Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida opened up the company's Gamescom 2013 press conference with an extended look at the PlayStation 4 user interface, a video capture of which is posted above — but it didn't show all of the console's capabilities.
The demo — which went over social features, screenshot and video capturing and the ability to hop into live games — only showed a "small portion" of what the interface is actually capable of, Yoshida explained in a recent PlayStation Blog post.
"What I showed was only a small portion of the UI," Yoshida wrote. "Obviously the system software is still in development. We really wanted to show off the social aspect of the UI. The minute you boot up, you'll see all the information about games you own, what your friends are doing, whether there's any new DLC coming out, or if your friends have shared a video or screenshot. And you can also spectate anyone playing PS4."
It's the functionality shown off in that demo, however, that Yoshida thinks will give Sony's next-gen console an edge over the PlayStation 3. When asked what the PS4's most exciting feature is, he said the possibility for "discoverability" of new games — or new ways to play them — will set the console apart.
"It's like checking your social media every day," Yoshida said. "I really like that people can find out about new games, information, and what their friends are doing, without even booting the game. For example, you can check out whether you have had new challenges from friends from the home screen of every game. All the important information is presented to you immediately."
Check out the blog post for more about the UI's capabilities, or read our interview with Yoshida from Gamescom, where he talked about bolstering the PS4's library for the months following the console's launch on Nov. 15.
