Alright. It's been fourteen years since the release of the PlayStation 3, and was anybody going to tell me that the particles on the home screen move according to the movement of the controller, or was I just supposed to read that on Reddit myself?
Reddit user JhonnyRivers28 noticed the teeny tiny detail when they booted up their console, and their mind was blown. Uploading the video to the Internet, they were soon joined by countless other players who had no clue that this was a thing. It's so hypnotic, right? Shake the controller to the right and the particles swirling on the background behind the vertical home screen menu trickle to the right. Yank the controller to the left and the dots float along to the left. I'd easily lose an hour to seeing how fast I could get the particles to travel, and how gentle the motion has to be so that the sensor inside the controller tells them to start moving back again. "From years of having a PS3 have I never noticed this, I guess it just shows the level of effort Sony put in at the time," said yeetdecamera.
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Others pointed out that it's a good signifier of a genuine DualShock 3 controller, saving you the disappointment once you get into the game and realise one of the main mechanics won't work. For example, no motion sensor means no rechargeable battery on Joel's torch in The Last Of Us. Suddenly, embarking on a dive into a dark and dingy ruin where Clickers run riot isn't so appealing. If you're curious to see whether this feature has been used by other PlayStation 3 titles, then the community confirmed that the motes of dust floating in The Last Of Us' main menu react to the motion sensor, strangely enough. Count Killzone 2 and Gran Turismo 6's main menus there, too (oh, Killzone, remember that series?).
ErickJail also added that the particles on the home screen of the PlayStation 3 will also be stirred by movements with the PS Move controllers, if you've still got those to hand. Pun not intended. With such awesome features embedded in the software and hardware of the console, it's a wonder that Sony was ready to turn its back on it. Cue a ginormous outcry over the closure of the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita official stores, and the company realised that the community won't give up on the classics of the generation without a fuss.
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"We see now that many of you are incredibly passionate about being able to continue purchasing classic games on PS3 and PS Vita for the foreseeable future, so I'm glad we were able to find a solution to continue operations," said PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan. Phew. That looked like it would've been a close shave.
Featured Image Credit: JhonnyRivers28 via Reddit, joo0ey via FlickrTopics: News, PlayStation, Retro Gaming