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How to Use the PS1 Startup on PS5

Select the PlayStation generation design under Settings → System → Appearance → Appearance and Sound to recreate the PS1-inspired PS5 startup and interface.
Length5 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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You can enable the PS1-inspired startup presentation from the PS5’s built-in settings—no 30th Anniversary console, downloaded theme, or accessory is required. On an updated PS5, go to Settings → System → Appearance → Appearance and Sound, then choose PlayStation.

The setting is a broader generation design: it can change the console’s startup presentation, home-screen appearance, and interface sounds. It does not add PlayStation 1 game compatibility.

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Turn on the PS1 startup on PS5

  1. From the PS5 home screen, select Settings in the upper-right corner.
  2. Choose System.
  3. Open Appearance.
  4. Select Appearance and Sound.
  5. Choose PlayStation, the design inspired by the original console.

Sony’s current support documentation uses the term PlayStation, not necessarily “PS1.” Menu wording can vary slightly by region or later system-software updates. The official path is documented by PlayStation Support.

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How to hear the startup sequence

After selecting the PlayStation design, perform a full power cycle:

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  1. Open the Control Center by pressing the PS button.
  2. Select Power, then Turn Off PS5.
  3. Wait until the console has completely shut down.
  4. Turn the PS5 on again with the DualSense controller or console power button.

A cold boot is the clearest way to test the classic startup presentation. Waking the console from Rest Mode may not replay the same sequence, so a Rest Mode resume does not necessarily mean the setting failed. Restarting after a system update can also produce different screens or behavior.

What the PlayStation design changes

The PS1-inspired option is not documented as a standalone boot-screen switch. It is grouped under Appearance and Sound as a generation design. Depending on the current firmware, selecting it may affect:

  • The PS5’s startup animation and sound presentation.
  • The home-screen visual treatment.
  • Menu navigation and interface sound effects.

Contemporary reporting describes the selection as combining these elements, while Sony’s official documentation confirms the generation-design selector but does not spell out every startup behavior. Treat it as a bundled preset rather than separate controls for the boot animation, chime, home screen, and menu sounds.

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The original PlayStation launched in Japan on December 3, 1994. Its familiar startup sound was created by sound designer Takafumi Fujisawa specifically to accompany the PlayStation logo animation; PlayStation’s interview with Fujisawa explains its creation.

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PS1 startup not showing? Try these fixes

1. Update the PS5

The classic console designs returned through a PS5 system-software update that began rolling out on April 24, 2025. To check for updates, open:

Settings → System → System Software → System Software Update and Settings → Update System Software

Follow Sony’s PS5 system-software update instructions, then restart the console and check the Appearance menu again.

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2. Check the exact menu path

Look under System → Appearance → Appearance and Sound, not under Themes. Older articles may describe the feature as a “theme,” but Sony’s current terminology is a generation design within Appearance and Sound.

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3. Make sure you are on the home screen

Settings navigation should be performed from the PS5 home screen, rather than while inside a game or media app. After selecting the design, return to the home screen to confirm that its visual treatment and navigation sounds have changed.

4. Fully shut down the console

If the home screen changes but you do not hear the startup presentation, turn the console off completely and power it on again. Do not use only Rest Mode when testing a cold-boot sequence.

5. Check the audio path

Confirm that the television, soundbar, receiver, or headset is powered on, connected to the expected output, and not muted. Also check Settings → Sound → Audio Output if the PS5 is sending audio to a different device than usual.

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6. Do not confuse the startup sound with the ordinary PS5 beep

The PS5’s standard power, shutdown, Rest Mode, and disc-insertion beep is controlled separately at Settings → System → Beep and Light. Sony documents volume options of High, Medium, and Low for that ordinary console beep. Those controls should not be treated as a dedicated volume setting for the PS1-inspired startup chime. See PlayStation’s beep and light support page.

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7. Account for firmware and regional differences

Sony’s current U.S. support page documents the selector, but UI availability and behavior can depend on system software, region, and later firmware changes. If the option is still absent after updating and restarting, Sony may not have enabled the same interface in your region or may have changed its location or label.

Can you use only the PS1 boot screen?

There is no officially documented separate “PS1 startup only” switch in the cited PS5 settings. The supported method is to select the PlayStation generation design under Appearance and Sound, which may also change the home screen and interface sounds.

Do not assume you can combine the PS1 boot animation with the default PS5 home screen unless your current firmware explicitly provides that control.

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Does this make the PS5 play PS1 games?

No. The setting changes the PS5’s system presentation; it does not turn the console into a PlayStation 1 emulator or add support for original PS1 software.

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In particular, the appearance setting is not evidence that the PS5 can play original PlayStation discs. Sony’s current PS5 product information highlights PS4 backward compatibility and separately discusses classic titles available through PlayStation Plus; it does not promise general compatibility with original PS1 discs.

For classic games, use officially available titles where offered, or use original hardware, a PlayStation Classic, or a legal emulation setup. Those are separate from the PS5 appearance customization.

Does it work on PS5 Pro and PS5 Digital Edition?

The feature is part of PS5 system software rather than a special hardware feature. It should therefore apply to supported, updated PS5 consoles generally, including PS5 Pro and PS5 Digital Edition models, subject to regional and firmware availability.

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A disc drive is not required to change the system appearance. That does not change the separate question of playing physical PS1 discs.

Do you need the 30th Anniversary PS5?

No. The limited-edition 30th Anniversary hardware uses throwback styling, but the PS1-inspired interface design was distributed through PS5 system software. Sony announced the return of the classic console UI designs in April 2025, and its current support page documents the generation-design selector. The collector hardware is not required; see Sony’s 30th Anniversary information for the hardware context.

Is the feature still available?

Sony first introduced the classic console UI designs as part of the 2024 30th-anniversary period, then announced their return in a PS5 system-software update beginning April 24, 2025. Because Sony’s current U.S. support documentation still describes the selector, it should not be treated as only a discontinued anniversary easter egg.

That does not guarantee identical behavior forever. Sony can rename, relocate, limit, or remove interface features in future firmware. The most accurate expectation is: on a supported, updated PS5, the PlayStation design is available through Appearance and Sound, but startup behavior may differ between cold boots, Rest Mode resumes, updates, and later system versions.

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