[NewsPoster]

A frequently asked questions section posted by Sony today has confirmed the omission of several features on the PlayStation 4 that the PlayStation 3 supported. At launch, the PlayStation 4 cannot use external storage; will not be able to play audio CDs; will be incompatible with MP3 playback, and possibly most importantly, cannot be used as a media streaming receiver, as Sony's own DLNA protocol will not be supported by the device.

Sony's inability to use external storage isn't a major problem, at least at launch. The device ships with a 5400RPM 500GB hard drive, which is user-replaceable with a larger drive not to exceed 9.5mm in height.

Video playback on the PlayStation 4 will be provided by Blu-Ray disks, as well as Sony's own video service. Likewise, music playback will require a subscription to Sony's music streaming service.

Kotaku author Luke Plunkett stated of the withdrawal of features that the older console supports that "I can understand why they did it; Sony is instead pushing people to use its own online store and streaming service for music and movies. A service users would pay for. But it's still a crummy move." The PlayStation 3 is DLNA-compatible, and can play back movies streamed from both Windows-based systems and OS X with proper software support.

Sony PlayStation boss Shuehui Yoshida responded to Internet complaints on Twitter today, saying "thanks for the feedback to the lack of MP3 and DLNA support at the launch of PS4. I'll share with the PS4 Dev team for future consideration."