Sony has revealed that many PS5 players prefer turning off their consoles after gaming rather than using Rest Mode. A new study shows that half of U.S. players never use this feature.

When the PS4 launched in 2014, Sony introduced Rest Mode as a convenient option for players to avoid fully powering down their consoles if they planned to use them again soon. While useful for tasks like charging peripherals or downloading games, the feature has largely become just another option, even on the PS5. Interestingly, Sony seems to have underestimated how many players would simply turn off their consoles, leading to some surprising revelations.

Sony Didn’t Expect Players to Power Down Consoles Daily

A study by Sony Interactive Entertainment, shared by Xataka MX, highlights a surprising statistic: only 50% of PlayStation 5 users utilize Rest Mode, while the other half power down their consoles completely after gaming. This figure even caught Sony off guard, as they anticipated much higher adoption of the feature. Gory Gasaway, SIE’s vice president of Product, Gaming, and Player Experiences, explained that the company had assumed more users would opt for Rest Mode over daily shutdowns.

Gasaway also noted that among U.S. players who turn off their consoles, 50% navigate to the “Explore” page upon reboot, while the rest resume their last game from Rest Mode. While the study focuses on the U.S., habits may vary in other regions due to factors like power grid reliability. In areas with frequent outages, players tend to power down their consoles entirely to protect their hardware, impacting overall usage trends.

Rest Mode Benefits and Limitations

PS5’s Rest Mode is designed for minimal energy consumption and offers clear advantages, like resuming gameplay exactly where you left off. This feature saves time and is particularly convenient for short gaming sessions. However, it’s not unique to the PS5; Rest Mode originated on PCs and later became common on smart TVs. Microsoft’s Xbox Series consoles also include Rest Mode, complemented by the Quick Resume feature, which provides a seamless experience between startup and gameplay—a function less developed on PlayStation.

It remains intriguing that such a large portion of players prefer shutting down their consoles entirely and that Sony did not anticipate this from the start. Even titles like Returnal, which initially relied on Rest Mode to preserve progress, didn’t convince players to embrace the feature widely.

Source: 3djuegos