That’s hogwash youngster! Back in my day we… I forgot what we did, but it was really tough. Don’t you forget that! Now, make yourself useful and hand me my walker. I need to go get ready for Bingo night. =D

Zero you sound like an old man. Stop being old. Embrace PlayStation and let it take over your life :)

Remember when Blizzard announced Real ID?
The fans run amok by the fact of having your Real name on the forum and with good cause.

I am pretty sure Sony will allow you to customize nr. of Information shown to certain groups.
Example Group A: Can see your name, while Group B will only be able to view your PSN nick.

I also think Sony mention Facebook as a cause, since it’s the most popular.

agree.

im scared they might use my profile for “private” uses.

i only want my firends on PSN to see and that’s it.

no public access etc.

It’s really not that difficult to understand. It will work just like Facebook. Sony did say on feb. 20th that our user ID’s will still be used in game. Its pretty simple really, if your not friends with someone then they will not have access to your personal info just like Facebook. I don’t know about you all but it might make multiplayer better if sh**head racist talkers can’t completely hide behind a user ID. Accountability can be a wonderful thing, I welcome the change!

You knew someone was going to say it because it looks like Metro.

I agree with you about the XMB, it’s straight forward and to the point. But, I feel like it’s easy for “us” and some casuals might not be able to navigate it as easily. I think the new XMB is an attempt to make it more graphical and possibly easier to use for the regular person. Sony knows the hardcore/gamers/tech users will know how to navigate it.

I also agree 100% with you on the X360 UI. I can’t for the life of me believe that anybody thinks that thing is efficient or simple. You have to be a complete fanboy to not even acknowledge that the X360 UI is flawed. I can’t believe some of the comments I’ve heard about the X360 UI. Come on guys, just say what’s on your mind. If you don’t like the X360 UI that doesn’t mean you don’t like your 360 or MS. MS won’t find you and ban you. It’s just an opinion.

This interface looks a lot more inviting which, while I admittedly don’t much care, goes a long way to the average consumer. It’s a part of the reason people with Apple products often go for the whole suite — iPhone, MacBook, etc. — the presence of a familiar, inviting UI. So I can see this appealing to the average person as well.

That said, the friend feed thing is too much for me. It looks like Facebook and Twitter at the same time, and I really don’t care to be bombarded with “status updates” about my friends’ gaming activities. That seems really stupid to me, but I guess I’ll just opt not to partake in that feature. Still, I do like the overall look here. I’m interested to see how the store looks. The return to the familiar blue backing has me thinking it’ll be more like the old PS Store than the new one, since the new one’s at odds with this UI, but we’ll see.

… oh yeah, that.
I’ve only been using PSN Cards to put credits (I don’t live in the US), so I forgot about that

It may not be possible to put in the wrong name, especially if you want to buy a game using a real credit card.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCkbp4wurW0

You know we’ve had custom avatars/profile photos for a while now on the Internet. You’re using one right now! How do you think Disqus does it? Moderation and Report buttons.

Yeah, I agree, I love pulling out from a game, flipping through window panes of stuff, multitasking, but the Vita’s main menus system with the bubbles is just weird to me.

But yeah, I too loved the XMB. It was quick, simple and elegant.

its to suppress trolling and racism etc

I completely agree but I really don’t think that Sony is going for a social network that is as personal as Facebook. It’s a social gaming network. It’s about people and their gaming, nothing else. It’s not as if you will be sharing photos of your family or anything like that, or your latest holiday, etc. More than likely I will use an avatar. I’m all for online anonymity, I’m not on Facebook, etc, but I wouldn’t worry about this. In fact I am looking forward to it as even my friend list on PS3 is just close friends, I don’t add people for the sake of it. So it will make the online experience with my friends (real friends) even better.

That’s good news then. =)