PlayStation 4 can be turned on while away from the console in order to download new content, Sony confirmed today.

In response to a question on Twitter about purchasing PS4 games from a smartphone, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida responded, "When you buy a PS4 game on smartphone, it will wake your PS4 up to start downloading the game. PS4 goes back to sleep after that."

This sort of remote wake-up functionality was mentioned by Yoshida earlier this year in an interview with Eurogamer. "You can play offline, but you may want to keep it connected," he said at the time. "The system has the low-power mode - I don't know the official term - that the main system is shut down but the subsystem is awake. Downloading or updating or you can wake it up using either the tablet, smartphone or PS Vita."

Given the number of things that can change in the lead up to the launch of a new console, it's good to get confirmation that this is indeed something the PS4 is still capable of. This ability to buy and download games remotely could prove particularly useful considering every game on PlayStation 4 will be available digitally.

PS4 is shceduled for release on November 15 in the United States and Canada, and November 29 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 

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Wait a second. Don't you need to have the console like...connected to the Internet to do that?

Good to see this confirmed. Remote play is fairly useless without this feature. Sony seem to be doing the right things in every department

That is a great feature. Especially if they are running some sort of sale and you're not home.

UGH!!!  Good thing I know you're trying to be funny, but others won't and this post will probably be the beginning of the end for having a normal discussion for once.  Shame on you. :-p

OT: This really was kinda obvious it would be a feature.  It's basically just an expanded automatic update from PS+ except it will be free for all obviously.  Can't believe someone had to ask this on twitter. 

Yes, but its not mandatory to buy from your smart phone nor is it mandatory to be connected to the internet. It is, however, implied that you need an internet connection if you want to download stuff.

I was just asking a legitimately question

How else would the Vita remote play solution work if you couldn't access your PS4 remotely? Sure the game is actually running through gaikai streaming, but it would still need to connect to PS4 to at least update your latest game save information.

this is the kind of feature that I will never understand why anyone would really think its useful.

Uh huh sure you were!! I'm on to you Wright....... ON TO YOU!!!!