![XrossMediaBar (logo)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/XrossMediaBar_%28logo%29.svg)
The XrossMediaBar (pronounced "cross-media bar" and officially abbreviated as XMB) is a
graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
developed by
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is made up of two legal co ...
. The interface features
icons
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
that are spread horizontally across the screen. Navigation moves the icons, instead of a
cursor
Cursor may refer to:
* Cursor (user interface), an indicator used to show the current position for user interaction on a computer monitor or other display device
* Cursor (databases), a control structure that enables traversal over the records in ...
. These icons are used as categories to organize the options available to the user. When an icon is selected on the horizontal bar, several more appear vertically, above and below it. They, in turn, are selectable by the up and down directions on a directional pad.
Originally used on the
PSX (a
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
with an integrated
digital video recorder
A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with direct to d ...
), the XMB is used as the default interface on both the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
and
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
. Since 2006, it has also been used in
high-end
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast t ...
WEGA
WEGA is a German audio and video manufacturer, manufacturing some of Germany's earliest radio receivers. History
WEGA, pronounced "Vega", was founded as ''Wuerttembergische Radio-Gesellschaft mbh'' in Stuttgart, Germany in the year 1923. In 1975 ...
TVs, the
BRAVIA
Bravia (stylized as BRAVIA) is a brand of Sony Visual Products Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, and used for its television products. Its backronym is "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture". All Sony high-defi ...
starting with the 3000 (only in S-series and above), the
Sony XEL-1
The XEL-1 is the world's first organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television, designed by Sony in 2007 and produced for sale the following year. It was also the world's thinnest television during its production, at 3 mm. It has a screen siz ...
OLED TV,
HDTV
High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...
set-top boxes,
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
players, some Sony
Cyber-shot
Cyber-shot is Sony's line of point-and-shoot digital cameras introduced in 1996. Cyber-shot model names use a DSC prefix, which is an initialism for "Digital Still Camera". Many Cyber-shot models feature Carl Zeiss trademarked lenses, while oth ...
cameras and the high-end AV receivers. The
Sony Ericsson
Sony Mobile Communications Inc. ( ja, ソニーモバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社) was a multinational telecommunications company founded on October 1, 2001, as a joint venture between Sony Group Corporation and Ericsson. I ...
K850, W595, W760, W910 and Aino feature a version of the XMB as their media menu. The XMB is also the menu system in the new generation of Sony's BRAVIA TVs. Sony also added the XMB to its
VAIO laptops.
The interface won the
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award
The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Enginee ...
for "Outstanding Innovation and Achievement in Advanced Media Technology for the Best Use of Personal Media Display and Presentation Technology" in 2006.
The XMB has been phased out starting with the
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
, which adopted a new touch-based user interface called
LiveArea
The PlayStation Vita system software is the official firmware and operating system for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV video game consoles. It uses the LiveArea as its graphical shell. The system is built on a Unix-base which is derived ...
. On February 20, 2013, the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
was announced, and a new, non-XMB, user interface was shown. Sony Bravia smart televisions continued to use it until 2014, when both an unnamed interface with Smart TV functionality and
Android TV
Android TV is a smart TV operating system based on Android (operating system), Android and developed by Google for television sets, digital media players, set-top boxes, and soundbars. A successor to Google TV (operating system), Google TV, it fe ...
were phased in.
PlayStation Portable
From left to right, the categories are these: Settings, Extras, Photo, Music, Video, Game, Network, and
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
. Once a category is selected, its options appear below the icon, selectable by pressing the
![PlayStationCross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/PlayStationCross.svg)
button (for European and North American version), or
![PlayStationCircle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/PlayStationCircle.svg)
button (Asian versions only). Going back is possible by pressing the left directional button or the
![PlayStationCircle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/PlayStationCircle.svg)
button (for European and North American version), or
![PlayStationCross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/PlayStationCross.svg)
button (Asian versions only). Some items have an option menu that can be displayed by pressing the
![PlayStationTriangle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/PlayStationTriangle.svg)
button. The XMB is capable of limited multitasking. This is accessed by pushing the "Home" button on the PSP-1000 and PSP-2000 and the "PS" button on the PSP-3000 and PSPgo while listening to music, looking at photos, etc. This feature can be used to watch a video, look at a photo, listen to music, and look at the current web page, all while browsing the XMB. However, what is in the background will be cancelled if any item is accessed on the XMB (except if viewing pictures while listening to music). The background color on the XMB changes color depending on the current month. On a PSP with firmware 2.00+, the background color can be changed or the background can be changed to a picture. On a PSP with firmware 3.70+, it is possible to listen to music and view photos simultaneously. On the PSP-2000, PSP-3000, and PSPgo models, there are a number of additional colors available for the XMB. On a PSP with at least system software 4.20, the background "waves" effect has changed, with two options under theme, then color. These two options are the ability to change between the new "waves" effect and the classic "wavy lines". On update 5.00, the XMB received the
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
as a new feature.
Themes for the PlayStation Portable
Users with system software version 3.70 or newer for the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
have the ability to download themes and apply them to their system's XrossMediaBar without using custom firmware. Subsequently, Sony released software which allows users to create their own themes for the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
.
PlayStation 3
The
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
version of the XrossMediaBar includes ten categories of options: Users, Settings, Photo, Music, Video, TV/Video Services, Game, Network, PlayStation Network, and Friends. The dynamic lines on the background are more condensed into a 'ribbon' rather than the PSP's large waves, unselected icons shrink slightly and every selectable background color has been made a shade darker. The
PS3 includes the following particular abilities: to store various master and secondary user profiles; to manage and explore photos with Photo Gallery or an ordinary musical/non-musical slideshow; to rip audio
CDs, rip
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
AAC protected files, to copy tracks to an attached storage device; and to play music, movies and video files from the hard disk drive, from an optional USB mass storage or Flash card, or from an optical disc (
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and c ...
or DVD-Video). It also has compatibility for a USB keyboard and mouse and a full
web browser
A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...
supporting downloading of multiple file types. The Friends menu allows email with emoticons and attached picture features and video chat which requires an optional
webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...
(although the
PlayStation Eye
The PlayStation Eye (trademarked PLAYSTATION Eye) is a digital camera device, similar to a webcam, for the PlayStation 3. The technology uses computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the camera. This allows players to i ...
and the
EyeToy
The EyeToy is a color webcam for use with the PlayStation 2. Supported games use computer vision and gesture recognition to process images taken by the EyeToy. This allows players to interact with the games using motion, color detection, and a ...
are official webcams, most USB webcams will work). The PlayStation Network menu allows online shopping through the
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
.
Also, the PlayStation 3 adds the ability to multitask in ways such as listening to stored audio files while surfing the web or looking at pictures. The PlayStation 3 XMB supports a variety of file formats (see
PlayStation 3 System Software
The PlayStation 3 system software, is the updatable firmware and operating system of the PlayStation 3. The base operating system used by Sony for the PlayStation 3 is a fork of both FreeBSD and NetBSD known internally as ''CellOS'' or ''GameOS'' ...
). The PS3 reserves 48 MB of RAM at all times for XMB functions.
In-game XMB menu
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and many other sources state that in-game XMB was the single most requested feature for the PS3 in 2007. In-game XMB functionality was debuted before the launch of the PS3 by SCEI but was omitted due to technical reasons from the official launch. The feature was added to the PlayStation 3 on July 2, 2008 via system update 2.40.
However, roughly eleven hours after its release, download of the system update was disabled amidst isolated reports of problems reported by small groups of users since installing the update. Users who had not already downloaded the update were only able to download the previous version, 2.36. On July 8, 2008, System Software version 2.41 was released for the PlayStation 3 which restored the in-game XMB functionality of version 2.40 and addressed the problems Sony had found in 2.40. All of these issues were addressed in the 2.40 system update.
Although the ability to play users' own music in-game was added with this update, the feature is dependent on game developers who must enable the feature in their games, perhaps by updating existing games.
Prior to the update, basic forms of XMB friends lists could be found in some modern (August 2007 or newer) PS3 games including; ''
Resistance: Fall of Man'' (Since the 1.1 patch), ''
Warhawk'', ''
Rock Band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
'', ''
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare'', ''
Kane & Lynch
''Kane & Lynch: Dead Men'' is a 2007 third-person shooter video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive in North America and PAL regions, and Spike in Japan, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The m ...
'', ''
Burnout Paradise'' (also includes in-game XMB headset accessory menu). In addition, custom soundtracks, taking on the user interface of the XMB has been implemented into a few games such as ''
Mainichi Issho
Mainichi Issho (まいにちいっしょ, ''Mainichi Issho'' which translates as "Every Day Together") is a November 11, 2006 Sony Computer Entertainment online game for the PlayStation 3. It is based on the Doko Demo Issyo franchise, starring t ...
'', ''
Super Stardust HD
''Super Stardust HD'' is a downloadable shoot 'em up video game that was released for the PlayStation 3 by Sony Interactive Entertainment, developed by the Finnish company Housemarque. In Asian regions, it is known as ''Star Strike HD''. In 2015, ...
'', ''
Burnout Paradise'' (ver 1.3), ''
MLB 08: The Show'', ''
Wipeout HD __NOTOC__
Wipe out or wipeout may refer to:
Media Music
* "Wipe Out" (instrumental), a 1963 hit surf-rock song by The Surfaris
** ''Wipe Out'' (album), the 1963 album containing the song
Television
* ''Wipeout'' (1988 game show), an American t ...
'', ''
Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, thr ...
'', ''
High Velocity Bowling
''High Velocity Bowling'' is a virtual bowling sports game available from the PlayStation Network, and available for download Via the PlayStation Store. The game was released in 2007 for the PlayStation 3. The game was developed by San Diego Stud ...
'', ''
Pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
'', ''
The Beatles: Rock Band'', and software such as
Folding@home
Folding@home (FAH or F@h) is a volunteer computing project aimed to help scientists develop new therapeutics for a variety of diseases by the means of simulating protein dynamics. This includes the process of protein folding and the movements ...
(1.2). These partial functions of XMB (friends lists and custom soundtracks) have been reserved for the developer to implement.
On ''
PlayStation Now
PlayStation Now (PS Now) was a standalone video game subscription service the first on consoles developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The service offered cloud gaming for PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable an ...
'', a cloud gaming subscription service, a similar in-game XMB can be accessed, but the number of categories have been decreased to three (Game, PlayStation Network and Friends) and not all of the XMB's features are present. This can only be accessed when playing a PS3 game on PS Now.
XMB color schemes
The XMB's default background color changes depending on the current month of the year, and it changes brightness depending on the time of day. Major color changes occur on the three days before the 15th and 24th of each month, while the color gradually changes between those dates.
System software version 1.90, released July 23, 2007, allows users to change the background of the XMB to display any image saved on the console's hard disk drive. Firmware 2.00 added the ability to select the background color of the XMB (from the same choice as the PSP), and the brightness of the XMB background. The same update also added extra font choices, and the ability to use custom themes that change the icons, wallpaper, color, font, and, in some cases, the sound effects. With the release of firmware 3.00, a 'sparkle' effect has been added to the XMB background (there is a "Classic" theme that doesn't have the 'sparkle' effect), and the black theme color has been replaced with a grey theme color, among other revisions.
Themes
Themes can be created by Sony's official PlayStation 3 theme creator software or by theme
compiler
In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...
s from
third-party developer
A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...
s. PlayStation 3 themes are able to store images and sounds in order for users to customize their system's XMB. Themes can be shared via the internet and can be downloaded directly to the PS3 system via the PS3's
web browser
A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...
.
Sony Computer Entertainment also makes official themes available through the
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital media store available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via the PlayStation Network.
The store offers a range of downloadable content ...
, a service which is part of the
PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
. A ''Dynamic Themes'' feature was added in software version 3.00 which allows the user to use animated themes. These themes may feature animated backgrounds which change throughout the day or respond to user input.
Developer
Q-Games Ltd, a small development company based in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, developed the graphics technology behind the XMB, its stylized background, and the built-in music visualizers. Sony has also collaborated with
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
to bring the
Folding@home
Folding@home (FAH or F@h) is a volunteer computing project aimed to help scientists develop new therapeutics for a variety of diseases by the means of simulating protein dynamics. This includes the process of protein folding and the movements ...
project to the PS3. Once downloaded, the program can be configured to run when the system is idle or executed manually from the XMB. Folding@home has now been integrated into
Life with PlayStation, which has been discontinued as of November 2012.
Bravia
On the Bravia TVs that have the XMB, the Bravia version of the XrossMediaBar includes seven categories of options. These include: Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Digital, Analogue, and External Inputs. The Bravia XMB menu works similarly to the in-game XMB menu on the PS3, except with the "Home" button instead. Therefore, it lacks a background and is not Bravia's start up menu. Like the PSP and PS3, it has the ability to perform system updates and access the user's music and video on the TV. Unique to the Bravia XMB however, is the ability to view digital channel information just by scrolling through the items on the menu. Although inputs can be instantly selected through the TV, XMB also handles the devices plugged into the TV along with the TV channels. Analogue channels, unlike digital channels, do not display channel information on the XMB.
Control
Generally, the XMB requires 8 different options on a controller. A 4-way directional pad (
D-pad
A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vid ...
) is used to choose categories (using the left and right directions) as well as highlighting options or actions within these categories (using the up and down directions). Two additional buttons are required to select items which are highlighted, as well as to return to the previous "level" of menus (usually
![PlayStationCross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/PlayStationCross.svg)
and
![PlayStationCircle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/PlayStationCircle.svg)
) although usually pressing the left directional button will bring the XMB back to the previous menu and using the Start button will start software. Another button is required to display an option menu on a certain item (usually
![PlayStationTriangle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/PlayStationTriangle.svg)
). Some items might not have an option menu. Additionally,
![PlayStationSquare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/PlayStationSquare.svg)
is used to group files on the XMB.
The XMB can also be controlled with the BRAVIA TV remote control (on both BRAVIA TVs and PS3 Slim models) and with the
PlayStation Move
is a motion game controller developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Initially released in 2010 for use with the PlayStation 3 home video game console, its compatibility was later expanded to its successor, the PlayStation 4 in 2013, its Pla ...
motion controller by waving the Move around left to right as well as up and down. The controls have been cited as being similar to the film
''Minority Report''.
See also
*
Wii Menu
The Wii Menu is the graphical shell of the Wii and Wii U game console, as part of the Wii system software. It has four pages, each with a 4:3 grid, and each displaying the current time and date. Available applications, known as "channels", are ...
*
Xbox 360 system software
The Xbox system software is the operating system developed exclusively for the Xbox consoles. Across the four generations of Xbox consoles, the software has been based on a version of Microsoft Windows and incorporating DirectX features optimiz ...
/
NXE
*
LiveArea
The PlayStation Vita system software is the official firmware and operating system for the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation TV video game consoles. It uses the LiveArea as its graphical shell. The system is built on a Unix-base which is derived ...
References
External links
7 page articledescribing the XMB on
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xrossmediabar
PlayStation 3
PlayStation Portable
Graphical user interfaces
Sony software