Video: PlayStation 5’s system menu has finally been revealed
PS5’s UI puts emphasis on speed, ease of access and built-in game guides
Sony has revealed the PlayStation 5’s system menu in an 11-minute video published on the PlayStation Blog.
The PS5’s system menu is rendered at native 4K, with each game and media app using the additional space to receive its own large portion of the home screen.
A significant emphasis is put on speed of access, with the PlayStation Store integrated directly into the home screen and many menus able to be put in picture-in-picture mode so they can be viewed without leaving a game.
One of the new console UI’s highlights is a new Control Center, which is said to provide immediate access to “almost everything you need from the system” at a single press of the PlayStation button, without leaving your game.
A large part of the Control Center is Activities, which are displayed in the form of on-screen cards which show players new gameplay opportunities, things they missed, and allow them to jump directly into levels or challenges they want to play.
Activities can indicate how long a specific gameplay segment will take to complete and even display a guide video, as was previously suggested by Sony patents.
Social features such as voice chat are also easily accessible from the Control Center and players can even share their screens without leaving a game.
Meanwhile, the DualSense controller’s new Create button allows users to capture screenshots and video at up to 4K resolution.
Sony’s SVP of platform planning, Hideaki Nishino said: “We believe your play time is valuable and should be meaningful, and all the new features we’re delivering are inspired by that concept and vision. The new UX introduces several new features designed to make your gaming experiences more fun, engaging, personalized and social.”
He added: “Navigating the interface, switching between games, and hopping into online matches occurs quickly, as we rebuilt the entire software stack from the console to the network to bring you a truly next-generation experience. We believe the less time you spend waiting to interact with the system, the more time you will have to spend playing games.”
The PlayStation 5 release date is November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. The rest of the world will get the console a week later on November 19.
Selected Japanese YouTube content creators live streamed PS5 gameplay this month and you can watch all the videos on this page.