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[backbreaker65]

What?

Navigating isn't hard, your last game or app played is on the screen. You can set it up to display your last 15 games or app. Yes ,folders would be nice, but calling it a pain is bullshit, and people have been making this same type of thread for 2 years.

 

[Exile20]

Perfect with DK's face.

 

[driver116]

The realisation that all those folders are empty.

 

[CaviarMeths]

Maybe a dumb sort of related question that doesn't deserve its own thread, but is it possible to remove/hide icons of games I no longer have? Or stuff I'll never use like Playroom?

Because yeah, that and the lack of folders is seriously harshing my buzz. My Wii U home screen is so pretty with all the folders and apps that I can add or remove at whim.

 

[Ambitious]

Well in UI/UX design, it's sort of like Engineering, where the most elegant design is the one that accomplishes all functions required while not adding unnecessary complexity or cruft. When you add "all options" you get crap like the Word toolbar. It makes the experience very noisy for the user, especially first timers.

Required = can I find and run my game? I think the Recent Items approach they've taken for the main bar suits the use patterns of a great many players; i.e. they tend to play a handful of games at a time, and tend to access older stuff with much less frequency than newer stuff.

There's a middle ground between the bare minimum and a crowded mess. Think about the search field in iTunes (or the music player of your choice). Is it really necessary? You can find and play all of your music by simply scrolling down your list. It's not needed, but I sure as hell wouldn't use a player without a search function.

I could make the same point about the PS4 OS: Are any kind of sorting/filtering/searching functions needed? You could find and run your games even with one long, unsorted list. It would suck, though.

I don't think basic organizational features would make the PS4 OS' UI too complex.

Sorry, I wasn't clear; I didn't mean tagging a single game with multiple genres. I was thinking more like Amazon or PS Store checkbox filters next to a given results view. So I tick Platformers and I see all Platformers games in icon view to the right of the filter box. Then I can also tick RPGs or whatever to that view and have it instantly populate.

Oh, I see. Sorry about that. That's actually a good point. Can't argue against that.

 

[Lionheart1827]

Folder thing isn't a huge deal for me, though, I would like them to stick the Library icon on the left side from the start rather than having to scroll to the right to get to it.

Friend notifications are one of the barest essentials that I still cant believe is not implemented, its nearly 20-fucking-16. There is absolutely NO excuse that this is not in the UI when there is an alert for just about every other bullshit thing like letting you know when your friend went into a party.

 

[Elandyll]

I do agree that folders or *some* sort or way to unclutter the base UI should have been there a long time ago, but what we can tend to forget here on Gaf, being a rather tech savy bunch of people, is that consoles are meant to have a Very Low tech level ceiling.
As in being able to be used by young kids and people who can't tell the difference between a computer and a toaster (obviously I exaggerate).

In this specific case (unlike an account name change problem which itself comes from plain bad original design that haunts PSN engineers to this day), I think the delay comes from the need to combine both functionality and accessibility.
The PS3 had something like 3 modes of Folders with the triangle button, and I'd like actual custom folders, but not sure we'll get there.

 

[Euphoria14]

They should have it that when you enter the "Library" section you are presented with two more options, "Installed" and "Not Installed". Outside of that I don't see how scrolling through the games is that tough.

How many games are people really swapping between and how often are you actually doing this? I know my daughter likes to jump between games sometimes, but never more than the 15 or so I can place on the main screen. If the game isn't on the main screen and she sees her cousin playing something she has, she just boots it up while viewing their profile to see what it is they are playing, avoiding the library altogether.

She is 6 and doesn't even complain as much as I see many adults do and yes, she knows she can find more in the library.

 

[Oppo]

There's a middle ground between the bare minimum and a crowded mess. Think about the search field in iTunes (or the music player of your choice). Is it really necessary? You can find and play all of your music by simply scrolling down your list. It's not needed, but I sure as hell wouldn't use a player without a search function.

I could make the same point about the PS4 OS: Are any kind of sorting/filtering/searching functions needed? You could find and run your games even with one long, unsorted list. It would suck, though.

I don't think basic organizational features would make the PS4 OS' UI too complex.

I totally agree with you. Sony has opted for voice search in this context. Whether or not that's a good idea is a broader question – I find it works pretty well, but I also know what people mean when they say hollering commands aloud to your black box still feels eminently stupid right now So considering it is a "distant" screen type interaction I see the logic, and it works somewhat ok (?) for Xbox.

And again for the record, I think they do kind of a bad job with giving you a good view presentationally of your game library overall. It IS easy to forget stuff like that you downloaded Don't Starve, it floated off the menu, and it just tweaks your fancy one day when you happen to notice the actual icon again. I just disagree that custom folders specifically are the best mechanism to address the concern. I want something more powerful and, forgive the term, dynamic.

There's probably a way for them to solve the organizational problem – which at it's core really revolves around hiding shit in certain contexts, it's in many ways more about what users don't want to see – and the Downloads List problem altogether by combining them more concisely.

So if your Library was far left (immediate access on boot) and would branch out into:

Installed:

All Games
All Apps
Game Genres ( > Subgenre tags filter view)
Game Demos
Game Betas
DLC

and then a Downloads view in there with all the same filters, that could work.

And so to your earlier point, yes since it is an entertainment system, and people like to sort of look at the wall of content they may have access to and just revel a bit, I say do it! I'm not really anti-folder so much as I don't think that's enough.

 

[Oni Jazar]

They should have it that when you enter the "Library" section you are presented with two more options, "Installed" and "Not Installed". Outside of that I don't see how scrolling through the games is that tough.

How many games are people really swapping between and how often are you actually doing this? I know my daughter likes to jump between games sometimes, but never more than the 15 or so I can place on the main screen. If the game isn't on the main screen and she sees her cousin playing something she has, she just boots it up while viewing their profile to see what it is they are playing, avoiding the library altogether.

She is 6 and doesn't even complain as much as I see many adults do and yes, she knows she can find more in the library.

Agree with this. A few filters on the library screen is all I would ask for, but really I hardly ever go there. Most of my games are in the front as it should be.

I think folders would make the UI worse.

 

[cooperma]

There's several features that should have been in the first 6 months of the PS4's life.

Off topic but your avatar and name saddens me. Why Sony. New legend of dragoon please.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

Sony needs a fucking "quality of life" update. Honestly.

They keep updating the ps4 with some pretty frivolous shit.

Stop all that shit for now. Full stop. Start working on the God damn bare essentials.

LOL... Your post is strongly worded, but I actually agree, with all of it.

It's a sad day for Sony when even Nintendo, who has a reputation for being in the stone age when it comes to some of these features, has folders on the Wii U.

EDIT: from an interface perspective, I even preferred the PS3's XMB interface as opposed to whatever the hell the PS4's interface is. At least with XMB I could, like, you know... Find shit.

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

The quality of the UI, for something selling so well, is utterly shocking.

 

[chrislowe]

The realisation that all those folders are empty.

Well, there are not that many games that you need on the WiiU
(but I own those that you need)

Isnt PS4 OS based on Linux?. Then folders should be no problem..

 

[CaviarMeths]

They should have it that when you enter the "Library" section you are presented with two more options, "Installed" and "Not Installed". Outside of that I don't see how scrolling through the games is that tough.

How many games are people really swapping between and how often are you actually doing this? I know my daughter likes to jump between games sometimes, but never more than the 15 or so I can place on the main screen. If the game isn't on the main screen and she sees her cousin playing something she has, she just boots it up while viewing their profile to see what it is they are playing, avoiding the library altogether.

She is 6 and doesn't even complain as much as I see many adults do and yes, she knows she can find more in the library.

I don't think that basic organization features is really that unreasonable of a request. Some people like to arrange their personal belongings to be more intuitive or aesthetically-pleasing. Most of them are older than 6.

EDIT: To use a more "adult" example of organization, here's a couple of tool chests:

Maybe your daughter thinks the one on the left is fine, usually only uses that hammer on top anyway, and knows she can rummage through the drawers if she needs anything else. I can think of a few people who would prefer the option to have their tools look like the pic on the right though.

Agree with this. A few filters on the library screen is all I would ask for, but really I hardly ever go there. Most of my games are in the front as it should be.

I think folders would make the UI worse.

Then you would be completely free to not use them. Apps on my Wii U, 3DS, Vita, Steam library, and phone can all be arranged into folders/categories or removed/hidden from the UI. None of them force me to do this.

 

[Z3M0G]

I don't think they can do anything new with the main menu bar... but I would like to see them at least add some organization options in the Library... and maybe an option to place the library icon at the head of the app line, not the end...

The quality of the UI, for something selling so well, is utterly shocking.

Most people probably never buy enough software to even have a game bumped out of the line...

 

[The_Almighty_Swan]

If Sony adds external HDD support like MS has I'm all good. Folders is the last of my issues with them.

 

[Lion Heart]

I love the UI personally. After using the other consoles, it feels like heaven coming back to ps4. I can understand the desire for folders but it's not crucial.

 

[Nocturno999]

I would be happy with just pinning favorite games and apps.

But where are the gamez?

 

[David Ricardo]

I like the Ui. It's simple. I have the stock hard drive, so I don't miss folders all that much in the app section.

I would like to have folders in my friends list though. I have 100 friends now and counting. I would like to be able to organize them between real life friends, Spanish Driveclub friends, European Driveclub friends, Battlefield friends, and so on...

Sometimes you lose track of why you added someone or where he is from, and it's not easy to choose who you send invites to.

 

[IconGrist]

I don't see the point in folders. The standard system only has 500GBs. You can only fit like 15 games average on the thing (assuming the majority are smaller titles). Why do you need folders for 15 games? And from reading around here one would naturally assume a majority of GamingGAF only buys physical so you have access to only one of those games at any given time. What do you need folders for? So you can look at tiles?

 

[pr0cs]

If Sony adds external HDD support like MS has I'm all good. Folders is the last of my issues with them.

External HDD would be awesome but would only exacerbate the issue with no user organization of their content.
I still can't believe MS and Sony haven't put more emphasis on this

 

[ZangBa]

Lack of folders has been my number 1 complaint since day 1. How the hell have they not been added yet? Friend notifications would be nice, too.

So many shitty updates adding dumb shit like Twitter inrergration when folders should have been there at launch.

And where's my custom themes? God damnit.

 

[DLaicH]

I would be happy with just a "pin" or "favorite" option to keep certain apps to the left. Even better if I could "pin" Netflix so that I could get to it without using the ONE folder that the UI design allows.

Isnt PS4 OS based on Linux?. Then folders should be no problem..

Well, I'm sure their OS has folders in its filesystem (whether it's Linux-based or not), but just because files can be stuck in folders in the backend doesn't mean their menu system would automatically support folders. I'm sure their menu is probably database-driven rather than simply inheriting a structure from the filesystem.

Still, from a database backend perspective, it shouldn't be hard to, for example, add a new db table for folders and then add an intersection table for grouping apps/games into those folders. However, I imagine the hurdles have more to do with design decisions than with technical backend issues. It could also be that they've organized their frontend system to the point where they've coded themselves into a corner, but I don't think that can be assumed.

 

[XenoRaven]

Folders wouldn't be necessary if we could just have like...lists of the games we have. For some reason, someone decided that your game icons need to be represented by giant squares, like I'm an old person using a computer that needs my icons to be half the size of the screen. It makes no functional sense for controller navigation, and the only reason I think they do it is so they can put a big flashy title screen image in front of your face instead of just listing the game title.

 

[Elios83]

Based on the recent survey, they're working on it.

 

[Producer]

It blows my mind how much seemingly simple stuff there is missing from ps4. My damn 3ds has folders.

 

[Matrix XII]

Yeah I have to agree with you OP. I mean, it's pretty archaic at this point not to be able to customize and group content to our liking.

I'm also tired of the Netflix and Crunchyroll apps being in a folder when I didn't ask them to be. I want those front and centre because I use them usually everyday.

 

[Felensis]

I just don't get while these days it seems so hard for devs to implement the most common and simple functions? Folders, search, proper sorting etc and the like. It's just hilarious how long it took them to implement this e.g. for Vita, Wii U and now PS4.

 

[Oppo]

Folders wouldn't be necessary if we could just have like...lists of the games we have. For some reason, someone decided that your game icons need to be represented by giant squares, like I'm an old person using a computer that needs my icons to be half the size of the screen. It makes no functional sense for controller navigation, and the only reason I think they do it is so they can put a big flashy title screen image in front of your face instead of just listing the game title.

it is this way precisely because you are using a controller and sitting back from the screen.

it has nothing to do with it being hard to implement, it's all prioritizing choices.

 

[bennibop]

I have over 50 games and never had a problem and don't see the need for folders. Use voice commands if you are struggling it takes you straight to the desired game!

 

[OmegaTreeFish]

I mean.... The current interface is fine for most people and im not sure how you would intergrate folders into it without breaking it. Right now you can limit the line of apps to only recent ones. Then you can access the full library to see everything. It also has some filtering.

Personally I order it by date installed so all the stuff not installed is at the bottom off the list. 90% of the time though, the stuff I am playing is the first 1-3 icons in the main page.

Rather than folders they should simply add custom tags. You can then tag any game with any number of tags and use a filter to only show games with that tag. Would fit in with the current system as well. Would also be better than folders because you could create different groups of games with each game able to span multiple groups.

However I would hardly say the current system is a burdon for a large majority of users. Load ps4 COD / FO4 / FIFA etc us right there.

Edit: and just realised nerfgun is suggesting same thing. I totally agree.

 

[Sjefen]

I would make following folders:
RPG
FPS
TPS
Indie
Rest

Come on Sony make it happen.....

 

[Percy]

They really really do, but probably won't any time soon.

 

[blackMamba1187]

I'm consistently confused by those who are against options. If you don't like them or thing they will clutter your u.i, don't use them. Scrolling through 100+ games (and growing) is inefficient design. By the end of this gen many of those on ps4 ,who have had ps+ the whole time, will have no idea what many of those games are. Same goes for titles bought during digital sales.

FWIW any options to sort, in lieu of folders, would be great.

Love folders on PS3, Vita, 3DS & WiiU. Pins are ok on microsoft's side, but not good enough for my uses. And, at this point steam has a good set of organizational options. Do something, please.

 

[Xander Crews]

Folders would just make it more complicated for me.

I'd want to play Metal Gear and not know if I put it in "Action" or "Shooter" or whatever, and it'd end up taking more time and clicks than if I didn't have folders. Tags would be better, but Im fine with one big list and most recently played on the front as it is now.

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Ehh just ability to send things to the library, delete items from the library and sort home screen tiles either alphabetically or by recently used would be a massive improvement.

 

[mollipen]

The standard system only has 500GBs.

Mine has 1TB.

You can only fit like 15 games average on the thing (assuming the majority are smaller titles).

You can fit way more than 15 games into a 500GB hard drive, depending on the kinds of games you play.

And from reading around here one would naturally assume a majority of GamingGAF only buys physica

...no?

What do you need folders for? So you can look at tiles?

Because my list of "15 games" isn't that because I use the media apps and the streams viewer thing and the capture app things and other stuff, and now my list has like 8 or 9 games in it instead of 15. And my library is filled with games I haven't downloaded or don't play anymore because there's absolutely no way to filter between the games I have installed and the games I don't.

We've had the concept of digital folders since the 80's, yet people still argue that "average" people would be confused by them, and people still argue that an interface being released with such a basic, core concept missing is acceptable.

 

[Symphonia]

I hate the goddamn library. Every game, demo, trial or beta is saved in there, even if it's expired or deleted. Why, Sony? WHY!?

 

[Euphoria14]

I don't think that basic organization features is really that unreasonable of a request. Some people like to arrange their personal belongings to be more intuitive or aesthetically-pleasing. Most of them are older than 6.

EDIT: To use a more "adult" example of organization, here's a couple of tool chests:



Maybe your daughter thinks the one on the left is fine, usually only uses that hammer on top anyway, and knows she can rummage through the drawers if she needs anything else. I can think of a few people who would prefer the option to have their tools look like the pic on the right though.

As I said before, how often can one person possibly be needing to swap between all these games in their library?

Would it be nice? Yeah. Is it what I would consider a necessity and something Sony should be focusing time on above all else? No.

The people who would be cycling through over 15+ games on a regular basis are no doubt the vast minority.


My toolbox also looks like the one on the left, lol. However I do work all the time either in the house or on my cars, so I can't be bothered setting everything up like I see on the right, unless it's my socket sets. Screwdrivers in one drawer, wrenches in another, then I have random coffee cans with diferent screw, nail and bolt lengths.

I work with them so often that just by looking I will know what I need. I adjust.

 

[nortonff]

I'm with you man, it's a mess right now.

 

[wouwie]

Strange... I never felt the need for folders. All the games and apps that i'm currently playing/using are always on the left. Makes sense and is very easy to use. On the few occasions that i need to dig out an older game, i just go to the library, start it and it's on the left side again. I quite like the Playstation UI. It's super simple, looks good and does all the things i need and in a quick way. I don't feel the need for customisation or tweaking at all. It works as i feel it should.

At times, i just wish i could put the Netflix app into the main row of games and applications instead of in a folder (which is sort of the opposite of wanting folders...). But that is not a big issue.

 

[mattp]

no, they dont need to implement folders
it kind of goes against the entire point of their ui. you get your most recently accessed games in a nice, simple list

the library is for everything else
what they DO need is better ways of filtering that library screen. you should be able to only show installed games. and only show real games. not fucking random demos and shit etc
also put library to the left by the store. not at the far right end hidden after your top 15 games

 

[Andy Believes]

I'd rather not have to go through my entire digital library looking for games. I'd like a folder to put all installed games in a separate folder so I don't have to look at every game that isn't installed.

Filters would do it. I would like stackable filters personally myself.
Installed
> PS Plus Game
> Non PS Plus Game
>> Digital
>> Non Digital
Not Installed
> PS Plus Game
> Non PS Plus Game
>> Digital
>> Non Digital

 

[PaulLFC]

Yes they do. There isn't even organisation without folders, which is really poor.

For example there's no organisation of the media apps section - apps I never use and adverts (some apps have 2 tiles for no reason) take precedence over apps I use every day.

 

[ckohler]

Add folders as an option but I don't think they are necessary.

In fact, I don't like how all of the TV apps are grouped under a folder. I'd much rather have Netflix, Twitch, and YouTube show up as main tiles.

 

[c0de]

Isnt PS4 OS based on Linux?. Then folders should be no problem..

Even dos had folders but that is not the point. Folders or generally content on the ps4 might be also based on folders but to the user they most probably have at least one additional abstraction layer.
Also they use freebsd but again, it's not something that depends on the underlying os.

 

[Durante]

Also think about the support issues that custom folders cause when someone calls up Sony and says I can't find my game. "Where did you put it" "WELL it's supposed to be in a folder with a cat head and a little skull but I can't find it now..."

This is the type of argument that absolutely kills me about "modern" UIs.

Everything seems to be designed so that the most inept user the designer can possibly imagine doesn't get confused, not to maximize functionality or usability. Sony are far from the worst about this actually: the exact same thing happened to every single standard utility which was replaced in Windows 10, starting from programs as basic as the image viewer.

I can't stand this appification of user interfaces.

 

[fernoca]

The realisation that all those folders are empty.

But where are the gamez?

Depends on how you organize things.
[Of course, not including disc/retail games...]

Main screen #1:

Main screen #2:

Multiplatform releases:

Portal-NFC games:

Classics:

Smaller Nintendo titles:

Smaller games by everyone else/indies #1:

Smaller games by everyone else/indies #2:

Smaller games by everyone else/indies #3:

 

[FonkyByNature]

I love the UI personally. After using the other consoles, it feels like heaven coming back to ps4. I can understand the desire for folders but it's not crucial.

As an owner of all next-gen consoles. I can safely say the PS4 has without a doubt the best UI and the fastest one too. I say that after messing the new Xbox update, which is great but nowhere as fast or easy on the eye as the PS4 one.

I know there's missing features and i can't wait for Sony to implement friends notifications, but overall the UI is so fast that it doesn't bother me. I'm personnaly in love with the PS4 UI, especially speed and the fact that it's so clean and classy looking.

To each his own i guess but everytime i see a thread complaining about PS4 UI when i see less Xbox UI complains. It makes me wonder if there's angry trolls around.