Microsoft's Xbox One, Sony's PlayStation 4 Will Get Major Updates

The console you buy at the store today won’t be the console you own in a year — and that’s not a bad thing.

Both Microsoft and Sony took the stage today in Cologne, Germany, to tout their respective consoles, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. Before the show even began, Microsoft let loose with news that a software update would bring some highly requested features to its system. And in its press conference later that day, Sony also stated that a firmware update would add new capabilities to the PS4.

What’s only slightly old, it seems, can be made new again. And newer. And newer.

On the Microsoft side of things, updates in the coming months will make the Xbox One will become a more social machine. An upcoming update will provide faster access to the friends list, as well as improved functionality for messages. Microsoft also plans to appease the console’s digital-only crowd by introducing preordering and preloading to the feature set. TV streaming from the console to the Smartglass app will be added. And for those who used their Xbox 360 as a living room media hub, the Xbox One will finally bring support for a truckload of audio and video file formats that can be played via USB or DLNA.

Not to be outdone, Sony’s “Firmware 2.0”, targeted for Fall, also adds some new social features; for instance, the PlayStation 4 will now recommend friends to gamers. Perhaps the most impressive addition, though, is something called “Share Play,” which uses Sony’s Gaikai streaming technology to let friends play games together — even if only one of them owns a title. Players using Share Play can play co-op games as though they’re sitting on the same couch, or the feature can be used to allow one friend to help another through a tough spot.

Microsoft has been introducing new updates at a pretty regular clip — about once a month. The fact that Sony is now getting in on the act is a great thing for gamers. The two are no longer battling it out solely in the hardware department, but in software, as well. Thanks to these updates, the fact that a console ships without a certain software feature means nothing anymore.

Hopefully, this continues.