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Sony has announced that the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PS4 themes it created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of PlayStation will no longer be available on PS5 from tomorrow. However, they're not going away permanently. The firm has stated it's working behind the scenes to bring them back "in the months ahead".
On Twitter, it explained: "Thank you for the fantastic response to the classic PlayStation, PS2, PS3, and PS4 limited-time console themes, which will be leaving tomorrow. Due to the positive response on these 4 themes, we’re doing some work behind the scenes to bring these special designs back in the months ahead."
In a follow-up post, Sony said it doesn't have any plans to create additional themes on top of the 30th-anniversary ones, but it's "excited to keep celebrating legacy PlayStation hardware with you all".
The 30th anniversary PS5 themes, which brought back the classic PS1 boot sequence and sounds, have been available on PS5 for just under two months, since 2nd December 2024. You could also change the PS5 home screen to resemble the PS2, PS3, or PS4. It's not clear what work Sony needs to do to make them a permanent addition when they already slot into the PS5's settings menu, but we do now have confirmation they're not going away forever.
How do you react to the news? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source x.com]
Comments 77
I'm not that bothered by the themes, but it's good to hear they are staying. But I'll miss the original startup jingle and logo is that coming back at some point?
Good! it's the only sony exclusive they have managed to get out without cancelling in ages.
I'm just gonna leave my 30th Anniversary Pro's internet off so it doesn't switch off. Don't need to verify any of my disc games with the internet and I don't play multiplayer so I'll be all good with my PS1 bootup.
I just hope the themes won't be free
The boot up is fantastic. Should always be an option.
30/01/2025 15:20 PM I was here when the themes died....
Bring them back! Bring them back! Bring them back!
Oh man, I really hope they do and make it stay permanently. I haven't changed my PS5 boot from the OG PS at all.
The nostalgia hits every time I boot my PS5 is f'in awesome.
"In a follow-up post, Sony said it doesn't have any plans to create additional themes on top of the 30th-anniversary ones, but it's 'excited to keep celebrating legacy PlayStation hardware with you all'."
Well there goes my excitement. Sony has been lame this gen.
Playstation should really move away from twitter
Seems odd since Sony could just... I don't know...not remove them at all?
I turned them off a while ago, found they made the UI claustrophobic and busy.
The boot up was cool, but the themes themselves didn't even look very good.
I like the idea of the classic themes but they weren't designed and implemented nicely. Looked like some haphazardly stitched together fanmade theme. PS4 had some really fantastic themes.
Take them away to bring them back. Thanks, Sony.
I don't really miss them get disappeared from my PS5 machine because I already have PS2, PS3, PS4 machines with their native theme that I will always hear everytime I played them.
I guess they want to bring them back, but without the 30th anniversary references and iconography attached?
I read this as: "Later we'll find a way to sell them to you or be a way to make PS Plus seem more worth the price"
@Shepherd_Tallon Stop making sense! It's not popular round 'ere 😊
They’re largely pointless on the PS5.
@Czar_Khastik
Hope we are talking about gta6 prices.
@Titntin 😂😂
@IceClimbersMain I’m pretty sure it’ll be date-determined…so unless you keep resetting your console’s clock…
Good to know they are returning and I'm hoping for more themes on PS5. PS4 have some great themes which is something I wish the PS5 had since start.
@Blauwe_Chimay That would be the bare minimum for filtering out the poor people from the rest of us
I just love the boot sound. The theme not so nice as some of it are blocking the background picture of a game.
Happy to hear they'll be back but it's losing the classic start up that really bugs me there's no reason to scrap it
why do they need to take them away if they're gonna bring them back? make it make sense
Such a Sony thing to do. Take something away and "work" on bringing it back. Solution just don't take them away. Reminds me of them taking first party games off PS Plus/Now and then making a big deal when they get readded a few months later.
You'll have to buy them when they re-release them, watch!
Stopped using the themes shortly after they were released. The top/bottom sections take away too much screen space, making it feel cluttered and claustrophobic.
If Sony want to do themes, they should allow us to pick icon designs, colours and background. They can keep the weird, encroaching top/bottom sections to themselves.
@Czar_Khastik $30 for the 30th Anniversary Theme Pass sounds good to me
@tameshiyaku I will agree with your take, the top part of theme cutting off half of the home page is very poor.
The more a read news about Playstation, the more i want to move on PC for good...
PS3 and PS4 UI superiority over the dreary PS5 UI just keeps getting bigger and bigger...
@logicslayer Would you suggest logic is being slayed here?
Wow, what a surprise, actually two:
This is the first time since September (the month Astro Bot was released) that i, as a base PS5 owner, feel remembered (even though this feature should not even be removed in the first place, and what i really wanted was the logo and sound that appears when you boot the console...)
Something that has nothing to do with PC
Yeah, the bar is very low at this point
I don't understand at all why it apparently is going to take a huge amount of work behind the scenes for Sony to keep these themes. Like, what? Has nobody else noticed this and it's just me? What work are they talking about? All they have to do, is to keep the themes that are already designed and programmed into the OS of the PS5. Just instead of turning them off, leave them on. So it would require no work whatsoever for Sony.
So what on earth are they on about, claiming it's going to take a lot of work for them to keep the themes that they've already designed and coded and released for PS5 owners for months already.
Am I missing something really obvious here and I'm just being dumb, or what? Can someone please explain?
@KillerIsD34D You want to ditch the console because of themes?
Why not just leave them if they plan on bringing them back?
What’s there to work on, other than finding a way to profit off of them haha. I can see the internal memo now, “People are enjoying something for free, fix it QUICK!”
@RegrettableSuperhero yeah, I don't get it either the assets and everything's already loaded into the system. If they have it set to turn off at a specific time it would just be off and then removed later on with an update or in the background so nothing stopping them from just shutting off that mechanism through an update or on the side if its server related.
@ZeroSum that's the exact same issue I had with it. It felt at times like it didn't match. Maybe they're taking them down to tweak them? Who knows at this point?
Sony actually listening to their fans for once
"Working on keeping them"
Just keep them available? Don't you decide if they go away or not?
I would love to see a selection of bootup screens available. They'd never do that and if they did they definitely wouldn't do this - but it would be awesome if you could up unlock themes based off first party titles by beating the game. Little extra rewards for people to shoot for beyond trophies. And it'd be a lot of fun, too
@RegrettableSuperhero my guess would be how it's integrated in to the existing PS5 coding.
As the 30th Anniversary themes were added as something separate from normal console theme settings, hence there is a separate menu section to enable/disable them, it's quite likely that the coding for the 30th Anniversary theme is "bolted on" and runs as an app on the console, with the theme being an overlay of the default theme rather than replacing it. This is an acceptable temporary deployment measure, but it can be unstable if you upgrade the base software/coding.
It may take Sony time to deploy the themes proper as to do it properly, they may need to rework the coding for themes in the firmware to include the 30th Anniversary themes, so it's embedded in the actual firmware, rather than act as an overlay app.
Not that fussed, novelty's worn off now.
Coming back in months for 19.99 a pop!!
"We're planning to bring these themes back when we've worked out how to monetise them"
With a 'more than free' price tag, no doubt.
The decal thing over the screen with the PS2 thing was annoying but I love the ambience. Although as much as everyone complains about the PS5 menu lacking sauce I remember the night I got it just sitting with headphones on basking in the 3D audio glory.
@ButterySmooth30FPS
No, it's the accumulation of bad decisions from Playstation that is starting to annoy me.
@KillerIsD34D Okay... But do those decisions affect your gaming experience that much? Not being a jerk, I've had similar feelings about Switch and Xbox many, many times.
Maybe they are trying to add the PS2, 3 and 4 initial sequences? 👀
Good to hear! I’m glad they’re acknowledging the desire for themes finally. I’d imagine more will be released in the future, but it’s smart to not over promise. Cough cough, GGG.
Not sure what work needs to be done exactly to keep them around. They seem to work perfectly fine to me......
It wasn't the THEMES I wanted to stay it was the original PS1 Diamond and PS symbol start up is what I wanted to stay and remove the 30th Anniversary slogan off.
I don't get why they can't keep that it's their own bloody start up
I don't want to go back to the rubbish ps5 theme. PS3 or death.
Even more so if I lose the ps1 start up. I like to turn the volume up and feel my house vibrate when the ps1 start up kicks in
@Muttt Maybe they can make that an option as well? Don't know how that all works lol.
All I want to keep, is that PS1 styled boot sequence. Hope that returns as well.
I know I'm not a rocket scientist, but I would think the easiest solution to work to bring them back would be just to not take them away in the first place. I guess that's just too simple.
Although I do like the boot-up, that is the one thing I will be ok with being gone. It adds quite a bit to the boot up time, but they could've easily just taken that away and kept the anniversary themes. Now they can re-release them like it's something special all over again.
Well work around updates/new software features with the OS layout design then.
As if PS4 or 3DS didn't already do that with themes as well. Removing them is just silly.
To gauge interest sure, to celebrate sure, but otherwise there is no reason they need to remove them.
I don't see anywhere in that statement about the PS1 boot up screen returning. That is what im most worried about!
@Shepherd_Tallon
That's my guess as well.
@Jswift56
"Ages"
Checks notes Astro Bot released five months ago. Lego Horizon Adventures released two months ago. Helldivers 2 released a year ago and is the goddamn gift that keeps on giving. Stellar Blade, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, too.
I have no idea what you mean.
The theme designs are terrible.
The PS1 boot up sound however… heavenly.
Working to bring them back equates to "bringing them back but at a cost to those who want them".
I'm not bothered by the themes, but I need that OG PS one boot up sound in my life.
For me - couldn't care less... I thought the Anniversary themes were candy-wrappers at best (and in fact they way they did it, I thought they were mostly meh looking at that). TBH, I actually liked the Welcome Hub (which you can customise for productivity) infiniitely more than a remembrance of consoles (and a company) long gone. The simple boot sound/splash screen however, is pretty sweet - I will grant you all that.
But - I also think, if it's your jam, I hope that Sony does make some other customisation options for you. As long as they're optional (and I suppose, the Welcome Hub isn't optional, so I guess I should be angry at that?!?!)
The real question is if the classic boot sequence is coming back too. I don't care so much about the themes, but that boot sequence makes my whole day.
It always happens. Company moves near Hollywood--starts doing things like Disney to exert FOMO on you now, then nickel and dime you later. "It's going back in the vault, Haha!" - Legally Distinct Mouse.
I liked the ps1 boot up, but the themes were rubbish.
I don't understand why we can't just customize it to a degree. The system should have a bunch of things like this already built in from the get go.
"sony is working to bring them back"???
Then who is taking them away???
Still on my PS5 as of 18.30 UK time
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