PlayStation 3 menu / interface complete video walkthrough

In the second part of our pre-release PlayStation 3 videos, we've got a full walkthrough of the XMB menus and user interface of the console. No, sorry, no gameplay -- why bother when our video camera wouldn't show the graphic subtleties anyway? -- but we've got the A-Z on almost everything in the console, including the new and improved Sony browser, the Folding@Home client, and even a tiny preview of the PlayStation Network's friends and messaging features. Check it out!

P.S. -Our flash video isn't the highest quality / res. If you want the best looking video, check out the VGA h.264 file below.

Download video
MOV (h.264) - VGA, QVGA
AVI (DivX) - VGA, QVGA

Music: Christopher Willits - Orange Lit Space, Colors Shifting, Finding Ground (Ghostly International)

[Tommy Mang @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:32PM]

Why no gameplay? I hope that PS3 gamers are buying it for the games... and not for the menus... ;-)

[Ryan Block @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:20PM]

Again, as I've stated, gameplay wouldn't really be something we can show the subtleties of. You saw the video, the detail of the screen leaves something to be desired, especially when you're talking a 1080p signal. If you want gameplay vids I'd suggest you hit up a video game site, we're all about the hardware angle!

[Tommy Mang @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:53PM]

Hi Ryan,

I understand what you mean. It was meant more as a joke ;-) Anyhow thanks for the interesting video!

[Sam Haakenstad @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:35PM]

The XMB looks better on the PS3 then I thought it would.

[jygsaw @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:38PM]

Wowza, there's an Install Another OS option? Now I know that you probably won't be able to run XP or what have you, but still an interesting option to see present.

[Adam Wroblaski @ Nov 7th 2006 10:02AM]

The operating system that will be able to be installed on ps3 is yellow dog linux. From what I can tell, it's a full distro of linux that can do everything. Very exciting!

[boki @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:39PM]

I like how the manager of special projects doesn't know much about the networked feature :)

[daddycool @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:41PM]

Wow, I know I'm not a Playstation fanboy, that video is way too long for me.

Look pretty good, if a little too minimalistic. Looks like the PSP, and thinking of that it will be cool to see the updates you can download over time.

The 360 dashboard looks better to me, but I think I'll like this one more because it has so many options and settings.

[homer jay @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:45PM]

not bad, but can I play games first person shooter games with the keyboard mouse if i wanted to?? And can I play videos from my PC on my tv?

[Rick wilson @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:52PM]

homer jay: Yes, you can play FPS games with a USB or Bluetooth mouse/keyboard. They're working on getting a network video stream working, and it will be more video formats than X360's .wmv, but I don't believe it will be a launch feature. But it is coming soon.

[John Cane @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:47PM]

I think I just fell asleep going through that menu- how are you suppose to navigate through that? I think Microsoft won there. I hope the games are good, cause I would hate to play around in that interface.

[Chris @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:54PM]

because if you notice every game stops on showing gameplay or online functions the reason?

It turns out even the blockbuster game that everyone wants on it resistence isnt relaly using any of sonys network.... turns out resistence will have its own friends list its own network its own everything ... and will not interact witht he sony entitlements at all (then again from what i hear alot of games wont be)

yay browser... didnt webtv already flop?

yay a store... not exactly anything breathtaking here just another wya to spend money.

folding@home... nifty but not exactly something thats a selling point, my pentium3 can do that lol.

Im sorry but the fact that they have such an unstructured online network kills it for me... with developers saying its a mess, a few games dropping multiplayer completely, most games that do have multiplayer having their own private game online ... including friends lists that are not tied to the ps3 lists.... and most games so far not using the entitlement points....

The end result is whats the point of having the "sony online network" thats "free" if in reality each game will haev its own seperate network run by the game developers? No wonder sonys online is free.... THEY ARENT RUNNING IT, they're basically giving people a builtin message window and freinds list thats available in the dashboard and calling it free? Wow... breathtaking... and how can they call the online "free" if its actually up to the individual game developers on how to run their network and to charge for it or not on a game by game basis?

Its funny how sony fanboys ignore the facts.

[Mike Campbell @ Nov 3rd 2006 4:53PM]

I don't want to be a grammar nazi but a post can only contain so many grammar and spelling errors before it's rendered unintelligible. Your post, sir, is barely comprehensible. Is it that difficult to stick some apostrophes in there as well??

[Ed @ Nov 3rd 2006 12:57PM]

Did anyone else notice that the Sony HDTV they're using is only running at 720p?

Geez, I hope Sony stops calling it an HDTV, since it doesn't support "Full HD".

More proof that 1080p is essentially meaningless.

[Chris @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:00PM]

jay: lol and you say the using the keyboard and mouse as if its a good thing LOL... there goes the equality in games, i can just see it already... playing onlines gonna be a frigging mess if they allow that.

And if your gonna have a keyboard and mouse... why exactly are you getting a ps3? just use u're frigging pc.

Lets see... keyboard.. mouse... ethernet.. and a browser... so u're buying another pc? that you cant upgrade the cpu/ram or gpu in in a few years... ah ok... i get ya

[Shawn @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:01PM]

Wow. The interface looks really impressive, you can see they spent a lot of time on it. Hopefully the gameplay is just as good.

[Billy @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:08PM]

I can't believe I watched that whole thing... :)

I think the interface is pretty crappy though. 360 is way better, maybe not quite as many options but it's a lot sexier and more intuitive to the average person I think. Although having a built in browser is nice, I can't believe the 360 doesn't have one. :P

It's funny in the second part, the guy that Ryan is talking to doesn't know anything, "Uhhh gee I've never seen that before, I don't know" uhh don't you work there?

[paul neesham @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:12PM]

wont the text be a bit hard to read from a distance? deff on normal sd tvs

[mrhammerstein @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:14PM]

looks like crap. way too minimalistic. way to have this super computer and they give us white text and white icons. i can only imagine the hours spent on this. not weeks or months, but mere hours. if i buy $600, it better have some freaking bling to it. half the people on this site can create a better interface.

the slideshow was okay except you couldn't change anything around. i might like to see my pictures full screen, not upside down and on an angle with scribbled dates.

yuk. i thank sony once again for pushing me more and more to the 360. have fun with this crap, japan.



anyone else notice the guy kept saying 'what-not'. god i hate that.

[nVidiot @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:18PM]

I kindof like it.. the 360 is pretty cool but it seems like the PS3 is going for more "features" out of the box which I prefer (being a PC nerd.)

Can't wait to hear more about the video playing functionality and wether or not it will eventually support more codecs (DivX/XVid).

Won't be buying one at launch but I'll keep my eye on this thing. The eventual purchase is innevitable for me but I'll pass for now.

[someguy @ Nov 3rd 2006 9:42PM]

Don't PC's come with nothing out of the box, but useless software that you have to uninstall??

About this interface. The PS3 interface seems really easy and simple, yet full fills all the needs. It's looks so easy that any new user can just jump and go.... kinda like a mac

[Evan @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:19PM]

The only exciting thing in that video was when the Sly Cooper icon appeared. There's been no official announcement about a PS3 Sly game, so leaking the presence of a Sly game would be news! But it turned out just to be some guy's avatar. A disappointment, like the rest of the video.

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:19PM]

This is a beautiful interface. The PSP XMB was very intuitive and I'm glad that they're keeping a unified menu system between their platforms.

It's not as flashy as the blades for Xbox, but it's just as functional with a more minimalistic approach. Two thumbs up from me!

[joe @ Nov 3rd 2006 2:14PM]

"and I'm glad that they're keeping a unified menu system between their platforms."

you me just get the PSP OS to run on the Ps3. i doubt that they "planned" it like this it was more like "oh shit what do we do now they people actual care about the OS interface...wait let's just port the PSP OS"

some how paying $600 for what is essenital a beefier and stationary PSP no thanks, sony you can keep it, ill stick with my PC and 360 combo.

[Borna @ Nov 22nd 2006 12:10AM]

So as far as H.264 playback, what type of file extension can you use or is acceptable? .mp4? I'm trying to figure out what wrapper is neccessary in order to playback the video. Does the PS3 support h.264 elementary stream video? Or just program/transport streams? Thanks!

[Will Design for Food @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:20PM]

Looks pretty cumbersome to add text. On the PSP I know it takes forever to type anything into (ie: URL, Network Config stuff, etc)...glad to see they improved that...not.

[Magus @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:22PM]

now the question is no conenction avaliable or not allowed to show off the network functions ^_^
Personally thers mroe than enough gameplay clips and such out there but there is little to no information on the networking components and such.
Also i would love to see you actualy plug a mouse and keyboard in. Also some audio device sony and not.

I still think its to early to make judgement comparisons between playstation network and xbl. But if anything it seems to me like a good comparison would be between XBL and AOL vs open net. Yes you have everything in one shell but is it really better?

[Chris D @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:27PM]

Hey Ryan - What was the name of the song that was playing during your walkthrough? (did it come pre-loaded on the HD?) Thanks.

[tom (dB) @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:28PM]

i hope you can switch that fucking music off!

[oshean @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:39PM]

The background video of the wave looks like it's lagging.

Sony, at least make the menu icons and text larger! How is anyone supposed to see that sitting on their couch across the room?

[radd @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:41PM]

ugly

[rcme @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:43PM]

Yikes, what a terrible interface. Will you actually be able to see the text and interact with it from 10' away, using just a remote/gamepad? Also, what's with that totally distracting background "ribbon"? It makes the interface even harder to use.

I got a kick out of the reviewer getting all excited about the screen saver/background when playing music, and how you can "adjust it"! ROTFL... WooHoo, that sure makes it worth the cost.

This whole review made me think they were looking at the first alpha release of the user interface on a development system, not the final user interface of a _very_ expensive gaming system.

[Jason @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:45PM]

Anyone else hear what sounds to be like an annoying buzzing sound in that video? Is this coming from the actual PS3?

[iceatcs @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:46PM]

World's best :)

[Evan @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:52PM]

The GUI is simple looking for a reason. You know that this GUI first appeared Sony's PSX PVR/DVD-recorder. I believe they want to implement this same interface across all their PVRs, DAPs, Blu-Ray players, etc.

[kismet I @ Nov 3rd 2006 1:55PM]

am i the only one who the video file wont download for? this happened with the other ps3 video also, it just stopped after some time.

[Jason @ Nov 3rd 2006 2:05PM]

Man, the guy at Sony sounded like he didn't know anything.

[Manuel @ Nov 3rd 2006 2:05PM]

is it just me or that user interface is boring as hell ???

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Nov 3rd 2006 2:18PM]

Yay for quoting me and not even taking the time to reply.

Seeing as how they've used the XMB in other Sony hardware, I doubt it was as idiotic a choice as you are trying to say it was.

Learn English by the way. It's about as bad as your fake green card.

[Silver R. Wolfe @ Nov 3rd 2006 2:19PM]

I apologize about your not replying to me, you did I just never received the email from Engadget telling me about it.

[joe @ Nov 3rd 2006 2:59PM]

"Seeing as how they've used the XMB in other Sony hardware, I doubt it was as idiotic a choice as you are trying to say it was."

you mention of XMB only makes even my statements only more valid.
So your saying its a good idea for sony to base their entire next gen ps3 OS on the same software that powers a plasma television. I think it's more of "only do enough and nothing more" which is sony mantra for quite a while. do you think its none a good idea to develop a much more sophisticated OS consider all the plans they have for the PS3?

i mean the XMB progression from TV to PSP to PS3 looks pretty pathethic.

atleast MS took the time to develop a more complex operating system(and more most likely better) then just bastardizing something from the TV.



Learn English by the way. It's about as bad as your fake green card.

you really show off that english competency by being a total asshole, i bet my family has been in living in country and speaking english a lot more years then you. your probly 2nd or 3rd generation immigrate don't spit up in to the air.

today I was told i had a fake green card, now that's a joke much like your love for sony apparently.

[Navstar @ Nov 3rd 2006 2:48PM]

Thanks for posting h264 videos! They really are great looking! (and I can play 'em on my ipod!)

Just say no to Flash video!

[kismet I @ Nov 3rd 2006 3:23PM]

am i the only one who the video file wont download for? this happened with the other ps3 video also, it just stopped after some time, i hat to use the torrent.

[jj @ Nov 3rd 2006 3:53PM]

Ummmm...when is...ahhh...engadget gonna get a...ummm...reporter who can...ummm...keep their act together without...ahhh...all the the annoying...ummm...pauses.

C'mon guys - admit that video/audio reporting is a different sport than the written word and HIRE SOMEONE who's as skilled behind the camera as you guys are behind a keyboard.

[Andir3.0 @ Nov 3rd 2006 3:54PM]

Wow, there really are alot of A.D.D. fanboys and ignorant people on Engadget.

"It's boring" - LOLZ!! Therz no jumping BUNNIES all over the screen!!!

"they just took the PSP interface and copied it to the PS3 hard drive." - You can't tell me your THAT stupid, can you?

I'd be interested to know if the 20-40x faster processing rate on the folding application is true...that would mean the estimates on the Cell's raw data processing power could be very true.

By the way, I really like simple and minimal interfaces. You can get to what you want pretty quick and don't have to flip around between slides on the screen. The Photodrop slide show thing was kind of cool, but it's one of those things that are there to impress people more than functional (unless you can select the photos from that view??)

[harry @ Nov 3rd 2006 4:22PM]

really who can be botered lookig around so many menus and sub menus to get a better quality that u will porbably hardly notice.
Also the colour of that background is just disgusting i couldn't use it.

[GRB @ Nov 3rd 2006 6:21PM]

>>Also the colour of that background is just disgusting i couldn't use it.

then don't. Life goes on...

[sycks @ Nov 3rd 2006 4:59PM]

Since its friday and i'm in no mood to argue the same points over and over with people who are either stubborn or paid for spreading FUD, i'll say that interface is sick, the ability to format the drive (read: make a newly installed drive PS3 compatible)... sick, the ability to install another OS as a default option super-sick. Well done.

[Michael Lange @ Nov 3rd 2006 5:22PM]

Ryan Block: It's no Ah-track, it's eh-track. Sounds like 8track. Play on words. No, okay I tried.

[Justin @ Nov 3rd 2006 6:53PM]

I think the interface looks pretty slick, although I'd hope that there's a lower resolution and bigger text option--I doubt that is going to be readable from a reasonable distance away from a SD TV. I think it looks better than the interface on my 360, although I am a sucker for minimalism.

The Web browser looks interesting, if a bit of a nerdy add in. I can't think of a good reason to include on on a console, but why argue? Don't like it? Don't use it.

Installing another OS sounds pretty interesting as well. Running a PS3 as a MythTV front end could be pretty cool, should this be possible. Connecting to a network share and using VLC or mplayer to play all the videos would be very useful (Microsoft, I'm looking at you. I want to watch videos on my TV, and limiting to just wmv is USELESS!). Linux could be the most interesting feature of the PS3 if it's done right, might even get me to buy one (but not anytime soon, I spent way more than I intended to with my 360, I'll wait a couple years until I can pick up one used or sub-$400. . . anyone want to donate one to a poor intern?).