Last week, we finally had a look at the PlayStation 5 and some of the games coming to the console. A Sony executive recently commented that the PS5 user interface (UI) is a complete overhaul from the PS4.
As reported by The Verge, Sony’s VP of UX Design at PlayStation, Matt MacLaurin answered some questions about the PS5 in a now-deleted LinkedIn thread. He described the system’s UI as a “very interesting evolution of the OS” and a “100 percent overhaul of the PS4 UI and some very different new concepts”.
“As it’s UI it’s practical first, but it’s a whole new visual language and a complete rearchitecting of the user interface,” he said, also noting that the new UI is “more subtle than flashy, but no pixel is untouched.”
This seems to allude to the likelihood of the horizontally laid out “XrossMediaBar” (XMB) retiring, which has been the foundation of Sony’s UI designs for the PSP, PS3, PS Vita, and PS4.
When this new UI finally comes out, if it is completely different, it’ll be good to see what form it takes.