Even years after its release, thePlayStation 5is still one of the most popular consoles, thanks to its powerful hardware and consistently successful exclusives. While it’s easy to see why the PS5 is so popular today and continues to dominate the market, it’s still far from the perfect device for the next generation. Although some changes are easier said than done, there’s plenty of room for improvement regarding the PS5’s overall player experience.
While the PlayStation 5 still has plenty ofhighly anticipated gameson the horizon for fans, it’s missing a key feature to take advantage of its gorgeous gameplay offerings. Even though these new games will look even better on the PlayStation 5,the lack of customization options available for the system itself is a sorely missed opportunity. While Sony seemed to be having a turning point with their latest Anniversary themes for the PS5, their quick removal is sending some mixed messages to their fanbase.
PlayStation’s Anniversary Themes Should Have Been Permanent To Begin With
A Strange Choice For Removing Customization
PlayStation’s release of an anniversary pack finally gave players a chance to relive the past with redesigned backgrounds, custom sounds, and animations of classic consoles. While these additions were praised for their high quality and accuracy compared to previous PlayStation consoles, the choice to limit them was met with understandably heavy backlash from fans.
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While it was announced that the themes would return in future months due to their overwhelming popularity,the decision to make them a limited-time offer was incredibly confusing, especially given how much effort seemed to go into their design.
Even with the massive popularity of the PlayStation 5’s anniversary themes, according to a post by the official PlayStation account onX, Sony claims “there aren’t plans to create additional themes in the future.” The social media posts had an even more negative reaction from users online, which is a massively disappointing announcement given how beloved the changes to the console were.
Although it’s nice that the themes will return in the future,the controversy showed just how much wasted potential there is when it comes to customization for not only the PS5 but the gaming industry as a whole.
Personalization Seems To Be A Dying Trend In The Industry
Giving Players Less Freedom To Show Their Personality
While Sony has opted for a more uniform design for its PlayStation 5’s UI, they’re far from the only company guilty of removing the expansive customization they offered in the past.The Nintendo Switch is another great example of a console that would have been greatly improved with customizable themes, being a massively missed opportunity for the mobile console. The Switch even has an entire section dedicated to themes in its settings, but nearly a decade later, the only options available are Basic White and Basic Black, which came pre-installed on the console.
Thankfully, not every company has abandoned the trend. Valve’s Steam Deck benefits greatly from having a wide variety of purchasable animations and more visual options thanks to its connection with the Steam store. It even lets users makecustom intro videosthemselves.
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The strangest part about the lack of software customizability is that bothNintendo and PlayStation have offered a plethora of unique designs for their hardware, either in the form of alternative console shells or uniquely colored controllers. Given their dedication to creating a wide variety of physical variety between their device offerings, it’s an odd choice not to extend the same consideration to the software side of things.
Given that players will see their home screens and startups more than a console tucked away on a shelf or the floor, it’s not hard to see why there’s so much demand for a return to customizable themes for the PlayStation 5.
Sony Has Struggled With Player Demands In More Ways Than One
Ignoring What The Community Has Wanted For Years
Themes aren’t the only area the PS5 is lacking in, as there are plenty of beloved IPs that seem to have been forgotten over the years. Given that the PlayStation 5’s currentremaster strategy is strugglingto achieve the success it hoped to achieve withThe Last of UsandHorizonremakes,Sony seems to be missing the perfect solution by reviving their once-popular franchises through smaller-scale projects. Even though Sony has claimed they lack enough original IPs to take advantage of in the past, it’s not hard to find fantastic PlayStation exclusives ripe for a remaster or reboot.
While a lot more investment goes into these decisions than some players might expect, there’s plenty of financial incentive to bring back pre-existing stories with the improved hardware of the PS5.
Plenty of beloved IPs that seem to have been forgotten over the years.
When talking about the demand for the future of the PS5, it’s hard not to mentionBloodborneand its confusing abandonment by Sony. To this day, there are countless fans still holding out hope for a remasted to the critically acclaimed souls-like, with both Sony and its original developers seemingly aware of its popularity. From its inclusion inAstro Botto its emphasis in the PlayStation anniversary promo,it’s hard to believe that games likeBloodborneor even aJak and Daxterproject will continue to be shelved in favor of less successful remaster strategies.
The PlayStation 5 Is Filled With Untapped Potential
A Series Of Unfortunate Choices From PlayStation
After the failures of new projects likeConcord, Sony seems to be struggling to find a new direction to pursue without solely relying on previous works. Meanwhile, PlayStation fans suffered another massive blow over the wasted talent behindSony’s cancellation of projectsbeing developed by Bend and Bluepoint studios, the creators behind Days Gone and the Demon Souls remake, respectively.
Four Years After Launch, PS5 Is PlayStation’s Worst Generation Yet
The PlayStation 5 has been an unfortunate disappointment with a lack of games, major misfires, and an emphasis on remasters.
Although it’s unfortunate that both studios were tied down for so long to projects that ended up being shelved without warning,the newly freed studios could be a fantastic opportunity to dedicate their teams to new projects that better suit their creative talents.
Newly designed themes would also be a fantastic way to promote new games on the console.
While funding entirely new games or remasters can be a time-consuming and equally expensive process,it’s hard to imagine that porting over themes from the PlayStation 4 would be nearly as costly for Sony. Newly designed themes would also be a fantastic way to promote new games on the console, letting players experience a new UI designed around uniquely artistic games likeGhost of Yoteibefore their release.
Even if Sony decided to return the long-desired themes to the PlayStation 5 from its predecessor, it might be fartoo late for PlayStationto make a truly unique mark in the gaming industry, especially given its lack of long-term exclusives. Whether Sony offered new or returning themes through paid microtransactions to make up for the additional effort, having even more ways to customize a console to a player’s preferences can go a long way to making the PS5 a more enjoyable experience.
