PS3 Games Universe

Websites: some are over-the-top flashy, while some are drab and have nothing but plain HTML. Well-designed sites always find a good balance between the two, and while this one may lean on the flashier side, it still gets the purpose across, along with some other bonuses. The PS3 Games Universe website is one that knows its place but does a fine job of what it’s meant to do.

The website is basically a showcase of the latest PS3 games to date. Being the latest Sony gaming platform, it’s not a surprise that the website reflects the system’s advanced technology – the experience becomes a semi-experience unto itself when you fullscreen the window. With the ‘PS3 gaming cosmos’ theme and intermittent ambient sounds to go with it, the glass cube motif plays off of the otherwise sparse design and sound of the site – the games are there, but not much else: very pure, very clean, but also shows how technologically advanced the PS3 is.

You get a real feeling of slowly floating, and get to navigate the space by clicking on wherever you want to center on. A short click moves the screen over slowly, while holding it makes you float in that direction faster. The rollover on the glass cubes leads to small preview of one of the games. Clicking on it leads to an even flashier interface, and a full showcase/preview of the selected game. In the end, the design here is in the interface, and it really does pale in comparison to the footage of games once you open the glass cubes (take a look at Metal Gear Solid 3’s preview video, for example). It doesn’t go over the top, which in this case is actually very appropriate because the site is supposed to be nothing more than a framework or showcase for the actual games. But in any case, it’s interesting to see design increasingly effective create digital atmospheres.