After almost a year long wait, the biggest update in the PlayStation 4's lifetime is now live. Update 2.0 not only brings general system improvements, and YouTube support, but the most anticipated feature of all as well--Share Play.
Originally announced back at E3 2013, Share Play is the ability to connect to your friend's PS4 and take control of their games. It acts as a virtual "couch" of sorts, where players can freely hand off the controller to other players, or even play games with local co-op without the need for more than one copy of the game. Want to run through Samurai Warriors 4 with a friend who doesn't have it? Well, now you can! Want to make your friend beat Knack for you? Well, you can try... But it is technically possible! By simply pressing the Share button on the PS4 controller, you can easily send an invite to your friend, and begin the stream.
Although Share Play works as a virtual couch, those who are streaming the game will be seeing it in lower quality (1080p would most likely be running at 720p instead for example), and there is a limit to how long they can play in one session. Rather than being able to play until the PS4 is shut off, sessions are limited to one hour before both players have to reconnect. This means players cannot simply hand a game off to a friend to play all day, as both need to be present to keep the connection going. It's understandable why Sony would put such a block, but it is a bit intrusive in it's current form... Nothing major though.
Other than Share Play, 2.0 also adds in themes similar to what we've seen on the PSP, PS3, and lately the Vita. Although you cannot make custom themes at this moment, you can change the background color from the default blue, and download themes from the PlayStation Store. While the selection is currently limited, more will be released over time.
