If you’re anything like me, gaming hasn’t quite felt right without the impactful sights and sounds of the PlayStation 2’s start-up menu. If that is the case for you — for starters, you’re probably also turning 30 this year, and we’ll get through it together — but also, Sony has great news: The classic themes for the PlayStation 5 are coming back, this time for good.
Sony confirmed this news in an official blog post on Wednesday, laying out the new features coming to PS5 in the next system update. In addition to some nifty new audio options, you’ll once again be able to deck out your console’s UI with themes based on its classic predecessors: the PS1, PS2, PS3 and PS4. These were first introduced as a limited-time offering for the PlayStation brand‘s 30th anniversary last year, but they went over so well with longtime fans that they’re back for good.
“Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from our community, we’re happy to bring back the look and feel of the four console designs for players to customize the home screen on PS5!” the post explained.
The update that includes these classic UI themes will go live on Thursday, April 24.
“It’s a great move for Sony to give players the option to reskin their UI to remind them of their treasured days booting up their first PlayStation games,” CNET Senior Reporter David Lumb said. “Seems silly to have kept the themes around for a limited time only to return them now, but I’ll take what I can get. That PS1 boot-up sound deserves to live outside my head.”
The initial offerings last year also included a more general 30th anniversary UI theme that will not be returning in this update, though I doubt most people even remembered that one.
Based on Sony’s announcement, it’s unclear whether these new themes will alter the PS5’s appearance during its start-up sequence or if the changes are limited to the sights and sounds of the main menu. Sony did not respond to CNET’s request for comment before publication.
Watch this: Sony PlayStation 5 Pro Review: The Most Advanced Game Console Ever
Other things coming in the PS5 update
The triumphant return of these nostalgic themes is clearly what most will want to focus on, but the update coming on Thursday will also give the PS5 some cool new ways to tweak the system’s audio. According to the blog post, these new features will be dubbed “audio focus” and can be reached by going to [Settings] > [Sound] > [Volume] > [Audio Focus]. If you’ve ever tweaked settings on a soundbar or used the Apple TV streaming box’s dialogue enhancement feature, these options should feel familiar to you, and it’s pretty great to see the PS5 expanding its options for folks like me who sometimes struggle to make out dialogue in movies, shows and games.
The audio focus options are as follows, as laid out by Sony:
- Boost Low Pitch: Amplify low-frequency sounds like roaring engines and rumbling noises.
- Boost Voices: Amplify voice chats, character voices and other middle-frequency sounds.
- Boost High Pitch: Amplify high-frequency sounds like footsteps and metallic noises.
- Boost Quiet Sounds: Amplify low-volume sounds in a wide range of frequencies.
