YouTube recently celebrated a whopping 1 trillion views on Minecraft content on the platform. That’s a lot of views. Remember when Gangnam Style hitting 1 billion views was a huge deal?
Minecraft content on YouTube is as varied as the possibilities of Minecraft itself, and you better believe modded content plays a big part in the high viewer numbers. You can explore Middle Earth, and you can play Pokemon. You can play Runescape and even Doom. The possibilities are endless.
So long as you can access them, that is. Can PS4 users?
Can Minecraft PS4 use mods? Kind of, but not really, and it’s not worth the effort. Using mods in Minecraft on PS4 would require a secondary device with Minecraft installed that can use mods. You would host a modded world on this secondary device and then through Minecraft Realms, access this realm on your PS4. PS4 users can also access the Minecraft marketplace for some modded content. However, a lot of this content is not that good, and a lot of it costs mine coins.
But why go through all that effort when you can get the entire mod experience on one device? If you want to get the most enjoyability out of Minecraft, you need to explore some modded content. And you’ll want to have access to all of it. And that’s something that PS4 Minecraft players can’t do. It looks like we need to find you a workaround, eh?
Why can’t the PS4 version of Minecraft really use mods?
No External Assets Allowed
The primary reason that the PS4 version of Minecraft can’t really use mods is that Sony does not allow the usage of external assets on its platform. Primarily, this is due to privacy and security concerns, but it also enables Sony to ensure that the modded content available on their platforms is appropriate.
Remember the noise made about Skyrim and Fallout 4 getting mod support for PS4? And then Bethesda changed their minds and said, never mind? Only to change their minds again and say that Fallout 4 and Skyrim will get mod support on PS4, but with a caveat; that caveat is no external assets.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, sort of defeats the purpose of modding. Modding allows gamers to run free with their imagination and creativity, and that’s how so many amazing mods come to life. With Skyrim and Fallout 4 PS4, modders can only use in-game assets from the creation kit.
Limited Mod Access Requires Secondary Device
Getting access to some higher-quality Minecraft mods on PS4 requires an additional device capable of using mods. You will need to use this secondary device to invite your PS4 Minecraft account into the Minecraft Realm of your secondary device.
But what if you don’t have a secondary device with Minecraft on it? What if the battery of your secondary device dies? Furthermore, Minecraft Realms are not true mods; they’re worlds. If you ever want to make some changes in these worlds, you’re out of luck. I don’t know about everyone else, but doing more work for a fraction of the payoff seems like a waste of gaming time to me.
What Alternatives are there if I want to play Minecraft with mods?
If you’re a PS4 Minecraft player looking to dig your teeth into some Minecraft mods, you do have some options available.
Buy downloadable content for Minecraft PS4
While I wouldn’t recommend that you do this, you can purchase mod content for Minecraft PS4 via the marketplace. However, I strongly advise against this. The mod content available in the marketplace is not the best. A lot of it is honestly pretty pedestrian. Why on earth would you pay for sub-par content when there is infinitely better content out there for free?
Buy a cheap gaming PC
There are many reasons gamers believe that the PC is the master race, and mods are one of them. If you are a PC gamer, you have unadulterated access to mods. And I don’t just mean content; I am also talking about community fixes for bugs, glitches, and other technical issues that the developers haven’t fixed yet or ever. Modders have taken some titles that are absolutely terrible and made them good. Do you really want to miss out on that?
Getting a gaming PC not only gives you complete access to every Minecraft mod you can think of but is also a sound gaming investment for years to come. Unlike consoles, a good gaming PC lasts for years; for multiple gaming generations.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the ideal time to make any tech-related purchases. However, there are still plenty of good deals out there for those looking for them.
But wait, you ask, I have no idea how to build a gaming PC!
Yes, building a gaming rig is more cost-effective than buying a pre-built rig. You can purchase the raw parts, stronger than the ones in pre-built PCs, and create a better gaming computer.
However, it honestly does not matter that much. We are talking about playing Minecraft here; you do not need a computer capable of streaming everything in 8K at 1000 FPS. A pre-built gaming PC will do you just fine.
As with all investments, make sure to do your research and find the gaming PC best for you. I am biased towards HP, myself. Well-known for their HP Gaming Pavilion laptops, they also have a PC variant. It hovers between $700-$800 depending on whether there is an ongoing sale.
Buy a cheap gaming laptop
One problem with purchasing a gaming rig is that even the inexpensive ones can still cost a pretty penny. Luckily, we have gaming laptops to save the day.
Yes, gaming laptops are inferior to gaming rigs in almost every way. Where laptops do have PCs beat, however, is convenience. You can take a gaming laptop with you, making it ideal for travelers and students.
Have you ever been at an obligatory family gathering wishing you could be gaming right now? With a gaming laptop, you can do just that. If you only have a gaming PC, you’ll be forced to listen to stories you have heard a million times already while you stare at the clock waiting to go home.
Another thing that gaming laptops have over gaming PCs is affordability. Laptops have come a long way, and even general use laptops have impressive enough specs to satisfy the needs of most gamers.
And since we are just talking about playing mods for Minecraft, a game that you can probably play on a toaster, it is virtually impossible to purchase a laptop that cannot play it. Unless you buy a broken laptop, that is. You probably should avoid doing that.
The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 is a solid gaming laptop that you can purchase for cheap. You can snag this laptop for around $500. It comes with a Ryzen5 3500U processor and 8GB of DDR4 RAM.
These specs will more than suffice for the average Minecraft gamer. There will be plenty of deals this holiday season, however. Feel free to spend some time looking at them all and picking what is best for you.
Does the Xbox/Nintendo Switch support mods in Minecraft?
Yes, the Nintendo Switch and Xbox can use mods for Minecraft. However, that does not mean you should. Like the PS4, the modding capabilities of the Xbox and Nintendo Switch are heavily limited and require some workarounds. More effort than the payoff is worth.
Conclusion
Minecraft is more than ten years old at this point, and it does not look like it is slowing down. The Minecraft modding community deserves a lot of the credit for that. Mods can extend the lifespan of a game countless times over, and this is definitely the case for Minecraft. The creativity in this space is endless, and so is the fun. So make sure you jump in and experience some of it. Whether you just want to play some mods or create some yourself, you do not want to miss out.
FAQ
Q. Is there anything I should keep in mind when buying a gaming laptop/PC to play Minecraft mods?
- You should know what other games you will be playing besides Minecraft. The specs needed to play Minecraft are extremely low; any PC or laptop should have no problem running it. But even if you absolutely love Minecraft, is it really going to be the only game you play?
If the answer is no, make sure you know what kinds of games you are into so you know what specs you will need. Playing Minecraft on a $200 laptop is one thing; playing Halo Infinite? That is a different story.
Q. Is there any way I can keep track of all gaming laptop/PC deals?
- Yes. You can use a website such as slickdeals.net’s laptop deals to keep on top of deals as soon as they pop up. Remember that you are not the only one looking; take too long to notice a good deal, and it might be gone!
Q. What is a good website to look for Minecraft mods?
- I would recommend the website CurseForge. It is a safe place to look for mods, and has nearly 100,000 Minecraft mods. Hope you have some space freed up this Christmas vacation.