Sony has announced that some features on PlayStation Network will be temporarily unavailable in Europe due to concerns over the influx of players expected on the service when the PS4 launches tonight in the region.
On the PlayStation Blog Sony's Fred Dutton wrote:
"Following the successful launch of PS4 in North America on the 15th November, we have seen an unprecedented influx of players onto PSN. When we launch in Europe on Friday, once again, we are expecting record sales and record numbers of people logging onto PSN at similar times, alongside the North American players already on PSN.
"We want to make sure that your online experience is positive. To help ensure that this happens, we have made the decision to switch off a couple of features for European customers on day one. These features will then be switched back on a few days later, once the intensity of launch day calms down."
The features which are currently down are: What’s New – which allows users to discover and engage with all of your friends’ PS4 related activity and the Content Information Screen – where you can see friends’ activity and information specific to the title you are looking at.
Dutton added that all other PlayStation Network services would be available for use on launch day. It's advised that you download PS4 patch 1.51 to a USB so you can install it even if PSN is temporarily down – the patch is available now.
