Editorial:Closer Look At PS3 User Interface

From Wikia Gaming

by SkcUslnd

The user interface of the Sony PS3 is one of the most important aspects of the next-gen console as it allows you to navigate and gain access to all of the important features of the console. Sony has come out and talked about the interface of the PS3 revealing a lot of information.

Sony’s Shuji Hiramatsu posted an interview on the official PlayStation.com site talking about the origins of the PS3 user interface and where Sony wanted to go with the next-gen console.

He stated Start-up screen of PLAYSTATION®3

"The concept of PlayStation®2 was "the Universe". So, the themes of the main screen were vastness and coolness. Photon-like light spots fly around the center of the screen. These lights symbolize "the Universe". Then pillars appear in the screen. The number of pillars is calculated based on stored memory card data that indicates how many times game titles have been launched. The maximum number of pillars was prepared based on the original PlayStation® system’s software attach rate. Our thought was that by playing games, the user could fill the screen with pillars at a comfortable density by the time PLAYSTATION®3 launch came around."

"I designed the start-up screens of PlayStation®2, PSX®, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), and PLAYSTATION®3, and noticed that they have become simpler and simpler. At first, I created heavy and colorful screens. I compressed and trimmed them, and eventually they became simple but rich and full of meaning. The start-up sound of PLAYSTATION®3 is derived from the sound of an orchestra tuning its instruments before they start a performance. The orchestra may consist of 80 musical instruments, and the sound starts from the tuning of an oboe as in a real orchestra. We localized sound sources correctly. Though the process of programming the sound was very complex, we intended it to sound simply."

He also talked about the XMB of the PlayStation 3 stating, "The first impression of PLAYSTATION®3 was simply "it is powerful". What we cared about most was how we could have users feel friendly toward a powerful computing system that could enable the vision of networking and distributed computing. In the initial stage of development, we considered the possibility of employing a user interface other than XMB™. But we had a plan to connect PSP® to PLAYSTATION®3. If we had used different interface designs for these products, it would not have worked. So we decided to use XMB™, so as to have the same user interface as PSP®. We poured a lot of effort into creation of the texture of the icons, which appear to be three dimensional images. This is why they look as if they are floating on the screen. We use familiar motifs so that both children and elderly people can understand them easily. They also have distinct outlines that can be viewed clearly on both HDTVs and non-HDTVs."

"When I think about a new idea for XMB™, I always think about twenty years into the future. Even though XMB™ will be used in living rooms, it may not be displayed on TV screens. XMB™ may appear to be floating in the air. I also think about how a main character would use XMB™ if it appears in a scene in a film. I expand my imagination by thinking about these things."

It is interesting to read about the origins of the PS3 and its user interface. He concluded that the PS3 will continue to evolve and hopefully we will end-up with in-game XMBs and such.

Story taken from here