Summary
After the PS4’s somewhat clunky and crowded user interface, the PS5’s slick and minimalist operating system was a breath of fresh air when the system launched in 2020. Players appreciated the PS5’s simple yet upmarket home screen layout, with some even drawing parallels to the PS3’s XMB menus, and Sony has also steadily released firmware updates that optimize and add new features to the PS5’s user interface. Fans still lament theabsence of custom themes on the PS5, though, and a recent change to the UI has incensed them.
Thelatest PS5 system software updatewas deployed a few weeks ago, and users have recently begun to notice that itforces ads right into the user interface. Hovering over a game icon in the PS5’s home screen used to fill the background with unique art, but it now displays an ad that presents information generally relevant to the game in question. For example,GTA 5’s tile on the PS5’s main menu now shows an image detailing a newGTA Onlinemode, with the sub-menu leading to a web page with more information about the same.
PS5 User Interface Gets Game-Specific Ads, But With Some Issues
The running theory is that the PS5’s firmware is pulling the latest news for each game and using its tile on the main menu as an information hub of sorts. However, this doesn’t work properly, sinceGran Turismo 7’s tile displays a preview for Update 1.49. The information is outdated, asUpdate 1.49 launched forGran Turismo 7back in July, and the tile should instead tease the new update coming this week. A much more egregious case isSpider-Man Miles Morales, which just shows a “coming soon” ad for the 2023 movieSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Interestingly, certain game tiles (likeAstro Bot) still display their key art like before, which might mean that Sony is beta-testing the ads for some games on the server-side. Still, after the fairly recent debacle ofMcDonald’s ads on Xbox consoles, players have started exercising more caution about where these “features” can lead. Although the ads in the PS5’s user interface only display specific game-related information at the moment, they could lead to more external promotions down the line, maybe even more intrusively. Hopefully, Sony will take the backlash into account and reconsider the prospect.
PlayStation 5
Sony’s PlayStation 5 is part of the ninth console generation and debuted with a launch lineup that included Demon’s Souls and Astro’s Playroom. The console comes with a Blu-ray disc, although a digital-only edition is also available for a cheaper price.
