation 4, which is due out this holiday season in North America, Europe and Japan, by paying a visit to the official Sony PlayStation website.

Will Usher

Staff Writer at CinemaBlend.