PlayStation 5 fans have seen a number of updates release for the console, many of which were heavily requested over the years. Perhaps the most prominent addition was Discord voice calls, with players now able to chat with their friends on the popular app via PlayStation’s party system. 1440p VRR support was another major addition, as was a folder feature to organize the many games players may have on their consoles. However, there is one final mechanic from other modern PlayStation consoles that has not made its way to the PS5, and may never come: themes.
The concept of themes is relatively straightforward. Players can download a theme based on their favorite PlayStation exclusive or third party release, with even themes for certain movies and television shows made available through the PlayStation Store. These themes would not only provide players with gorgeous artwork that surrounds their lineup of games and apps, but would regularly come with some music as well. Unfortunately, though proper themes were available on PS3 and PS4, with even the PS Vita having custom wallpapers, the same cannot be said for PS5.
With The Current UI, Themes For PS5 Would Not Work
Whether players were listening to the beautiful music of Gustavo Santaolalla with a Last of Us theme of appreciating the artwork of Yoji Shinkawa with his Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies Chronicles theme, PS4 users had some great backgrounds to appreciate. PS3 users had good choices, too, such as Sackboy running across a LittleBigPlanet. However, these themes were able to be achieved because the menus were designed to accommodate them.
PlayStation 4 placed all of its games in a straight line much like the PS5 UI, but there was a large blue background surrounding them that offered plenty of room for customization. The PS3 UI was even more theme-friendly, with players scrolling across dropdown menus of commands and the entire backdrop being free for an image to fill. With the PS5, though, the space is filled no matter what application players are hovering over.
When gamers hover over Diablo 4, for instance, they will have a message to resume their gameplay while also seeing their PlayStation Trophies, playtime, and a list of their friends who play the title. Some music from the game is also present, which is a nice touch since it maintains one of the be parts of themes, but sometimes players will want to hear the music or see the art of a game they do not have downloaded. Additionally, the screenshots or art used for game sections are not as vibrant or stylish as what one saw with proper themes, especially the dynamic ones with moving pieces.
With this in mind, there is still plenty that themes can offer, and regularly occurring posts on social media show that there is still a demand for themes on PS5. While there is currently no way to make them work, a small UI update could come in the future that makes them viable. This would be a lot of effort on Sony’s part for a feature it may deem unnecessary since game pages provide some music and images already, but it is certainly possible.
When players start up their PS5 consoles, they are brought to the Explore page, which shows their personal Trophy counts alongside curated updates for the games that they play. While this is a solid way to advertise new content, like telling Call of Duty fans that The Boys skins are coming to Warzone and Modern Warfare 2, it does not need to be the start screen. While some may use this section to keep up to date on the gaming industry, many will not care about it whatsoever, and they would likely prefer to see art from their favorite franchise when they log in. Adding a themes tab that is what players see when they first log in could do the trick, as could placing the themes at the top of the Explore section so that gamers can still see news when they scroll down. Hopefully, Sony considers adding this highly requested PS5 feature soon, as there are a few ways to make it work.
