THIS Made Me Finally Switch to Playstation | Nostalgia Nerd

Back in 1994, there was a lot of hype, a lot of hype for a little console called the Sony Playstation Of course there was also hype for the Sega Saturn and Nintendo's upcoming 64 bit console, but the Playstation was making waves before it had really even begun

Arriving just before 1994 was out in Japan, it would be 1995 before it made its way to Western regions, and this is where my view of these modern consoles would begin to form My gaming route had been a strange one, I'd shifted from the ZX Spectrum in the 80s, to the Master System in the 90s, back to a Commodore 64, then a Mega Drive, before an Atari ST and Amiga Flip flopping between console and computer if you will, but before 1995 was out I'd managed to land the ultimate prize, an IBM Compatible PC, just as the Playstation was arriving Now this had a dramatic effect on me, because as I was blasting through Doom, Mechwarrior 2 and Descent, Playstation owners were still dabbling in cut down, low resolution versions, which subconsciously made me think of the Playstation as a toy I mean, I had happily been playing far less powerful consoles only a year earlier, but now here I was with a proper machine, a machine which required you to configure and re-configure DOS memory on a regular basis

To understand how I/O ports worked and to understand the ins and outs of CD-ROM drivers before you could get anywhere Those kids with their Playstations, they were years behind the curve This smugness, led me down a route of disdain for the Playstation It was completely ridiculous and unwarranted, but I couldn't help it It was a sub-conscious thing, rooted in societies odd materialistic tenancies of keeping up with the Joneses

It wasn't until the Xbox arrived in 2001 when I actually started looking at consoles again See, this was the year I first moved out of my parents house, and lugging my PC about just didn't feel right, so impressed with the Xbox graphics, and the relatively low price as Microsoft tried out gain some market share, I bought one, and played Halo to death on it From there, I just stuck with Xbox consoles If you will, I had become a "FAN BOY" So time went on, various Xbox consoles came and went, including several variations of the 360 (DAMN YOU RED RING OF DEATH), all taking place in my lounge, for relaxing gameplay, whilst my PC was stuck in different room, for PC things

It was a glorious pairing But I noticed something, something which began to upset me Microsoft would change the Xbox dashboard often, and more recently those changes have't always been for the best

In fact, let's go through them Ahhhh, the original Xbox dashboard Green

Green is the theme, and really, I didn't use this much Although the Xbox was at the forefront of online multiplayer, I didn't really dabble at this stage I was too busy drinking Metz or Smirnoff Mule Something horrific in a bottle In 2005, the Xbox 360 appeared and the Dashboard was suddenly more of a focus, more important if you like

To help convey this importance, we had BLADES It was quite nice, it fitted the physical aesthetic of the 360, and we could navigate from left to right with ease Everything had a place, and although it wasn't the MOST user friendly, it was functional and really, a design of its time So in 2008 Microsoft updated us to a more neoteric design with lists, big blocks of content we could select, and a three dimensional aesthetic which felt modern, clean and straight forward This is really where we see the Xbox beginning to borrow design elements from Windows, with this design being rooted in the Windows Media Centre design principles

It made us feel like Kings, in command of our own destiny well, close anyway Now I quite liked this design, although it felt a bit trudgey at times

A bit long winded getting to certain places But by 2010 Microsoft had decided that FLATTER was the way to go They had chosen their future path, and the Kinect Dashboard was the Xbox's interpretation of this early metroesq landscape Apart from a new boot screen, it wasn't much different to before, although there were tweaks here and there, and of course, a new menu for the Kinect device Which brings us to the Metro tiles launched in late 2011, to coincide with Windows 8 and its own Metro design, naturally Now things were really flat

Flatter than had ever been seen before, so flat it was modern – at least, that's what I presume Microsoft's angle is Now this wasn't for everyone, but it worked for me I found content easier to access, and the layout was intuitive, simple and somewhat dignified Rather than scrolling through long lists, we now had blocks and pages, allowing better use of directional space and providing logical access or applications and games alike It makes perfect sense then that this dashboard was dragged across to the Xbox ONE – more or less – and that was fine

It wasn't a huge leap of imagination, but it allowed easy access to what we needed Then in 2016 things began to change, and by 2017, based on the new fluent design system, they had changed a lot, and changed for the worse Seriously Microsoft what even is this We went from an interface which was consistent in both design aesthetic and navigation to an illogical MESS It's like 4 operating systems have had an illegitimate love child and swaddled it with a blanket of confusion

Where do I even begin? Well, the snap feature is gone to start with, as is the live tile, which really helped mesh gaming with the dashboard A bit like the incredibly simple implementation of carrying through the Windows 8 desktop background through to the Metro interface Y'know, it just helps continuity But these aren't the worst backward steps Microsoft states that this design is in response to user feedback, but if that's the case then all they've done is taken a handful of random feedback suggestions and smashed them together into a nonsensical disparate wedge of shonky madness

On one hand we have huge swathes of wasted, space, alongside forefront icons which are rarely used Whilst on the other hand we have clutter, disarray and unmatched design choices which just make the whole interface difficult to navigate We have a clunky menu to the left, with menus hidden within menus, and even some of the places I use most often tucked away in here, surely their place should be permanently on the front page?! Not stashed in a bunker of obscurity "New tab flyouts make it easier to see more content quickly and switching between tabs is effortless" No Microsoft It's nonsensical, it's not user friendly, it lacks the simplicity, intuitiveness and cohesiveness I liked about the Metro interface Now, I might be exaggerating a little to make a point, but it was enough for me to question my life choices It's with this in mind that when I heard someone tell me "Moving to a PS4 was like breaking out of Interface prision", I thought, F*ck it

Let's go down the Playstation rabbit hole I mean, it's now 2018, I can shake off those feelings of disdain towards the Playstation, can't I? YESSS That's the spirit! So here it is, a white PS4, in all its Sony glory Ahhhhh, unboxing, yesssss Shedding the box

Plugging in the wires Setting up the things Isn't it glorious I mean there are channels hundreds of times more popular than mine which do just this WHO DOESN'T LOVE watching an internet person YANKING SLABS OF PLASTIC FROM A CARTON MADE OF FELLED TREES? And I'll be honest, from the go, there are touches and tweaks that I wasn't expecting from this slab of Sony plastic

Things which made me smile Like the first time I played a Mega Drive That sort of innocent excitement based around technology packed into a chunk of plastic From the built in speaker on the controller, to the way you can use the motion sensors to guide a cursor around the screen These are NICE features

It makes me smile, like the shape of a Mega Drive controller ALWAYS does I like this What's more the PS4 interface really is a design leap over the current Xbox incarnation It's almost as if they had a design goal in mind and worked collectively towards it to create an intuitive and visually pleasing navigation layout The space is used in a useful, yet uncluttered way

You don't have to click for hours and hours to get to somewhere you didn't actually want to be in the first place You can access your games easily, your subscriptions easily, your friends easily Look how there's a separate strip of menu options for settings and user options just above the applications strip It really is a delight Of course, not everything is perfect

The search function feels a little BBS like, and the inability to prioritise downloads frustrated my bursting internet connection I dunno, maybe you can prioritise and I couldn't find it, but in any case, it wasn't clear to me But these are minor niggles The fluidity of this environment, combined with the soothing background music feels like an elevated experience Now, my reason for obtaining a PS4 isn't just because of an interface

That would be absurd Difficulties and challenges are the spice of life no, no no

I've got some items to review on this platform, AND really my Xbox ONE belongs to my offspring, so I'm not actually abandoning the Xbox For all the negativity I've just laid upon it, I still like the damn thing

But I did want to illustrate how the Playstation has pleased me, and how it's eliminated 23 years of disdain towards a platform which maybe I should have given more time to over the years This video is really an awakening for me A chance to accept that it didn't matter the graphics weren't up to PC standard in 1995, that it doesn't matter that the original controllers felt a bit small compared, especially compared to the DUKE, or that they didn't offer the expansive options of a keyboard What matters is Sony had a clear strategy, a clear mindset and a clear plan, and that's something which has continued until today, regardless of where ideas have been borrowed, or competitors have clashed All platforms have their place and all platforms have helped forge us to the era of gaming we are currently experiencing

So, it looks like I have some catching up to do

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