[Stallion]

PlayThree: Official PS3 Themes have Sound Effects

Sony have just released a bunch of new themes for the PlayStation 3. What they didn't tell us is that some of them have a little surprise, added sound effects...


When Firmware 2.0 was released it was heavily criticised by PS3 owners (me included) for not delivering the expected in-game access to the XMB. However this controversial update has spawned a feature which has been a big hit, PlayStation 3 themes. It has allowed users to make and share themes without charge. After the explosion of fan made themes, yesterday saw the release of some new official PlayStation 3 themes. Three of them contained a little surprise, new sound effects. Normally when navigating the XMB, you can hear a discreet 'bleep' sound as you move from icon to icon. The Heavenly Sword theme replaces it with the sound of Eastern cymbals (in two keys), Mesmorise has loud 'swoosh' type sounds, whilst the Ratchet and Clank theme adds 4 new futuristic sound effects. 1 for moving across icons, 1 for selecting an icon, 1 for pressing back, and 1 used for a variety of internet functions. It makes the themes stand out more, and they're a nice tribute to the games that inspired them. I just wish they added the portentous 'Oh No!' sound effect to the Lemmings theme.

Pretty neat, but wheres in-game xmb and music !