PS4 News: What Features, Games, Won't Work on Release Date

With the PlayStation 4 release date just around the corner, Sony has released a massive FAQ concerning the next-gen console. Instead of just focusing on the console's capabilities though, here are some of the PS4's restrictions.

One critical feature the PlayStation 4 does not have is backwards compatibility. This means that players will not be able to play past and future PlayStation 3 titles on the console. With many titles still coming to the PlayStation 3, such as Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 and South Park: The Stick of Truth, this could prevent many gamers from switching consoles. However, Sony is hoping to bring PlayStation 3 games to the console through the Gaikai cloud service.

Another option PlayStation 4 owners will not have is the ability to use their real names as their online gamertag. This is for both security reasons and other technological factors that Sony is still sorting out. PlayStation 3 Bluetooth headsets also will not function on the new Sony console.

Next, several sharing features will not be available at launch for the console. Players will not be able to add voice-overs to their videos, but any dialog the player speaks during the recording will be included in the video. Initially, players will only be able to share videos with friends and not through social media outlets such as Youtube and Facebook.

Several music options will not work for the PlayStation 4, due to Sony pushing the Music Unlimited cloud service. CDs will not play on the console, and the device will not support MP3 playback. In addition, the PlayStation 4 will not have a music visualizer.

For those looking to use Remote Play with the PlayStation 4 and Vita, users will need Wi-Fi in order for it to work, as the feature will not work with 3G. In addition, Sony recommends that the Vita use the same Wi-Fi connection as the PlayStation 4.

Finally, the controllers for the next-gen console will have some restrictions. Some PlayStation 4 games will be able to function with the Dualshock 3 instead of the new Dualshock 4, but not all. Also, the light bar on the Dualshock 4 cannot be turned off.