PS4 digital library accessible on any system

The PlayStation 4 will allow users to sign into their PlayStation Network account and access their complete digital library on any system, Sony engineer Neil Brown said today at Develop.

"You can visit your friend's house you can log into your account and play any game from your digital library, which is good," Brown said, as reported by PlayStation Magazine U.K..

Game downloads at a friend's house won't take all day, Brown explained. By leveraging the PS4's "Play As You Download" feature, gamers can play "at least the first section" of a game right away, while the rest of the title is downloaded in the background.

"This makes a digital library a practical option in the real world," Brown said.

Competitor Microsoft announced a similar feature in June, saying gamers can play any of their games from any Xbox One thanks to the digital copy being stored in the cloud.

"So, for example, while you are logged in at your friend’s house, you can play your games," Microsoft said at the time.

Microsoft has confirmed with GameSpot that following the company's major policy reversal last month, this feature is unchanged.

"As we previously announced, consumers will be able to sign on to any Xbox One console and have access to all their digital games," a Microsoft representative said. "Once the required data--a fraction of the entire game--is on their hard drive, they can jump into the action while the rest of the game finishes downloading in the background. And of course, on Xbox 360, consumers today can download their digital games on any console after signing in to their Xbox Live account.