Sony PlayStation users in Europe, US will face slower game download speeds

The company has slowed down PlayStation Network download speeds in the US and Europe for now to maintain internet stability.

The company has slowed down PlayStation Network download speeds in the US and Europe for now to maintain internet stability. (Pixabay)

Recently was saw video streaming services like Netflix, Facebook, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video scaling down the resolution of the video in order to reduce stress on their servers. Now, the same is being done by Sony for its Playstation console gamers. The company has slowed down PlayStation Network download speeds in the US and Europe for now to maintain internet stability.

"We believe it is important to do our part to address internet stability concerns as an unprecedented number of people are practicing social distancing and are becoming more reliant on internet access. Players may experience somewhat slower or delayed game downloads but will still enjoy robust gameplay. We appreciate the support and understanding from our community, and their doing their part, as we take these measures in an effort to preserve access for everyone," said Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Sony reducing the download speed of titles is understandable since each game, on an average, weighs 50GB or more in some cases. It is however, not for sure until when Sony will implement this.

And now that Sony has taken this step for PlayStation customers, one can expect a similar step to be taken by Microsoft for its Xbox users.

Content delivery network Akamai has also announced slowing down video game downloads to help reduce burden on the telecommunication infrastructure.

"In regions where demand is creating bottlenecks for customers, we will be reducing gaming software downloads at peak times, completing the downloads at the normal fast speeds late at night," said Akamai CEO Tom Leighton.

On a related note, Sony has unveiled full spec list of its upcoming PlayStation 5 console. Microsoft too has revealed all the specifications of its Xbox Series X.