While PC gaming has many advantages over consoles (the biggest one, IMO, being better longevity and preservation of games as console games have it much harder to be ported over generation to generation), one charm of systems like the GameCube, Playstation 2, and the original Xbox are their unique and fun menus. From their quirky interfaces to their ambient sounds/music, it helps set an atmosphere that you don’t get from desktops. Sadly, it seems that lately, consoles are going for the bare minimum with their UI. The worst, IMO, is the Nintendo Switch with its blank white background (the “dark” theme isn’t all that dark), lack of music (not even in the eShop, despite Nintendo’s previous systems (both home and handheld) having them), lack of themes (like the Wii U’s Miiverse plaza or the GameCube’s cube), and just anything that would give it personality. The most it has are tiny little jingles or bleeps when you confirm something. (Here’s a little video about the rise and fall of system menus, even though it’s not required to watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KlU1yTsoJs). I mean, I still like my Switch with its games, but I am underwhelmed by its presentation when Nintendo used to be very good at this (my favorites being the GameCube with its mysterious atmosphere and the Wii U (as flawed as it was) with its welcoming plaza).

Meanwhile, the Steam Deck, despite essentially being a handheld PC, has more inviting presentation. There was a dark color scheme (formerly blue before being recently updated to darker colors) with colors glowing off of icons you select; while there’s no music by default, the sounds when you navigate sort of have a symphony to them; when you select a game before playing it, it harkens back to older systems like the Wii or PS3 when you hover over an application; and just overall has a more warm feel to it. And this is without configuring the UI with things like DeckyLoader, which allows you to change how the menus look. You can even change or add sounds with the AudioLoader plugin, so you can have music play until you begin a game.

TL;DR version, it kind of saddens me that companies like Nintendo used to have unique and fun menus until they went with the bare minimum. On the other hand, though, I am glad that there is a modern system that helps give me a more warm feel with its user interface.

Anyone else feel the same way? What would you like to add?