Annoyances you have with console interfaces

@sHaDyCuBe321: @iambatman7986: I'll definitely add you guys once I get home!

Everybody really hates on the X1's, personally I don't think it's that bad though. You just have to remember to sign in when you boot the console so that your pins come up. The last 5 things you did are there at the bottom, all your games and apps are in one folder, and you only need to hit pause to get to the settings.

xb1 - can't find things that i need to find, and games start when i only want to look at my gamer score

ps4- the ads are really annoying.

I fucking hate the PS4's UI, it lacks so much that the PS3's UI had. How the **** is it gonna have les features and custom-ability than the PS3's UI? How the ****?

PS3 UI>>>>>>>>>> PS4>>> XB1

You must be talking about the PS3's PS Store cuz ever since the PS4 came out the PS Store on the PS3 took a dive and is slow as ****.

the PS Store on the PS4 works great. IDK what you are on about, you must have some slow internet or something.

@Nengo_Flow: He's talking about PS3.

The interface on the Xbox One has a nice layout, but a lot of really minor annoyances that add up quickly. My biggest beef is how sluggish it seems to run. Everything feels delayed and choppy.

I want to be able to customize my media bar on the PS4, or I'd like my games that are installed to be on a drop down thing (like tv/video or whatever) as opposed to them hogging up the cross bar in the order of which game I played most recently or whatever it is now.

Xbox One UI is garbage. Luckily, I'm happy with the system otherwise. Wii U is too slow and PS4 lacks organization. PS4 is easily my favorite though.

Char, you should either send me your gamer tag or send me an invite! Same goes for the rest of you SW plebs. I should expand my friends list on there!

@charizard1605: Xbox 1 is def not as user friendly as 360, kinect makes it way better but if your kinect less its getting easier especially with the continuous updates.

All the kinect type features can be brought up by double tapping the Xbox home button, when at your home screen you can press the 3 lined start button(menu button)think of that button as a right click on a mouse when your selecting anything on the home screen it just brings up options like quit app/game ect, and easily go to your settings if they aren't pinned and manage said game or app.

The double square select type button (View button) does nothing, only thing I've noticed it does is when on the home screen on a game or app it takes you right into managing the game when pressed. I hardly ever use it.

All in all the UI isn't too horrible, especially with Kinect, but the ever coming updates really help lol

@charizard1605 Straight up the easiest way to explain this is as follows.

The Xbox One UI was designed to function in conjunction with the Kinect, the UI was built around it and the ease of use it provides, it was never supposed to be unbundled.

On top of this it is a new UI that you need to get familiar with, it's foreign at first but in time it will all make sense. Also when Windows 10 comes out in the Fall I would expect a pretty drastic UI overhaul to come with it.

In terms of pressing B, don't spam it in the menus and you won't have a problem. B is the back button, when you get to the home screen and press it, it takes you back to your most recently launched game/application which is running in the background but currently suspended.

When you're playing a game and go to the home screen, that game/app is still running exactly where it was previously and takes priority. Hitting B simply takes you back as far as you can go.

I've noticed the troubling UI about the Xbone long ago, but I distinctly recall you saying the Xbone UI was good and greater than the PS4 UI at some point in SW, right?

Now you are saying you own an Xbone and the UI is driving you nuts...so back then was your Xbone UI impressions based on pictures or something?

I agree with your points in this thread. There is no clear cut perfect UI this gen, or last for that matter...but speedy but barebones PS4 UI takes the victory based on the competition dropping the ball in their UI choices imo. I think the Wii U would have won for me if not for those damn loading times even to just check the simplest of things, like the settings.

I'm probably one of the few who wish Sony had just stuck with a version of the XMB. I mean, PS4 UI isn't bad, and i've gotten used to the expedience of the Vita, but neither one lets me organize to the level I like to on my PS3.

Let's not start on Nintendo UIs. When you control shit that tightly, there is no reason for it to be so bloated.

the wiiu UI is slow. thats my biggest issue. just getting around is slow. i honestly dont know why its taking up 1GB of ram....its just slow. it probably doesnt have access to much processing power (does the OS even use one of the main wiiu cores? in terms of layout and getting around its fine and generally logical. but its slow. the wii and 3DS (at launch...more in a bit) were much faster and more responive.

the 3DS has also become a bit bloated over the last year or so. maybe its just nintendo trying to push me to get a new 3DS :P. but switching between applications on the 3DS now seems slower than when it was released. i recently transferred my storage to a new class 10 card (not to solve this issue...my old card died ) and it made 0 difference.

the vita system interface itself is a lesson in how its done imho. fast, responsive, no fussing, easy to organise. done and dusted. however the vita interface for the PSN store is woeful. people have a go at the nintendo estore (and thats not perfect in fairness) but that is a massive improvement over the PSN store on the vita. bloody hell its crap.

speaking of the PSN store...its also poor on the PS3. in fairness i actually do like the layout and general look of it on the PS3. but the performance is very very shoddy. are they just porting a PS4 PSN app to the PS3 or something....surely someone at sony HQ is looking at it and thinking "this thing runs like a dog on the PS3".

@nyadc: Yes, I am definitely better at it today than j was yesterday. It's a very jarring shift from everything I have been used to, so it will take some time for me to come to grips with it. Thankfully, I imagine the Windows 10 update will make things better come fall, like you said.

@SolidTy: It was based more on some quick impressions with a friend's unit. The Xbox One UI looks incredible, and at first glance is the absolute best. It's only when you dig deeper into it that the cracks start to show, which is what has happened in this instance.

I have very little trouble with the X1. Pressing B starts a game? I have never encountered this. Since I chose to not Auto start discs I have to say "play game" or highlight the disc tile and press A.

Pins for my games are fine, unless something like Titanfall/Destiny which I must be online to play. Notifications need help, agreed. I have no trouble finding things. I look up top and either go Pins, home, Friends, Store.

PS4 Library layout doesn't work all that well, agreed. I liked the PS3 having them in an up down column. I don't like typing on any controller. Syncing Trophies is the dumbest thing ever at this point.

I think I'm the only person on earth that likes the xbox one's UI.

I don't have a WiiU, but I personally hate both the X1 and PS4 interfaces. They are convoluted and counter-intuitive. I liked the stupid blade interface on the 360. At least it made sense.

I like it as well, but I actually understand it and have a Kinect so it's being used as intended. Even without the Kinect it's still a simple and fluid OS.

I got mine without the kinect and thoroughly enjoy the OS. I think people are way too whiney and picky about this kind of stuff these days.

@Wasdie: same here. Xbone would have a decent ui if it wasn't so slow. Especially snapping things

yeah that PS download list is a fucking mess. it took me several minutes just to get to a game i downloaded back in 2008! But yeah, These are my biggest annoyances with the PS4:

• The train list of apps/games seriously needs a "favorite" option! i need to favorite the games and apps i want to be shown on the first page and not the most recently touched/played.
• Library layout and organization is a joke, and the fact that I can't arrange or organize my games at all is amazingly poor thinking
  • The PlayStation download list is a nightmare. I have a mental breakdown just thinking about mine, spread across four systems, including multiple PS+ games, and with no logical coherence or organization to it whatsoever.

@mems_1224: The snapping thing is straight up unusable for me. It would be a great feature if it freaken worked.

Right now the PS4 is a more enjoyable experience because it actually works well. The Xbox One has more going on for it UI wise but half of it doesn't work. Unacceptable for a game console. I feel like I'm playing an alpha build of some kickstarter, not using a 2 year old console.

Curious, this is a thread about PS4, but you are talking about PS3 (2008)? I agree the DL list is a mess, but the DL list is equally atrocious on 360. I noticed this years ago and mentioned it but nobody seemed to care back then. It does suck though for all three.

However, regarding the DL list stuff on the current gen. That stuff outlined that are considered problems on PS4, but not mentioned for Wii U and Xbone? You can't do that DL stuff on Wii U or Xbone either.

On PS4 you can go into the PS Store and go to library or you can go to Notifications -> Downloads shows everything you've downloaded, but only for PS4.

I do wish all three were much better on how they handle DL lists/queue organization.

So you compared quick impressions with a friends unit, even after all the big gaming websites and users who owned the Xbone machine in that thread, were claiming the opposite of your impression about the Xbone UI...

That's sort of like testing out the Wii U UI at a kiosk over a couple of days going to Target, Walmart, or Gamestop and determining the Wii U has the best UI while owning an Xbone at home for months. It's not really fair and honestly, one shouldn't proclaim a UI victor as you did given your limited experience with the machine. You'd agree with that right?

I'm not trying to be contrary or anything, but rather try to understand why one would compare in such an unfair fashion? Watch a movie in the cinema vs. watching another movie on a tiny 32 inch old CRT at a friend's party while the phone is ringing, loud music is playing, and people are talking. Then later, proclaim one movie is better than the other. The testing conditions weren't equal skewing the results.

I guess it makes me wonder why post in the first place if you don't disclose your limited experience with select hardware in that post. It was sort of matter of fact, to the point. It comes off and wishy washy later when you catch up and gain the experience others had been suffering through, especially since in the past I've called users out many times for using their buddies machine in SW. It's not a huge deal, I just don't understand people need to comment on things that they aren't as qualified.

For instance, it's why you don't see me arguing in a racing thread about details of each game as I'm not into racers. I will disclose my limited racing experience if I did post in the post instead of giving people an impression that I don't actually represent and will change in a few months when I actually buy the game.

When it comes to racers, I don't have a horse in the race, so to speak since I don't like the genre. I do well to let people know that upfront, but usually I just avoid those threads instead of posting Forza>>> Gran Turimso, or whatever.

Let's be honest, there will probably be a WiiWii2U, PS5, XbTwo, etc...and what's to say something like this won't happen again? People will compare their XbTwo they own for a year to a kiosk PS5 with 15 minutes under their belt and declare the controller or UI is better, but the reality is that's not fair. I've already seen it about 1000x in SW, but usually it's from a much lower tier poster.

We have guys like Protoss that seem to flip flop every once in awhile and I can't help but wonder what users like him actually believe. You lead me to believe months ago the Xbone UI was not only competent, but the best UI, which not only shocked me as it went against my months and months of usage, but now I come to find out you didn't share those experiences and just now are coming to terms with the funky Xbone UI. Again, not trying to grudge out or anything, It just struck me as odd.

Of course, it's not the end of the world. Anyone can overcome these UI handicaps as we get used to these machines over time, but that doesn't mean the UI becomes good, it just means we chose to acclimate. My experience with the Xbone UI is that it is not a good UI as it's choppy and even things like removing followers is annoying and non-intuitive. The snapping feature just drives me nuts...and I have Kinect. Too bad my 7.1 surround sound prohibits heavy use of my voice over loud sounds of gaming. Screaming "Xbox" repeatedly is not intuitive, nor is memorizing voice commands when I should be able to navigate with the controller with ease, even in a loud party atmosphere. The bonus lag certainly doesn't help, and what they did to achievements (360 vs. Xbone layout) is atrocious.

You are talking about PS4, Xbone, and Wii U in the OP. I totally get that.

However, you somehow count the PS3/Vita DL lists as a negative for the PS4, but you can't access the entire PSVita/PS3 download list on PS4 from what I've seen. You didn't bring up the Wii or 360 DL lists as negatives for the Wii U or Xbone. I'm not sure how other machines are a negative for the PS4 in the OP, as the PS4 DL list is in the library tab and contains PS4 only games. You can also find the PS4 DL list by finding the Notifications -> Downloads which shows everything you've downloaded (Press X when you highlight Notifications, which can be accessed by pressing up from the main PS4 menu). Personally, the PS4 does remove the apps and games from each other, which is something. The fact I don't have to scroll past tons of PS3 and Vita games is also a bonus. Just FYI.

There is a PS4 library button instead right in the store and in settings to only look at PS4 games.

Regarding the PS4 DL list vs. Xbone DL list, the same issues you have on one should be the same on the other. You can't organize either either DL lists, which I called for years ago.

I do agree the DL lists are a nightmare across all three machines, but I said that many years ago and to be honest, no one seemed to care. I guess I was just ahead of my time or too old to be posting in SW or something like that. I had to wait for more people to accrue more DD games.

I agree the PS DL list on PS3/Vita are nightmarish, for sure, as they are on the Wii, Wii U, 360, and Xbone. Basically the problem is the more DD games you buy, the more horrible these lists become until they allow us to favorite our DL lists or allow some form of organization.

That said, considering how the PS4 DL list is laid out, I can't find Vita or PS3 games in that PS4 DL list. So, part of my major problem is gone on PS4 (seeing the PS3/Vita games) which I actually welcomed.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but can you find Vita or PS3 DL DD games on your PS4? I can't and therefore that particular DL list point is something I would lodge against all three considering the amount of DD games I have across the machines.

@SolidTy:You are right, of course, I am confusing the Download List frustration I have on the Vita with the PS4. The PS4 has an entirely different problem of no organization for the library and no pinning of apps.

You are also doing me a disservice here. You're making it sound as though I had played or seen an Xbox for five minutes, and come to the conclusion that it was the best. That is wrong. I had spent a few hours (over multiple sessions, not all of them on the same day) playing around with it, and come to the conclusion that I find its UI the best. I had no reason to question that, since I felt I had had an adequate experience with it. But it was not my Xbox, so I had no reason to fiddle with a download list. I had no reason to try and get into the activity feed. I had no reason to try and find my pins (or even take note of the fact that the pins are offline only). As a matter of fact, on any other system, a few hours would be enough to get a fair understanding of how the UI works- I daresay an hour is too much to get used to the PS4 or the Wii U's UIs, for instance. Why in the world was I to believe the Xbox One would be any different? Incidentally, it was well known at this point that I do not own an Xbox One, only a PS4 and Wii U.

It is different, however. It is far more- different. I don't know if I will call it bad or not, that remains to be seen as I spend more time with it, but it is complex enough that multiple nuances, quirks, and cracks don't show up until you spend some serious time with your own unit. Yesterday, I encountered that problem, and I realized those issues, and therefore I made note of them. It's a transparent opinion, as it was before, and I have never had any problems admitting to a change in opinion (which can, does, and should happen). My opinion before was transparent as well. As for why I ignored people posting about their impressions of the Xbox One UI, well, why would I pay them any mind, when my own experience went contrary to that? As an analogy, Gamespot may rate GTA4 a 10, but if I think it is trash, why would I care that it has a Metascore of 98? Others' opinions are good only to some degree- after a while you have to rely on your own. I was, as mentioned above, under the impression that I had sufficient knowledge to come to an informed opinion about a console UI after a few hours, which by all accounts should be enough. As I said, however, that was not the case.

It does sadden me to see you compare me to a poster like ProtossX, however.

I see what you mean and please don't think I was comparing you to Protoss, lol, at least in the worst way. While I can think of a few posters across all of GS (like MDK who you may or may not know), Protoss was the first name I thought of that we both know in SW whose opinion you may recall changes a lot. Poor comparison, but a rough example.

I just wanted to understand more and I'm happy that you obliged because I couldn't fathom how my minor frustrations with the UI weren't noticed by someone as observant as you. What you said about not fiddling with the nuances of the Xbone, most likely because it wasn't your hardware (personal things like DL lists or friends-lists), makes FAR more sense.

I completely agree with your examples above regarding other opinions and how you shaped your UI experiences more.

BTW: I too have had MANY DL aggravations especially with last gen...what a doozy. PS+ Vita/PS3 coming along after I already had problems did not make the DL issues any easier as games pile on pile games. Then Xbox got into it with GWG and my problems multiplied...on the flipside, I had more games. It's definitely a first world problem, lol.

Honestly, nope, I don't know MDK! I understand the comparison you were going for with the Protoss analogy better now haha.

But yeah, the Xbone UI is... interesting. I have to say, on my third day with it, I am not minding it as much (though it is still entirely neutered offline- perhaps a relic of the always online connectivity days?), but at least it is starting to make some organizational coherent sense.

And yes, all manufacturers need to get on the ball with how they handle download management. PSN suffers the worst, because it has four systems to cover (three at most at a time, however), and thousands of games and DLC packs, including PS+ stuff (not to mention the storefront is very poor on PS3), but Xbox and Nintendo aren't much better.

Nintendo actually has a great solution on the 3DS, where it offers you a list where it only lists the software you have purchased, but is not currently installed on your system. It would be the perfect solution, except a) it does not differentiate between demos, full games, and media (such as video files), and b) the 3DS storefront is very slow, even on the New 3DS, so the experience of scrolling through multiple pages to find what you want is still unpleasant.

If Sony, MS, and Nintendo want us to embrace digital, they really need to work on these smaller, obvious things.

Really wish PS has stuck with the PS3 menu interface. The updated UI is just worse - a little harder to navigate with no benefit. But at least it's better than the Xbox UI which is an abomination.