PS4 Day One Update New Details: Game Discs Don’t Have it, Dev Kits Identical to Retail Units and More

Kenny Linder, who was previously a part of Sony UK’s recently shuttered BigBig Studios and who is now working on a launch title for both next gen consoles, has revealed some new details on the upcoming Day One update for the PlayStation 4. He also discussed just why the Xbox One will require its Day One update.

Apparently, the Day One update won’t be on any game discs. “I worked on a launch game for Xbox One (and PS4) and there is no FW [firmware] update on our disc. The game was finished before the FW, they will still be finishing up with it.” He further clarified that the update is not on any game discs because, “they are submitted before the final OS is ready.”

Linder also answered the question as to whether the dev kits were the same as the retail units. “Yep, identical. The devkits don’t even have any more RAM than retail consoles, most unusual.” Does that mean retail PS4 units can act as debug units like the Xbox One? We’ll have to wait and see but you can rest assured that the graphical performance of games is identical between the dev kits and retail units.

As stated, the Xbox One will require its Day One update and can’t do much of anything without it (according to Albert Penello). There still seems to be some confusion regarding it, and Linder took the time to say that, “The Xbox One does not ship with an OS. The end.” So there’s your reason for why it requires the update. Intriguing and confusing at the same time.

Finally, Linder clarified that Microsoft would work hard to ensure that the Day One update’s set-up process is smooth – unlike, say, the Wii U’s set-up. “The Wii U was shit at launch because of: Wi-Fi issues – took many users a long time to set up as it was broken; On-screen notifications – Telling you it had downloaded, how much, time outs etc. Crap; Download speed – Awful speeds meant it took forever.

“The same won’t be the case with the Xbox One. MS are a software company and they’ll be working hard to ensure this is a smooth process. I am actually more concerned that PSN will fall apart when I am downloading the 300 MB update. :D”

The PlayStation 4 will launch on November 15 in North America and November 29th in Europe, while the Xbox One launches on November 22nd across 13 territories.