Sony Just Gave PlayStation Fans The News They've Been Waiting For
Ever since downloadable games, media apps, and web browsers became the norm for consoles, manufacturers have tried to implement them as painlessly as possible. It's not easy to develop an interface that packs all the features of a personal computer with a fraction of the buttons, but some companies are up to the challenge. Sony, for instance, has built the PlayStation 5's interface from scratch to turn the console into a lightning-fast, all-inclusive entertainment platform. If a recent video is any indication, the new PS5 interface could change your gaming life for the better.
On October 15, Sony unveiled the long-awaited PS5 user experience video. This lengthy, 11-minute video dives deep into the console's user interface and all the perks it brings to the table, the most important of which is the new center of the PS5's experience, the control center.
According to the video, each time you boot up the PS5 from rest mode, the console will pick up from where you left off in a game, thanks to the control center and SSD. No more waiting for the console to load a home screen where you select a game and then wait for the game to load before you can play. However, the control center is more than just the PS5's version of the Xbox Series X's Quick Resume feature.
The control center pops up with a press of the PS button on the controller, and the center includes all the bells and whistles of a home screen. Need to check a download's progress or how much life is left in your controller battery? The control center includes all those metrics. However, the control center is so much more, since it changes with each game you play. You can read the latest news updates for your game library, as well as review any screenshots and videos you've captured with the PS5's create button. However, the control center's most important addition is its "activity tabs."
Each activity tab keeps track of your progress in a game. To demonstrate this, the user experience video features gameplay from Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Since that game is divided into bite-sized levels, each adventure tab will tell you what you missed in specific levels (e.g. collectible costumes). You can even directly jump into the level by selecting a tab, and if you are worried a level will last too long, each activity tab provides an estimated completion time. Stuck on a level? Visit an activity tab for hints. Yes, the rumored PS5 patent that lets players buy hints is 50-percent real. Why only 50 percent? Because you don't need to purchase them à la carte, just have an active PS Plus subscription.
The control center also speeds up the process of communicating and playing with friends, and not just because the PS5 controller comes with a built-in microphone. If a chat notification pops up, press the PS button to start gabbing with your pals — pausing the game is not necessary. You can also see what your friends are up to in-game thanks to the control center's "share screen" functionality. Take a break from your game to watch a friend play or pin a stream of their game onto your screen, and you can watch their game and play yours at the same time. The choice is yours. And, if you want to quickly join friends in some multiplayer mayhem, the control center features a special tab that lets you boot up the game your friends are playing (assuming you have a copy) and join their party.
The PS5's user experience isn't all the control center, though. The console features a revamped home screen accessible either by quitting a game or booting up the PS5 from a powered off state.
Each game tab on the PS5 home screen includes a "hub" where you can find the latest news and DLC. More importantly, each hub features game activity tabs, much like the control center. If you want to jump into a specific level in Sackboy without traveling through the game's world map, select an activity, and you're good to go.
Better yet, if you want to purchase a new game, you don't need to load a PS5 store app. The store app is no more, replaced by a digital marketplace that is integrated into the home screen. With the PS5, you can scroll over to the store hub and start browsing immediately.
The user experience video is just a small sampling of the whole PS5 user experience, but now we know that Sony put game speed and efficiency at the forefront of the general PS5 adventure.