Sony PlayStation 4 User Interface and Other Features Detailed

Sony has revealed the details on the user interface and other features of its gaming console, PlayStation 4. The in-depth overview was provided by the firm at its launch event in New York.

Following are the details on features and the user interface of the Sony PS4, according to IGN.

-The PS4 UI is said to socialise more with the user right from the boot-up screen. After the first boot up, the gamers are will be able to view all the available accounts along with their high-resolution image or an icon.

-In case the gamer is the sole user of the system, he or she can customise the system to boot directly to the main screen.

-For the PlayStation camera owners, a facial recognition system is also supported. During the login, system snaps a few shots of the user's face for identification. The player is also needed to raise the Dualshock 4 controller in the view as a security layer.

-The system also includes a guest account which enables the user's friends to create a temporary user account on the console. The account get deleted the moment the user signs out.

-All categories in the system are displayed in a horizontal linear view, which also includes "What's New" tab. This tab acts as a news feed for the user's friends activities such as status updates, in-game screenshots, videos and others. The thumbnail features tab makes it more visually interesting.

-PS4 comes with an improved system speed whether a user is watching a video, loading a browser, chatting or performing any other activities. The games on the console take a little time depending on the size of the files.

-The home button on Dualshock 4 provides a shortcut to bring the user back to dashboard and also enables the user to switch between two most recent apps.

-The party messaging system has been extended to support realtime text, picture and audio chats among the user's friends along with cross-platform support. The cross-platform systems include PS4, PS Vita and any other smartphone and tablet compatible with Playstation App. Party chats can include up to eight players, who can create messages by navigating the on-screen keyboard with sticks or by using Dualshock 4's in-built motion sensors for moving the cursor on the screen.

-Along with the gold, silver, bronze and platinum-caliber ranks, a rarity level will be assigned to each trophy indicating how many players have achieved the trophy for a particular game title.

-Integrated video broadcasting tools like Twitch and Ustream have been included in the system. The users can now control the quality and the format of their video broadcast. The console also records the last 15 minutes of a gameplay at all times which can be later cut into small clips and shared on Facebook or Twitter or the user's friend's news feeds. The footage can be only shared in PS4 OS and the raw footage can't be exported to USB HDD or thumb drive.

-Every game and content can be bought in-store via digital purchase through PSN by a user on day one. Buying full game and changing from Sony's current-gen to next-gen gaming title can be done.

-A user can customise the system to download important updates even if the system is on a standby mode and be powered on remotely. This will enable the users to remotely turn on their system from anywhere and start preloading a game.  

 Sony PlayStation 4 is set to go on sale on November 15 in US and Canada followed by November 29 in UK and Australia, reports Techradar.