Sony Shows Off the PlayStation 5 UI for the First Time
- Paul Thurrott
- Oct 15, 2020
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Sony today posted the first videos and screenshots of the PlayStation 5 user interface, which is similar to that on Xbox Series X|S, with large thumbnails and lots of white space.
“With less than a month until launch, we’re thrilled to share our very first look at the PlayStation 5 console’s user experience (UX),” Sony’s Hideaki Nishino wrote in the announcement post. “The new UX is completely centered on the player, to provide you a truly next-generation experience with deeper immersion that quickly connects you to great games and a passionate gaming community.”
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The ideas are certainly the same, too: The PS5 UX is designed to get out of the way and let you get to gaming as quick as possible. “We believe the less time you spend waiting to interact with the system, the more time you will have to spend playing games,” Nishino explains.
And like Xbox, the PS5 offers a Guide-like experience, this time called Control Center, which “provides immediate access to almost everything you need from the system at a single press of the PlayStation button on the DualSense wireless controller, all without leaving the game.”
There’s also a new feature called Activities, displayed as on-screen cards in the Control Center, which enable gamers to “go back to things you missed, jump directly into levels or challenges you want to play, and much more.” Some Activity cards can be viewed without having to leave the game, Sony says.