The PlayStation 5 is now just over 2 years old. The console’s past few years have been plagued by shortages, scalpers and bundles trying to foist all sorts of extra junk on you. Now that period finally seems to be over with Sony announcing a larger stock of PlayStation 5s.
So chances are pretty good that you will soon have one of those latest-generation consoles sitting around. If so, it’s pretty likely that the PlayStation 4 will be gathering dust. If you do not know what to do with your old console: do not worry. The device definitely still has use.
The PlayStation 4 is heaven for streaming
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, all these streaming services (and more) also have an application on the PlayStation 4. Popping all these services onto the console gives you all your libraries in one place. Thereby, the PS4 just reads DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. So you are not completely dependent on what the streaming services offer you.
Also highly recommended: install Plex. This is simply an application that can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store. The cool thing about Plex is that you can actually make it your own streaming service (in addition to the movies and series the app already offers you for free). The application syncs with an app on your laptop or phone so you can watch on a bigger screen the movies and series that are on your other devices.
Not only movies, series and music can be streamed, so can just games, or even your PlayStation 5. On the main screen of your PlayStation 4 is a tile that lets you connect to a PS5 on that network. So you can basically play PS5 games with a Dualshock controller. It may not be the full experience, but it can be done!
The PlayStation 4, what can we do with it now that the PlayStation 5 is out? (Image: Melanie These / Unsplash)
Keep playing your games anywhere in the house
Ever heard of the saying “share together, play together”? That’s pretty apt here, too. For almost all multiplayer games right now, players on the PlayStation 5 can play together with friends on previous generation consoles. So if you put your old PlayStation 4 somewhere else in the house, someone can easily connect when you’re playing a game online.
You can save your save games to the cloud with a PlayStation Plus subscription. Then, for example, if you start a game on one console, you can continue playing it on the other.
So there’s definitely plenty to do for your PlayStation 4 so you don’t have to sell it or give it to a nephew (though I’m sure he’ll be very happy with it).
