Sony addresses recent PS4 party changes in the 8.0 update

Sony says it's looking into feedback regarding the recent changes made to the parties system on PS4.

The changes came in the PS4 8.00 update that launched last week, and introduced a host of changes to the existing party and messaging features. Shortly after the update went live, players were already reporting a variety of different error codes, and many were particularly unhappy about the changes to the altered party system. Sony posted a tweet saying it's looking into the feedback, and we'll keep everyone posted on any developments.

Hey folks - just wanted to let you know that we’re looking into your feedback on the recent changes to Parties on PS4. Thanks for speaking up - we’ll keep you postedOctober 17, 2020

In the PlayStation blog post outlining the key features in the 8.0 update, it detailed the UI changes brought in that tie together Party and Messages. So now "both apps use the same groups of players for party voice chats and message exchanges." What this essentially means is that instead of inviting someone to a party as you used to, you create a message group to invite someone to join your party.

There was also some concern surrounding the nature of recording voice chat. The new voice chat feature is set to come to PS5, allowing players to record their voice chat in order to report another player for inappropriate behaviour. There was initially some confusion about whether this would be a privacy issue when players on PS4 were seeing notifications about voice chats being recorded. Sony later addressed concerns and gave more clarification in an update to the 8.0 blog post.

"Following this update, users are seeing a notification about Party Safety and that voice chats in parties may be recorded," the post states. "Voice chat recording for moderation is a feature that will be available on PS5 when it launches, and will enable users to record their voice chats on PS5 and submit them for moderation review. The pop up you're seeing on PS4 right now is to let you know when you participate in a chat with a PS5 user (post-launch), they may submit recordings from their PS5 console to SIE."

We don't know how Sony will be addressing the feedback just yet, but with a promise of keeping us posted in the tweet, more information is sure to come soon.

In other news, this handy new icon will tell your friends if you're playing on PS4 or PS5.

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Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.