Pressing Start and the Games That Never Stop

How long has it been since a new game asked you to ‘press start to play’?

Putting aside the fact that ‘playing’ is rarely the first thing you do when starting up a game these days (and ‘press start to install updates’, ‘press start to begin setup’ or ‘press start to begin matchmaking’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it), if you’re prompted to press a button at all on Sony or Microsoft’s latest platform it isn’t start.

Of course the removal of a button isn’t the same as the removal of functionality. It’s obvious that the primary functions of the start button – beginning a game and pausing it – can be achieved with any input, and one could mount an argument that the change from start to ‘options’ on PS4 and ‘menu’ on Xbox One is nothing more than a change in name.

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