It has been revealed that Sony’s PlayStation 5 will not have a dedicated internet browser, despite both the PS3 and PS4 having the feature. Additionally, the PS5 has been confirmed to be missing support for 1440p resolutions. Both revelations came during a new interview with Sony’s Senior Vice President of Platform Planning & Management, Hideaki Nishino.
The PlayStation 5 releases in two days, but both bits of information have just now been revealed. In the last few weeks, the shortcomings of the PS5 have been documented, from its apparent overheating issues, to its currently limited SSD space. Both developments have received their share of criticism from fans, and now it seems that trend is continuing with this latest interview.
In a Japanese-language interview shared and translated by Nibellion on Twitter, Hideaki Nishino stated,
“Currently, we do not intend to install a web browser on PS5. Of course, I use it as a component to use various network functions, but I have doubts about whether a web browser is required for game consoles as an application,“
While the executive sounded open to maybe adding the application at a later date, he also added, “Since it is necessary to take measures against child switches, it will take some man-hours to install a web browser.“
In the same interview, Nishino spoke extensively about what on during the console’s conception, and why certain things were changed and other features omitted altogether, like support for 1440p resolution. When asked, Nishino responded with, “I want to give top priority to TV support.” Nishino did not elaborate further about the reasoning behind removing the web browser from the PlayStation 5, although it appears that not too many fans are heartbroken by this news. However, several twitter users pointed out that the PS4’s web browser is an exploitable weak point for hackers to target. By removing the browser, it is possible that PlayStation has made the upcoming PS5 at least a bit more secure.
Although, if this truly is the case, then it is odd that Nishino would frame his comments in a way that makes it sound as if PlayStation is open to one day adding the browser back. Of course, his comments could also simply be a way to tell PlayStation fans that the browser is not coming back, without explicitly saying no, as Nishino has previously been vague about the future of PSVR on PS5. Whatever the case is, players will be able to determine if the web browser app will be missed later this week, as the PlayStation 5 releases in North America, Oceania, Japan, and South Korea on Thursday, November 12.
