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The latest PS5 update adds in a new advertisement space behind each game you own, much to the dismay of players.
Just last week, the PlayStation’s flagship console saw the dashboard update totally overhauled the UI of the console. It was the closest fans have been to a return of ‘themes’, which have been absent since the leap to next-gen.
Unfortunately, it seems that the bespoke customisability offered by the most recent update has been paired with a pretty pointless advert tucked behind games that you already own. It might be a press release, an ad for a YouTube video, or whatever the game’s publisher would have you read.
Image credits: @alfredobofa
Furthermore. these adverts can’t be removed, and they’re all for games that you already own. It seems that there is a ambiguously blurred line between advert and news feed here. There may be some adverts that make sense – a press release about a recent update, for example – though that doesn’t forgive the more targeted content; reminders of Star Wars Day deals for EA Play, review round-ups, and third-party explainer videos on your games.
This isn’t a totally unexpected turn of events. EA has been toying with introducing adverts into its games, and Xbox consoles have been seeing them for a while too. In light of PlayStation’s recent financial disaster – Concord – there’s no reason to believe that the brand won’t grow increasingly aggressive with its advertising placement.
The biggest kick in the teeth is that players will be seeing adverts on a console they have already paid for, about games that they have already paid for. The clean, spacey aesthetic that the PS5 once had has now been traded out for ugly splash screens of marketing copy and information overload, and the lack of attention placed on the genuine return of themes is even more frustrating.
There may be a silver lining yet. It appears that PlayStation players are hoping for this feature to be a bug. The fact that the ‘advertisements’ are for games that you already own is provoking this line of thinking. Similarly, at least the adverts for games that you already own aren’t going to be shoving product placement in front of you.
Disabling your console’s internet will restore the original game backgrounds, mind. Hopefully removing them permanently doesn’t become a paid feature.
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