Have you ever used a web browser on a games console? If you have, don’t expect to be using one on the PlayStation 5. For now, at least, Sony has no plans to make one available for its new machine.
As VG247 reports, Sony Interactive Entertainment senior VP Hideaki Nishino recently gave an interview to Japanese website AV Watch about the PS5. Twitter user @Nibellion translated what was said. When asked about the lack of a web browser being available for the new console, Nishino responded, “Currently, we don’t intend to include a web browser in PS5 … We have doubts about whether a web browser is necessary for a game console as an app, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
He makes a good point. Games consoles aren’t the best way to interact with a web browser and there’s a question mark over how many people actually use them. Browsers require regular patches to both keep them up-to-date and close any security holes, which is surely a hassle Sony would like to avoid. With the new user interface and an expanded set of features supporting each game on the new console, there’s also less reason to need to look on the web for help when stuck. The help you need is probably already available on the PS5.
Nishino certainly hasn’t ruled out a web browser coming to the PS5 in the future, but it looks as though it will take a lot to convince Sony the console needs one.
