New Premium Theme Options on PlayStation Store

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Bioshock_themePS3_ProofofConcept

The last time I posted it was regarding our special E3 section on the PlayStation Store. This time around I wanted to tell you about a new offering that you’ll see tomorrow. In addition to all the free themes you’ve already been getting and will continue to get on the PlayStation Store now, you’ll have the option to upgrade and purchase premium themes to customize the look of your PS3’s XMB.

We have linked up with a few partners, Smobile & Disruptive Media Publishers, to distribute premium themes from PlayStation Network. They have content offerings that range in type from NCAA College licenses to beauties on the beach to original cartoons and anime. These themes were created specifically for the PS3 and have special backgrounds, XMB icons and, in some cases, sounds. Here is a sample of some of the new Themes:

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We have created a new “Premium Themes” section under Themes & Wallpapers for you to easily access this content. Also, for each theme, there is preview option that allows you to view images of the theme prior to making your decision.

We plan to offer approximately 6-10 new “Premium Themes” a month. So be sure to check back often to browse the newest in premium theme content.

High-Voltage-2

Have a good rest of the week and keep a look out for the new offering dropping tomorrow!

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327 Comments

7 Author Replies

  • Will there be anything special on the PS Store for TGS? and for those of us that are in the HOME beta will there be anything special for us in there as well?

  • Thanks Ro.

    As others have stated….You have the option to purchase these IF YOU WANT.

    It’s not being forced on you and there are plenty of other freebees still out there (just that these aren’t free).

  • When you say Premium do you mean Free as in beer or premium as XBL Gold lol?

  • Hahahahaha… No.

  • I guess if people will pay for them, then why not charge for them? I’ll just download them on the interweb or make my own.

  • These themes……..

    Look no different from the themes already out there…

    Why charge for them? Its not like the background moves or something..(like it should)

    Make some FLASH backgrounds and start charging for those..

    not this [DELETED] that should be free anyways..

    [DELETED] man, this is all because of the people buying themes on XBL.

  • Cool concept, people should be rewarded for their time and creativity.
    Strike the right price and people really shouldn’t have a problem But of course PS3 users have become accustomed to certain things being free, taking for granted funds are always needed to keep the wheels behind the scenes turning.
    Best thing to do is put up a poll and see how much people would be willing to pay for them.

    Ehhh just don’t put free as an option :)

  • Sorry, but I just do not see myself buying themes. There is a wealth of free themes out there for me to choose from.

  • No thanks

  • Pretty cool stuff.. If you have a Tampa Bay Buccaneers theme.. consider it purchased..

  • This sounds promising, good stuff. I would love to see a NY Giants & Yankess theme :)

  • You people just aren’t reading.

    There will still be free themes, but the premium themes will have a fee. For those of you not interested in paying – you’re not affected at all because the free themes will STILL be available.

    If you don’t want a premium theme, don’t buy it.

  • Charging for themes now? No thanks. Being we are FORCED to buy ad on content for games now to get a 100% on trophies, simple stuff like themes I can go with out.

  • NO SONY THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DIFFIRENTIATE YOURSELF FROM MICROSOFT. UR RIPPING OFF CUSTOMERS WITH THIS PRERMIUM CRAP. honestly the only good factor psn has over live is the free play but there seems to be little bills popping up everywhere. its not how to treat valued customers

  • I;d say a buck ea. is resonable, i like this idea. becuase we can make our own themes and lots are still free, it doesn’t make the PS3 go all money hog. but still offers us the choice to buy one if we want. =]

    i like it

  • I don’t understand why you have gone down this road Sony. You were doing so well.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if over time all the themes that are made available on the PSN are billed as “premium” themes, which we have to pay for.

    You watch guys, we’ll see less and less free themes from now on.

    First Qore, now this. Well done Sony, Good job.

  • I’m not sure I understand… What exactly is “Premium” about these? Do they have alternating wallpapers or anything particularly special about them, or are they just based on specific themes such as the aforementioned NCAA theme?

  • Not sure how much money you guys will make since there are so many free ones already offered. Luckily the cost to make these is extremely low, so best of luck to Sony. I’m just not sure how many takers there will be.

    No reason for people to be hating on this though. You still have to option to use tons of free Sony themes and other custom themes, or make your own.

  • Bummer. I was laughing the other day when I found out most of the themes on the 360 have to be purchased. I’m not a big theme guy (used the same background image on my PS3 for a long time), but I liked that they were free, and that people could make their own. Well, they may not all be free now, but at least we can still make our own.

  • Wow, I barely even care about the free themes and you’re asking me to pay for them now? No, thanks.

  • Horrible Idea , i can make 100’s of these by myself.

    Buying these would be an impulse buy, just to get rid of money and if you have that to spare you don’t deserve to have the money.

    One of the worst ideas i’ve seen in a bit.

  • I think that’s pretty awesome that you’re offering even more stuff for us.

    Even considering that many have made stuff at an equal quality as you’re showing there, as long as they aren’t too pricey I’m sure they’ll be pretty big hit.

    They definitely look great.

  • as long as they keep putting out game related themes for free, if they were to put out a sick pitts pens one or something like that then i might buy it

    as long as the above remains true, i dont think anyone has anything to whine about on this thread

  • I hope we don’t have to pay for it…

  • Ummm—–I hope you aren’t charging—else you’d be releasing a few themes a month no one would download—plus with the theme creator people like those at PSU could easily recreate them——–

    OR

    Do you mean Premium as in they actually change the icons and background? Some themes only do one or the other or just add a stupid noise to icon movement *stares hatefully at the Street Fighter 4 theme*

  • Good options for those willing to purchase premium content. This is how the PS Store expands.

    Sadly some kids out there choose to complain about something they’re not forced to purchase in the first place.

    The man said that free themes will continue to be offered the best some of you can do is whine about PREMIUM content.

    Please people, READ and understand what you think you’re complaining about before posting.

  • And, yes, the outrage over this is misplaced. Themes coming from the aforementioned companies will be priced, but I would assume that themes based on games or anything else that individual developers have made will remain free as sort of promotional material. I’d assume so anyway. If one of them sneaks in a price tag, THEN you can be outraged (if you don’t know how to make them yourself, which isn’t really all that hard).

  • cool paying for themes!!!!! NOT

  • This is a BAD idea! One of the reason I love PSN over LIVE was you didn’t nickel and dime us for this stuff. The response here is overwhelmingly negative, please reconsider this :(

  • This is a step backwards Sony. Themes should be free. Premium or not! I’m assuming these premium themes will be copy protected. What will keep these themes from being copied and distributed on the web? And if they are, there are many talented theme creators out there who can easily create a replica and distribute those for free.

  • Seems pointless, someone can just buy the themes and upload them all to download free. Qore is a joke too, all the exclusives like betas and demos can be accessed before Qore buyers by pre-ordering games (example: SOCOM Confrontation Beta & Resistance 2) No thank you Sony!

    Give Qore buyers access to demos and betas BEFORE any other methods like pre-orders for it to be worth getting.

  • I’m sure there will still be free themes, but I guarantee they will become less frequent and will start to lack quality.

    Bravo, Sony. Way to make yourselves look really, really stupid. You’ll never get a dime from me for this garbage.

    I’m beginning to lose faith in you guys after the super rip-off that is Qore, and now this. Get your act together.

  • If the themes are TRULLY CREATIVE AND AWESOME LOOKING (using PlayStation IP´s) I would glady pay for them.

    Make one for GOW and RESISTANCE(But good looking) and you will have one buyer in the bag :D

  • You’re kidding right? This is a joke, right?

    Ummm, I think I’ll stick with the free themes.

  • If the themes are TRULLY CREATIVE AND AWESOME LOOKING (using PlayStation IP´s) I would gladly pay for them.

    Make one for GOW and RESISTANCE(But good looking) and you will have one buyer in the bag :D

  • As others have said. It’s just silly to ask for people to pay for a theme. Unless you bundle some type of game related material or content, I don’t see many of these being purchased.

    Now, it would be kind of cool to get a special theme if you own a particular game. But without any extra cost.

  • You can still get free themes people…doh. No such a thing as a free lunch.

  • Buy something to only make the xmb, that you hardly see if you play games, look better…no thanks. :|

  • This isn’t really a great idea, IMHO.

  • I have my PS3 to play games, and this is not taking away from that,so,they can sell and charge all they want for themes,wallpapers and the such. No complains here.

  • After checking the site out I can see why these themes are premium.

    They do look like they were taken some time on especially for the PS3 and you got my money for the Retracted Revolt theme and the Digital Techno one.

  • Why would people pay for themes when there are so many user created ones on the net for free? If you expect people to buy these, they better be the greatest themes ever, and cost like 50 cents.

  • All you guys hating…

    SOny needs to increase reveue streams…
    PS3 has not been as profitable as they’d want it to be…

    If they need to do this its fine.
    Just DON’T BUY IF YOU’RE SO PISSED AT THEM.

  • Pay for themes? Joking you must be! “No thank you,” is what I say. PSU has a crap load of great themes that are FREE.

  • Will there be premium themes just for the PS3, or also for the PSP?

    I know many will be against this for being paid-for content, but I’m pretty optimistic on this!
    Hope to see some cool premium themes soon!

  • Sorry, but this is a stupid idea. You make free themes in the first place and have tons of websites making awesome ones already available for free, then 2 years into the PS3 life cycle you start charging for them? Why do you guys love copying Xbox Live’s plan so much?

    This is why I loved my PS3, because you guys didn’t nickle and dime. Looks like that has changed. Try coming up with original ways to make money, you guys don’t always have to sell out and copy Microsoft. I always thought it was a joke MS sold picture packs and themes, now you guys are doing it too. No thanks, I’ll keep downloading the superior ones from the web.

    To everyone thinking about buying themes, you’ll find tons of them that are probably similar, or better for free with a simple Google search.

  • And to top this FAIL, those themes you showed are pathetic.

  • What about updated Avatars and Premium Avatars?

  • I did not subscribe to Qore because demos and news should be FREE. I will not buy any themes because they should also be FREE. Wit the FREE theme creator that is available, it should be pretty easy for someone to recreate any theme out there. Nice try on getting some extra revenue though.

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