Can we please be serious and consider what this "problem" is really about?
Fact 1: These updates are not mandatory. You can simply skip the update altogether pressing the circle button. They are only mandatory for playing online. And for playing online they're mandatory for a good reason; for example when you play some online multiplayer game you want all players to use the same version of the game, not some players for example exploiting certain glitches/bugs that early versions had.
Fact 2: In the end, we all want these updates. They exist for a reason, to improve the experience. They either provide additional features/content or fix bugs. If manufacturers of rivalling consoles try to avoid hassling the gamers with updates, they are at the same time trying to keep the gamers off improvements.
So in the end, the real issue here is neither that there are updates at all or that they are mandatory (which is not even true). The real problems are:
a) These updates usually had to be installed manually, even though it would technically be possible to install most updates automatically at night. This problem was first solved for paying PS+ users, recently for all users, and will be solved for all users from the very start on the PS4.
b) The official Playstation servers are rather slow. There's no denying this, and this is where Sony could and should still act. And while I still don't like the decision to charge for online gaming on PS4, it will probably have the positive effect of Sony using the additional money to address exactly this problem, for they are well aware that many people are complaining about it.
One problem remains: Automatic updates will only work for software that the console knows you're using. When you're buying a brand new game on disc, and there are updates available that you either want or need for playing online, you will have to wait for the update to download. But that is a fundamental technical problem on all consoles, and one for which there is just no solution due to the nature of the problem.
