Sony has just announced it will be removing the ‘Accolades’ feature from PS5 consoles with a future firmware update, getting rid of what was once intended to be a futuristic selling point for the next-gen hardware ahead of release. Turns out nobody was using it or even knew the darn thing existed. I work in gaming and I had to Google its exact purpose before writing this article.
The feature was originally intended to promote positive online communities and reward players for good behaviour, but sadly required extra effort on the behalf of users to actually be seen as useful and, let’s be honest, nobody was paying attention to these badges anyway. Live-service games like Destiny 2 and Apex Legends have enough internal tools to facilitate their own audiences that we never really need to venture beyond party chat.
PlayStation has always pulled this crap with each new console, convinced it needs to provide extra benefits instead of just making sure the base experience works. I remember the PS3 being massively overpriced and lacking in exclusive games, but at least you could use the PSP as a rearview mirror if you propped the portable device next to your television when playing Ridge Racer. Utterly useless, but it could be used as a cool marketing gimmick. Few used the console as a media centre or place to store photos and videos either, with Sony intended to make the PS3 an all-in-one entertainment centre long before the Xbox One came along. It was ahead of its time, but also needless in its excess.
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The PS4 emerged as content creators and social media were becoming commonplace, offering a way to share screenshots and videos at the touch of a button. Editing software was also included, providing curious players a simple yet effective way to make their mark on a growing industry across Twitch and YouTube. Features like this are amazing, but they were also accompanied by the likes of PlayStation Vue, Music Unlimited, and a cluttered news feed of Trophy updates and gaming activities that nobody gave a shit about. Even the Vita had a load of this rubbish when it really could have done without such things.
PS5 went even further by bloating a sleek user interface with additional features that nobody asked for, while also feeling half-baked in the process. Sony wanted to take advantage of its SSD technology by providing specific games with activities and cards on the dashboard that within a few seconds can load you directly into a certain level or section. In Demon’s Souls you could avoid loading back into the Nexus and jump to exact regions in seconds, while Sackboy’s Big Adventure placed a focus on trial-and-error time trials instead of forcing players to busy themselves with awkward backtracking. This feature is cool in concept, but has never once been executed or showcased in a way that encourages us to make use of it.
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The console automatically assumes what games you’re into and enjoys stuffing notifications with news story alerts and other weird nonsense that nobody ever looks at. It just serves to get in the way of things we actually care about, with Sony convinced that innovation is a matter of including loads of features instead of considering whether they have any real purpose or potential longevity. They don’t, and the premature elimination of accolades is proof of that. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the things I’ve discussed above follow in its footsteps and Sony continues to curate the PS5 experience, introducing new things while cutting away the launch chaff that has long proven superfluous.
Give us themes, folders, and basic functionality that will actually be beneficial to the average user, not weird little additions that serve to stroke a corporate ego and nothing else. New hardware is convinced it needs to justify itself beyond being more powerful and convenient, and the end result is often unnecessary. PlayStation is now facing that hard truth for the fourth time in its long history, and you’d think it would have learned a lesson or two by now.