How I made my PS5 look like a PS2

Key Takeaways

Access the PS5’s new 30th Anniversary themes by updating the console and selecting the appearance in settings.
The anniversary themes are available for a limited time, and celebrate older PlayStation consoles.
The themes also change the PS5’s startup animation.

Do you remember the classic PlayStation 1 bootup? The sound? The imagery? The excitement? Many people find it nostalgic, and now, to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th Anniversary, you can have that PS1 experience on the PlayStation 5 (PS5).

Sony has released a new update for the PS5 that includes some pretty cool new themes that mimic older PlayStation consoles. The themes are free, and it’s super easy to access them and select which one you want.

The five themes available are: 30th Anniversary, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4.

Sony PlayStation 5 Slim

$425 $500 Save $75

Game support: PS5, PSVR 2, PS4, PSVR
Processing Power: 10.3 TFLOPS
Storage: 1TB SSD
CPU: x86-64-AMD Ryzen Zen 8 cores
Dimensions: 358 × 96 × 216 mm
Weight: 3.2kg
Audio: Tempest 3D audio
RAM: 16GB GDDR6

The PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection has me ready to open my wallet

Sony’s PS1-inspired PS5 Pro, PlayStation Portal and DualSense are a delightful blast from the past.

How to use the 30th Anniversary PlayStation themes

Celebrate three decades of PlayStation

To access the 30th Anniversary PlayStation themes, all you have to do is make sure your console is up-to-date with the latest system software update. If you haven’t booted up your PS5 in a bit, you’ll have to update it first. Once your PS5 is up-to-date, it will reboot, and you’ll see the classic PS1 startup animation on your PS5. To change the theme, follow the steps below.

1. Go to Settings in the top right-hand corner of your screen.

2. Select PlayStation 30th Anniversary.

3. Select Appearance and Sound.

4. Choose between the 30th Anniversary, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 themes.

5. Select the theme you want and it will automatically apply.

Additionally, you can also choose to turn off the feature and revert to the default PS5 theme in the same menu.

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All aboard the nostalgia train

Play some classic PlayStation games on PS5

The new anniversary themes Sony added with this PS5 update are available for a limited time, so enjoy them while you can. I spent most of my time playing the PlayStation 2 while growing up, so that’s the theme I chose.

I have to give Sony credit where credit is due because this update is just the perfect way to celebrate what’s old on what’s new. It makes me very nostalgic, and it might be time to boot up some classic games like The Phantom Menace and Sly Cooper to relive the glory days of the PS1 and PS2.

The PS1 launched in December 1994, and to celebrate its 30th Anniversary, Sony is hosting a series of special events, activities and giveaways. For more information, check out PlayStation’s site here. Sony announced a special edition 30th Anniversary PS5 and PS5 Pro in September, but both sold out fast.