PS5 Rest Mode Widely Preferred Over Shutting Down

Half of PlayStation 5 users bypass rest mode, opting for a complete system shutdown instead, according to Sony. This surprising statistic, revealed by Cory Gasaway, Vice President of Game, Product, and Player Experiences at Sony Interactive Entertainment, highlights a significant user preference divergence. The revelation emerged during an interview with Stephen Totilo, focusing on the design philosophy behind the PS5's Welcome Hub, introduced in 2024.

The Welcome Hub, born from a PlayStation hackathon, aimed to unify the user experience across diverse preferences, notably addressing the 50/50 split on rest mode usage. Gasaway explained that the Hub's design, presenting either the PS5 Explore page (US users) or the last played game (international users), aimed to create a more consistent and customizable starting point.

While no single dominant reason explains the avoidance of rest mode, user forum discussions suggest potential contributing factors. Some players report internet connectivity issues associated with rest mode, leading them to prefer keeping the console fully powered on for downloads. Others appear to have no such problems and utilize the feature without issue.

This data, however, underscores a key design challenge: catering to a wide spectrum of user behaviors and preferences. The 50% rest mode abstention rate informs Sony's approach to user interface (UI) design, emphasizing the importance of accommodating diverse user needs and troubleshooting potential issues impacting core features like rest mode.