PS5 anniversary update adds themes for each generation of the PlayStation

Sony is giving gamers a surprise shot of nostalgia to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary — and not just the retro hardware that sold out in a flash. A software update pushed on Monday adds the classic boot screen and themes for each generation of console hardware. “Choose your favorite generation,” Sony’s introduction advises before popping up a menu with screen theming options for the PS1 through PS4.

After receiving today’s update, the software will prompt you to pick one when you boot up for the first time. As you’d expect, the themes change the PS5 dashboard’s menu colors and sound to match each console’s UI. You can try other themes in a new “PlayStation 30th Anniversary” item atop the console’s settings menu.

Unfortunately, Sony says the themes are only available “for a limited time.” (It hasn’t said exactly when they’ll be gone.) The decision not to keep them around permanently seems like a missed opportunity. Perhaps someone on Sony’s marketing team saw creating a perception of scarcity or avoiding settings menu clutter as more important than letting folks permanently make their dashboard look like something that could fire up Metal Gear Solid or Crash Bandicoot. (Boooo!)

Sony did a more pared-down version of this a decade ago when it celebrated 20 years of PlayStation. A free 2014 anniversary theme fitted the PS4, PS3 and Vita with the PS1’s look and startup sound.