The latest PS3 firmware allows you to change the background and icons on your PS3 via a new Theme Settings option. What Sony is almost seemingly reluctant to shout about is that you can actually create your own custom themes on your PC for your PS3 - making it look just the way you want.

Why the reluctance? Probably because there’s unfortunately no super-intuitive way of making your own themes. It’s awkward and meticulous and you might end up pulling your hair out in the process. But if you need some hand-holding, we’ll show you how here:

1) Sony’s official sites are a total pain in the ass to navigate, so to save you the hassle, just click here and the download should start automatically.

2) You will get a Zip file called ‘PS3_Custom_Theme_v101-E.zip’. Extract the folder ‘p3tcompiler_v101’ to your desktop. Open that and go into the Sample folder. Open the ‘01’ folder – in there is a sample theme. Make a duplicate of that folder and call it what you like (in this case, we’ll call it ‘Theme1’). In here you’ll see a series of .png and .jpg image files. These are your new PS3 icons and backgrounds.

3) Use an image editing tool such as Paint.NET, or GIMP or any you’re comfy with to edit these pictures how you like. Just make sure you don’t change their size (resolution). With all your icons and backgrounds made, locate the file called ‘sample.xml’. Rename it how you like (Theme01.xml for example) then drag and drop this file onto the ‘p3tcompiler.exe’ file in the ‘p3tcompiler_v101’ folder.