Sony on PS5 UI: We Really Want to Make Sure the User Can Utilize Their Time to Engage with the Game

Earlier today, Sony finally pulled the lid on the PS5 UI, showing how PlayStation 5 will interact with the basic functions of the new console. They’ve also unveiled the new Activities feature, which aims to bring players close to specific in-game objectives or challenges.

Speaking to Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, Hideaki Nishino, Senior Vice President of Platform Planning & Management at Sony Interactive Entertainment, commented on the importance of this new feature added to the PS5 UI.

We do care about the beauty of the PS5 UI, which is, of course, going to be of a PlayStation quality. But at the same time, we really want to make sure the customer can fully utilise their time for engaging with the game. And there was a conversation with developers and creators: they sometimes feel kind of sad, because now the game scope is huge and the game world is huge – and people may not see the whole picture of the game. So how we can bring them more into the games? I know, there is a menu system and a scene system in the game that can show the customer the various options in the game.

However, it should be a really, really great moment. With the cards, you see the options, what you could enjoy. And with challenges in the dynamic update, they kind of force me back into the gameplay. It’s a really great experience, having the user more engaged with the game. This system is there to support great play and a great time. I speak to my team, it’s like a theatre setting – it’s there to energize all the actors on the stage, to perform at their best. And you should not notice what’s going on behind the scenes.

It won’t be long before we see the PS5 UI in action for ourselves, with Sony’s next-generation console set to debut on November 12th in select countries and November 19th elsewhere in the world.