With the PlayStation 5 becoming the hottest console on the market, Sony is looking for new ways to improve the current-gen console leaving the PlayStation 4 behind on any similar improvements. Hence starting April 2021, the company is removing the well-known ‘Communities’ from the PS4.
Sony had confirmed on their official website that the PlayStation Communities feature is now listed under the the ‘Discontinued PlayStation apps, features, and services with a statement:
“Thank you for using the PS Communities feature on your PS4 console. Beginning in April 2021, this feature will no longer be supported or available on your PS4 console. However, you’ll still be able to stay connected and enjoy messaging features and more on your PS4 and the PlayStation App.”
In a nutshell, PS4 users will not be able to create any gaming communities where users can share updates about what game they are playing to each other. However, it is to be noted that the feature hasn’t exactly landed on the PS5 console either which only means that Sony is probably looking to add in new features for current-gen and hopefully last gen.
On a personal note, many users don’t actually even go for the communities feature except a fair few. It is basically an add-on no one considered using but just gave unnecessary notifications during gaming. With the addition of scammers on the platform, the communities section was just unbearable.
However, this feature removal does not mean users cannot message on the PS4 as that feature won’t be going anywhere. The other feature Sony is removing is the ability for users to rent or purchase movies and TV shows from the PlayStation Store when using a PS5, PS4, or PS4 Pro. In reality, when platforms such as Netflix are around, it’s quite obvious which platform is better for movies and TV shows. It may work in European countries but that is probably not the case for the Middle East and Asian countries.
These feature removals are not big of a shocker and it’s safe to say PS4 users don’t necessarily need to move on to the PS5 just yet as games are still releasing for both platforms. However, once new games stop arriving on the PS4, it would be then advised to move onto the PS5 as the PS5 would greatly improve and would be cost-friendly two years from now.
