Sony Issues Detailed PS4 FAQ Ahead of Launch

Sockatume writes "Sony has released a detailed FAQ for the PS4 system, which launches in coming weeks. Of particular note: although Bluetooth headsets will not be compatible, generic 3.5mm and USB audio devices will work; the console will require activation via the internet or a special disk before it will play Blu-ray or DVDs; media servers, MP3s, and audio CDs are not supported. The console's "suspend/resume" and remote assistance features are listed as unavailable for the North American launch, implying that they will be patched in before the console launches in Europe later in November."

No media server support upsets me

[CokoBWare]

So I was excited to buy a PS4 until they announced no media server support. Same with XBone. I guess I'm just one of those guys who will stay with his PS3 for the forseeable future...

I know why they made that choice, but it doesn't service the customers who put their media library on a server instead of on disc.

Re:Conflict of interest

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, the activation would be there regardless. It's so that they only need to pay the per-unit DVD and BluRay licensing fees based on how many units are activated, rather than how many units are manufactured.

They probably figure that a whole bunch of people won't bother activating it since they already have a BluRay player and at least four different DVD-playing devices attached to their teevee already. Saves some money, and the average consumer doesn't really care about a little one-time annoyance (as long as it actually works after they activate it, of course).

Re:Brazil charges prohibitive import duty

[Sockatume]

Yes, traditionally Sony, Apple etc. have actually opened factories to make the devices in Brazil because it's better for their bottom line than expecting customers to spend the import levy.

Re:Brazil charges prohibitive import duty

[JDG1980]

Yes, traditionally Sony, Apple etc. have actually opened factories to make the devices in Brazil because it's better for their bottom line than expecting customers to spend the import levy.

And this is the primary reason that those tariffs exist. Brazil wants to build up its industrial base, rather than just serve as a cheap source of raw materials. High tariffs are a good way to do this, and that strategy is not at all new or unique. Prior to the 20th century, tariffs provided a majority of the U.S. government's revenue. It was a deliberate choice of industrial policy – Henry Clay's "American System" – to protect the growth of domestic industry by making imported products more expensive in comparison. The South, which primarily exported raw materials, disliked this policy, but they lost, and by the 1880s, the U.S. was the world's dominant industrial power. In Germany, Otto von Bismarck did much the same thing with his "marriage of iron and rye". The result is that a country which was weak and divided until 1871 became powerful enough to take on the rest of Europe and almost win.

Economists don't like to hear it, but history proves that protectionism works.

Re:Brazil charges prohibitive import duty

[cayenne8]

Yes, traditionally Sony, Apple etc. have actually opened factories to make the devices in Brazil because it's better for their bottom line than expecting customers to spend the import levy.

And this is the primary reason that those tariffs exist. Brazil wants to build up its industrial base, rather than just serve as a cheap source of raw materials. High tariffs are a good way to do this, and that strategy is not at all new or unique. Prior to the 20th century, tariffs provided a majority of the U.S. government's revenue. It was a deliberate choice of industrial policy â" Henry Clay's "American System" â" to protect the growth of domestic industry by making imported products more expensive in comparison. The South, which primarily exported raw materials, disliked this policy, but they lost, and by the 1880s, the U.S. was the world's dominant industrial power. In Germany, Otto von Bismarck did much the same thing with his "marriage of iron and rye". The result is that a country which was weak and divided until 1871 became powerful enough to take on the rest of Europe and almost win.

Economists don't like to hear it, but history proves that protectionism works.

Hmm..sounds like we need to start a bit of this back up *slowly*...and start making it more profitable to make our own stuff in the USA again.

LIke the recent example of the drug made in Germany, that they might not sell us anymore due to their views on capital punishment...the US is now at the mercy of depending on other countries' manufacturing for us instead of the other way around as it was back in the day.

That is not only unsettling, but could soon prove a problem for national security.

The US is large enough and has enough resources for the most part to be MUCH more fully independent than it is, and we need to look at idea such as tariffs, to bring more of this back home to us and allow us to be more fully in charge of our own needs and destiny.