Press START Button

[Yora]

If you play console games, you know what I am speaking about.

The big question is "why?"

Metal Gear Solid is the oldest game I have, and it asks you to press Start before the main menu shows up. Now I got Dragon Age II and it's still there. Maybe it's something about very old console technology way back from the 70's, but it doesn't seem to serve any point at all.

[Nerd-o-rama]

It's a throwback to arcade games that would ask you to press start to confirm you'd put in all the money you wanted to and wanted to start playing. Just in general, it's to confirm a human is there and paying attention before it starts the game or gives you a title menu.

[Yora]

Because on a PS3 or Xbox 360, the console might accidentally start up all by itself and go through the menus to start the game. We wouldn't want the main menu to be displayed then.

But yes, that at least answers the question what purpose it once served.

[Nerd-o-rama]

It's more of a tradition than anything.

I could also compare it to hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del to log on to Windows, except that actually serves a security purpose.

[Karoht]

Because on a PS3 or Xbox 360, the console might accidentally start up all by itself and go through the menus to start the game.Do you own cats?
Ever have one press that nifty little button in the middle of the PS3 controller that not only starts the system AND turns on the controller?
Ever have one walk across the top of the PS3 and push eject while you're playing something?

The title screen (where the start button is) also serves the purpose to state the name of the game, usually the developer studio as well. Yes, it's branding, which is essentially advertising, but there it is.

People are stupid.
If I were a stupid person and I turned on a game and was at a generic looking menu for starting the game, I might not know or figure out what game was actually booted by looking at it. Sure, there might be a name of the game somewhere, and I'm certain that a clever individual would look at the choices and figure out what game they were about to play.

I'm picking out players, I see a football as my cursor, this is probably a football game, probably one of the Madden games. Huh, I wonder what year? Shame that there wasn't a title screen to tell me that this is Madden 09 instead of Madden 2010.
(I don't play sports games, example above is purely speculative at best)

[Yora]

Except that all games I can think of have that information on the menu screen as well.

[Karoht]

Except that all games I can think of have that information on the menu screen as well.Yes, but it doesn't take up half the screen or more. And to stupid people, if it doesn't take up at least that much space, it might as well be invisible.

Okay, cynicism aside, START is also a point of engagement. You're ready, you're beginning, you're starting, you're pushing something and telling the program to go. Some people need that, some people don't. Some people don't like being faced with a menu of stuff when they start up a program. It's like walking into a restaurant. You're seated, they get your drink request, they hand you menus. Sure, you could probably give them your food order before you even sit down, but you'd probably catch the staff off guard. Some people just prefer a minute before having input or decisions requested/demanded of them.

Menu's usually aren't all that attractive either. Yes, it's just an aesthetic thing, but people judge games very harshly on aesthetics.


This is all just a guess mind you.

[Erloas]

There is also the fact that many games do an intro movie when the game starts up. Once you might want to watch a time or two but will skip most of the time. Usually these are skipped with the start button, and they will go through the whole movie and end up at the "press start" message, letting you know that the intro is over and there isn't anything left to watch. And often these intro scenes will start back up after a couple minutes. Which is probably a bit of a
"screen saver" sort of thing, that is admittedly no longer needed.

[Brother Oni]

There is also the fact that many games do an intro movie when the game starts up. Once you might want to watch a time or two but will skip most of the time. Usually these are skipped with the start button, and they will go through the whole movie and end up at the "press start" message, letting you know that the intro is over and there isn't anything left to watch. And often these intro scenes will start back up after a couple minutes. Which is probably a bit of a
"screen saver" sort of thing, that is admittedly no longer needed.

I thought the 'screen saver' function was an eyecatcher to attract people in stores - usually the staff put the latest game on display as advertising, thus letting the game sell itself. This sort of intro movie usually serves like a film trailer, sometimes with flashes of future scenes to draw interest.

There's also the eyecatch which imparts game background (usually repeated as part of the game intro), or for cinematic games, help set the mood (best example off the top of my head is the FFX intro movie, which also functioned as a tech demo).

Of course there's also the games which don't have an intro, but still have the 'Press Start' acknowledgement before going into the game (Xenoblade Chronicles is the one I've most recently played).

[CarpeGuitarrem]

What's interesting is that most PC games I've seen (except those which were ported from consoles or developed in tandem) don't use a "Press Start" sort of function.

Amusingly enough, I was wondering the exact same thing whilst loading up Dragon Age II.

[Nerd-o-rama]

What's interesting is that most PC games I've seen (except those which were ported from consoles or developed in tandem) don't use a "Press Start" sort of function.

Amusingly enough, I was wondering the exact same thing whilst loading up Dragon Age II.

Computer games usually do have a splash screen where you have to select to start the game, though. When it doesn't, it goes to a cursor-driven menu or logon screen.

Not to mention that "Press Start" makes no sense on a KBM interface. "Press any button" does pop up in some games, though mostly older ones.

[Penguinizer]

It is also sometimes used to determine which controller is player 1.

[Todasmile]

I think it's just iconic, and a bit traditional. The only games I don't see PRESS START on are computer games; I think I'd feel weird playing a game where there was no start screen.

Plus, it allows for a good amount of creativity. Sometimes a lot of work is put into those.

[Volug]

Press START to have me reply to this topic.

I think I've seen some sort of small discussion about this in one of my old nintendo power magazines. Back when the gamecube was new.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

When done properly, it lets the game know which controller is the one controlling the main menu. Very helpful with wireless controllers where you might have picked up controller 2 on accident.

[Yora]

So instead of pressing the down button on every controller, you press the start button, to see which one causes a change on the screen, which is usually combined with a sound?

[Sila Prirode]

While I don't have a use for "press start" that you guys didn't already pick up, I'd like to thank you all for a big wave of nostalgia that washed over me while reading this thread.
You made my week a lot better <3

[Androgeus]

So instead of pressing the down button on every controller, you press the start button, to see which one causes a change on the screen, which is usually combined with a sound?

No, what I think he is getting at is you press the start button on any controller and that one is assigned as player 1. Meaning that it doesn't matter if you pick up controller 1 or controller 2 you just need to press start to play.

[Karoht]

No, what I think he is getting at is you press the start button on any controller and that one is assigned as player 1. Meaning that it doesn't matter if you pick up controller 1 or controller 2 you just need to press start to play.

Worked like that for most of the ninja turtles games and other side scroller beat-em-ups.

[Airk]

Worked like that for most of the ninja turtles games and other side scroller beat-em-ups.

Yup. Good for fighting games back in the day, too, because it was basically your way of saying "I am using this controller.".

Mostly irrelevant in this era of wireless controllers that need to be turned on.

It does still serve the function of getting you out of the opening movie, if there is one. Most PC games require this sort of thing too, you're just so accustomed to "Okay, double-click icon, then press escape three times to skip the two logos and the opening movie and get to the main menu" that you don't think about it the same way.

[Karoht]

I still think aesthetic reasons are the primary reasons. Menu's are typically unattractive, and being prompted for a decision as the first thing you see, can be surprisingly irritating to some.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Yup. Good for fighting games back in the day, too, because it was basically your way of saying "I am using this controller.".

Mostly irrelevant in this era of wireless controllers that need to be turned on.

It does still serve the function of getting you out of the opening movie, if there is one. Most PC games require this sort of thing too, you're just so accustomed to "Okay, double-click icon, then press escape three times to skip the two logos and the opening movie and get to the main menu" that you don't think about it the same way.

What if you have more than one wireless controller or a wireless and a wired controller? Rather than assume which controller is used, it's pretty trivial to have a little function capture a single button press to determine the primary controller.

[warty goblin]

I still think aesthetic reasons are the primary reasons. Menu's are typically unattractive, and being prompted for a decision as the first thing you see, can be surprisingly irritating to some.

The amount of irritation this causes certain elements of the PC gaming hardcore never ceases to amaze me. It's one button press folks, get over it. But then, the elitist segment of PC gamerdom in general never ceases to amaze me with the things they criticize.

[Karoht]

The amount of irritation this causes certain elements of the PC gaming hardcore never ceases to amaze me. It's one button press folks, get over it. But then, the elitist segment of PC gamerdom in general never ceases to amaze me with the things they criticize.And I agree.
I also think being faced with a menu when I load up a game isn't nearly as offensive as some make it out to be, and if the menu is designed well enough (isn't ugly) then it doesn't bother me if it is the first thing I see.
Other people who complain about being confronted with a menu immediately likely have encountered games where the menus are not aesthetic, or possibly confusing for a first impression of a game.
Then again those who complain about a 'press start' prompt? Do they dislike they any key as well?


It's funny, it seems inefficient at first glance, and yet it does have other purposes if you think about it. I am now curious if there is a software reason for it, like some kind of initialization or primary startup function. Any programmers want to weigh in on that?

[Nerd-o-rama]

The only programming purpose I can think of is making sure there's a user there who wants to play before you dump the fancy-pants opening cinematics out of your RAM (as you might want to loop said cinematics) and start loading the actual game.

[Yora]

What if you have more than one wireless controller or a wireless and a wired controller? Rather than assume which controller is used, it's pretty trivial to have a little function capture a single button press to determine the primary controller.

With the PS3 and Xbox 360, the power button is on the controller. The one on the console you probably only use to press 3 seconds for a reboot.

[Brother Oni]

What if you have more than one wireless controller or a wireless and a wired controller? Rather than assume which controller is used, it's pretty trivial to have a little function capture a single button press to determine the primary controller.

With the 360, the wired ones take precedence over the wireless, even if you boot up the system with the wireless controller.
In any case, the primary controller is usually sorted out in the dashboard, before you even get to the game.

I'm not sure with the PS3.

[Byrnbot08]

Asking why video games need a 'Push START to continue' screen seems like a very individually interpreted question:

At it's most basic level, as was stated earlier, it is a throwback to arcade gaming, where the start button needed to be pressed in order to switch from eye-catch mode, to play mode.

To some, the 'Press/Push START to continue' as it is used today is merely a formality, a somewhat dated, yet still necessary complement of any game.

To others, the usage of the 'Push START' screen serves a gateway between our world and the game world, where we can begin immersion of ourselves and assume the mindset of the main character.

Sometimes, the 'Push START' screen brings some interesting ideas to the fore. For example, I believe the intro screen for InFamous has the START button activate the Ray Sphere, thus setting the plot in motion.

On the other hand, in GTA games from III onwards, there is no 'Push START' screen, instead loading the latest save, or starting the game if there is no appropriate save file.

In any case, the 'Push START' screen appears to be an established part of videogame culture, and some very famous start screens still bring back memories of fond times in front of the monitor/television.