Console Interface Deathmatch

[balut]

Which console interface do you prefer?

[frank austin]

I prefer the PS3's minimal and usable XMB, but I still dislike a lot of things about it. Just not as many as I dislike about the "blade".

[MattKeil]

XBL's works, PS3's doesn't. Maybe if I didn't have to constantly synch trophies or use XBL for party chat so I could actually talk to teammates on the PS3, I'd be a little less harsh on the PS3's UI.

Nah, it would still suck hilariously hard. The PS3's UI feels like it was made by someone who watched way too much '90s anime trying to predict what 2010's internet interfaces would be (see also: PlayOnline). Put down the Serial Experiments Lain DVD set and make something functional and convenient next time.

[Lizard_King]

Same here (as Frank). I don't like any of them, but the PS3 is far more straightforwardly functional outside of the games and doesn't antagonize me with a shitload of ads between me and whatever I want to do. I don't give a shit about trophies as compared to the ability to use a better version of Netflix and easily access videos on my computer, although it is true that XBL's party system and voice setup is superior.

[MattKeil]

I have no idea what ads you're talking about that are getting in the way. Yes, the right side of the menus on XBL are laden with ads and weird video shit, but everything you actually need is the default option on all the different menu rows. I don't think I've ever gone past the third option to the right outside of the system options and browsing the XBLA game library by alphabetical order.

[Alstein]

My biggest problem with the PS3 interface is the need to sync trophies. Then again if I had my way, I'd never see trophies/achievements at all, I really can't stand them.

I didn't like the 360's ads one bit.

[Harkonis]

I like the 360's very much right after an update. A week later, it slows way down, every time.

[Jazar]

Same here (as Frank). I don't like any of them, but the PS3 is far more straightforwardly functional outside of the games and doesn't antagonize me with a shitload of ads between me and whatever I want to do. I don't give a shit about trophies as compared to the ability to use a better version of Netflix and easily access videos on my computer, although it is true that XBL's party system and voice setup is superior.

Agree with this. I like the clean and simple interface of the ps3. I like that you can use any image as a wallpaper or find free custom themes online. I like that it boots up quickly, and navigating through the options are fast.

[Omniscia]

I don't really like any of the console interfaces -- too many hoops -- so I'll just stick with the trusty, eminently-customizable PC.

[Lizard_King]

I have no idea what ads you're talking about that are getting in the way.

Well, you'll figure it out someday.


I don't really like any of the console interfaces -- too many hoops -- so I'll just stick with the trusty, eminently-customizable PC.

I agree with respect to Windows 7, which is the first OS I think I've liked since Mac system 7.0 back in the day. I just thought that was the shit bonerz option since it's not really choosing the lesser of evils in the console world.

[Marcin]

Actually, what with every service having its own downloader, patcher, sign-in gadget, three kinds of friend trackers and gameplay trackers (to achieve parity with consoles, of course you can opt out which is another PC plus, heh), not to mention today's VOIP of choice, I'd have to say the PC is a bit over complex too.

Much to my surprise, I'd go with PS3. I prefer the minimal crypticness to the info overload of XBLA.

[Sander 001]

An important thing to consider is that new content (and their advertisements) is built into the dashboard of the 360 while on the PS3 you have to go to the PSN Store.

If this is a good thing or bad thing depends on your perspective.

[Timex]

Are we taking just the ui, or the underlying functionality? Because while I don't totally hate the ps 3 interface, the psn online support for actually letting you play games and communicate with friends is fucking terrible.

When the best solution for communication while playing a game on the ps 3 is to have everyone boot up their xbox and form a party, you know something is wrong.

[forgeforsaken]

An important thing to consider is that new content (and their advertisements) is built into the dashboard of the 360 while on the PS3 you have to go to the PSN Store.

If this is a good thing or bad thing depends on your perspective.

The store is another point. With the 360 the store is integrated and follows the same conventions as the rest of the interface like it or hate it. With the PS3 it's a separate app that is the equivalent of trying to browse a web page with a controller.

[Sander 001]

No, the web browser is something else entirely. I don't think that it's a fair comparison if we go there; the 360 doesn't even have one.

[Royal Fool]

Heh, I see I'm the only one who voted for the Wii (so far). Before you decide that I'm mad, I just want to note that it's because I really like how you can move each game and program around. It's kind of like using a computer desktop, and I only wish the PS3 and 360 offered similar stuff.

[Boojum]

I voted for PC, because it's customizability and mouse-driven flexibility means I can get to whatever I want faster than anything using a controller would allow. However, I'm pretty much fine with the PS3 and Wii interfaces as well. They're adequate for putting (or letting me put) what I need in reasonably quick access range. As long as it takes me a minimum of time to find what I'm looking for, I won't complain (though the PS3's long vertical list of all games ever was irritating until I found the option to sort by most recently played.)

The 360, though, was shoddy to begin with and has become an unmitigated disaster post-NXE. Ads are in your face from the moment you turn on the system (My one-year-old bought a year's Gold subscription with just two taps of the A button after accidentally turning it on). Finding things always takes longer than it should, particularly when everything is so sluggish to load. And there's especially no excuse for the time it takes to load the list of available downloaded games.

[instant0]

In my vote I considered this solely a 360 vs PS3 question, and not involving the PC at all, which has a user configurable UI. With regards to the Wii is too niche to be considered (as a disclaimer; I own all 4 platforms, + AMiGA! ) as its just a iPhone-esque icon list (Or drag a 3x3 square around some windows icons if you like)

In terms of Online "Presence" (Especially these days) / Functionality / Support I pick the 360 hands down, which is why I would never buy a multi platform title for the PS3 when I can get it on the 360.

But in terms of "getting to where I want to be" / efficiency and "cleanliness" I would pick the PS3 over the Slow-ass-f**k blade any day.

[russellmz00]

fun fact: you can use a usb mouse and keyboard with the ps3.

[Damien Neil]

My only real complaint with the PS3's UI is that the font is too damned small for TV usage.

[Brian Rubin]

My only real complaint with the PS3's UI is that the font is too damned small for TV usage.
It is? I sit 6 feet or more from my TV and I can read it fine.

[Sander 001]

fun fact: you can use a usb mouse and keyboard with the ps3.Why can't you with the 360?

[balut]

To be fair, the PC option is pretty much the "Shit, bonerz" option, as the poll specifies console interface preference.

[WarrenM]

I agree with Matt for the most part here. Yeah, the ads suck but they never get in my way. I can see them but they don't hinder my progress through the dashboard. What are you guys trying to do that the ad panels slow you down?

This is not a defense of ads, which I think are ridiculous, but rather me trying to understand the specific usability problem.

[MrCoffee]

I didn't see a shit bonerz option so i just went with PC too.

[Omniscia]

Why can't you with the 360?

You can use a USB keyboard with it.

[Inactiviste]

I hate the new 360 interface. The PS3 has a much cleaner one. To be fair the PSN store is a mess while the XBLA is at least useable.

Sony should ask their new best buddies from Valve some tips in running a download store.

[Lizard_King]

My only real complaint with the PS3's UI is that the font is too damned small for TV usage.

For your TV. It works fine on my TV, and my wife seems to have no problem despite having worse eyesight than me. We typically sit a kinect minimum 8+ feet away. I could see it being an issue with smaller TV sets or ones that don't prioritize sharpness and contrast or whatever it is that makes text look really clear.

I think that's a valid point, though, and there's no reason why the end user shouldn't be able to customize it in an interface that is relatively uncluttered like xmb and could easily manage different sizes.


I agree with Matt for the most part here. Yeah, the ads suck but they never get in my way. I can see them but they don't hinder my progress through the dashboard. What are you guys trying to do that the ad panels slow you down?

This is not a defense of ads, which I think are ridiculous, but rather me trying to understand the specific usability problem.
The main non-game thing that I do is use either console as a Netflix outlet (not significantly different, although I default to the PS3 since it's quieter and I have a remote for it) and the media server function, which was much easier to set up and run on my PS3. Since upgrading to Windows 7, accessing files on a computer without third party software has been a breeze on the xmb, whereas with the xbox I always feel that there's an extra step where the console is loading an ad to show me before I can get from A to B. It's not really a rational measure of amount of effort it takes or time delayed (although there's always that slight delay to pop in all of the ads, just to remind you). It's more like that feeling you get when you read a ten page article on one of those damned websites that has a paragraph per page so they can up their ads per eyeball...all of XBL and most of the in-console stuff has that vibe.

As an aside, one of the things that bothers me is that within all of their efforts to target marketing they are still prioritizing what they want to sell that week over what I am likely to buy. For years I bought Rock Band DLC, and only when it happened to coincide with a big profile release was there ever an ad I gave a shit about in that category that took me to the latest release efficiently. Instead I had to manually navigate to RB content every time and then use a sorting method derived from Satan's Asshole to determine if I wanted the song or the pack or whatever.

If they are going to be advertising oriented, then let me have some say in what I want to see. Let me tell them things I am interested in, and things that will never, ever get bought in my house.

It's a standard Sony doesn't have to meet because the advertising isn't the axis around which their entire interface revolves.

[JeffL]

The 360 interface is far too "cute" and layered for my tastes. With the PS3, everything is a simple menu, right there in front of you. Nothing is hiding 3 or 4 players deep. No ads. Maybe it is too simple for some, but I like it - it just works.

One caveat that impact my opinion is that my online interactions are very simple. I play Bad Company 2 with a couple of friends, same with other games, and that works fine. I don't do "parties" and other online things like that.

[Lizard_King]

One caveat that impact my opinion is that my online interactions are very simple. I play Bad Company 2 with a couple of friends, same with other games, and that works fine. I don't do "parties" and other online things like that.

The party system is nice because it doesn't rely on the game being up and running to keep you in contact with the other person. I noticed the difference especially from having played RE5 extensively on XBL and then trying it on PSN; having to use a bunch of different means of communication just to get in-game to where we could use the in-game chat to communicate made it easier just to use skype as the overall platform to talk and get organized to play. Conversely, XBL has one seamless means of getting organized, and you can use it in place of whatever a game jury rigs so that you're always talking to the people you want to talk to regardless of what's in the game.

I rarely play console multiplayer at all these days, but it used to matter to me a great deal. I shrugged it off as being the cost of a free system but there's no reason why if they are going to copy useless shit like a trophy system they can't also copy things like that.