A new PlayStation 5 firmware update added a cool welcome hub. However, it has now come to light that the update added unblockable ads to the PlayStation 5 home screen.
As spotted on Kotaku, PS5 users were initially enjoying the benefits of the fresh welcome hub. Players can see how much storage they have left, how charged their controllers are, and even if any of the games on their wish list are on sale. While there is a news feed widget that shows announcements for any titles gamers follow, it can thankfully be turned off. What cannot be deactivated, though, are the advertisements that started popping up on the actual home screen. Before, when you would hover over a game, it would display background art for said title. Now, well, see for yourself:
Yes, the beautiful backgrounds associated with your PlayStation 5 game library are now sometimes replaced with ads. Not all games have been subjected to these atrocities, but the ones that have aren’t even consistent across the board. Some, like Final Fantasy VII Remake, have art from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth splashed with review scores. Others, like Elden Ring, have a thumbnail from YouTube assaulting your eyes. The aforementioned Final Fantasy VII Remake ad even has out-of-date information, as it states, “Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launches tomorrow on February 29th!”
What a mess. I noticed earlier today that The Last of Us Part I had an image of a roundtable from the television show. Is it so much to ask for custom backgrounds like we had on the PlayStation 4? I’ll never understand useful features present in one console generation being removed for their successors. Hopefully, Sony will see how upset everyone is about this change and allow us to turn the capitalism machine off. As of now, the Nintendo Switch is the only platform free of advertisements on its home screen.
Published: Sep 30, 2024 04:53 pm