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Create custom Dtoid PS3 XMB theme, win games and fancy schwag! photo

Believe it or not, but Sony's PlayStation 3 console turns one tomorrow -- my, how it's grown! In honor of this event, Sony has given Destructoid some PS3 games and schwag to giveaway to a few lucky readers who are willing to do a little work for it!

When customizable XcrossMediaBar themes were announced as an addition in the most recent PS3 firmware update, we had only one thought -- who's going to be the first to make a Destructoid-flavored XMB theme? Here's your chance to make our dreams a reality, and win some cool prizes while you're at it.

First Prize
Copies (one each) of Uncharted, Folklore, Heavenly Sword, and NBA 08 for the PS3
Random assortment of PS3 schwag (t-shirt, belt buckle, pens, luggage tags, etc.)

Second Prize
Random PS3 schwag assortment

Third prize
Random PS3 schwag assortment, but not as much as  the second prize winner, because he/she is slightly cooler than you are ... but you're still pretty cool.

The contest will run from now until Friday, November 30. Hit the jump for rules, and details on how to make your custom Destructoid XMB theme for the PS3. 

Contest Rules and other important stuff (READ ME!)

  • The XMB theme should be Destructoid related (which could mean using our color scheme, versions of the robot head, etc.)
  • The theme can not contain any inappropriate references (including, but not limited to: pornography, profanity, etc.). This should go without saying, but we know how you animals can get!
  • Finalized XMB themes should be sent to dtoidcontest@gmail.com


Creating your own XMB theme

  • First, you'll need the custom XMB theme compiler, which you can get from Sony here.
  • The compiler package contains detailed information on how to edit and create your own XMB theme. Don't be afraid of the big words in the detailed guide.





Contests Official Rules



No Purchase Required to Enter or Win

1. Eligibility: Destructoid.com contests are usually provided by sponsors who, due to customs and shipping costs (yay budgets), often limit participation to individuals who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (unless otherwise stated) and are 12 years of age. We encourage our overseas friends to be super sneaky and make a friend in the United States who can receive your prize, and then you two figure out the customs/logistics. Be cautious about who you trust, obviously. Employees of destructoid.com, their advertising or promotion agencies, those involved in the production, development, implementation or handling of Contests, any agents acting for, or on behalf of the above entities, their respective parent companies, officers, directors, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, service providers, prize suppliers any other person or entity associated with the Contests (collectively “Contest Entities”) and/or the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members (whether related or not) of each such employee, are *not* eligible and will be fired and publicly beaten if are caught participating. All U.S., federal, state and local and regulations apply.

2. Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

3. Entry Period: The start and end dates/times of each Contest (the “Entry Period”) will be posted on the applicable Contest site.

4. Entry: To enter a Contest, follow the instructions on the Contest site. Submission will result in one (1) entry. The number of times you can enter the Contest will be posted on the applicable Contest site. The use of any agencies or automated software to submit entries will void all entries submitted by that person.

5. Drawing: At the conclusion of the Entry Period, we will select the names of the potential winners in a random drawing of all eligible entries received during each Entry Period. The number of winners to be selected in a specific Contest will be posted on the applicable Contest site. The odds of being selected as a potential winner depend on the number of eligible entries received during the Entry Period. Potential winners will be contacted via email and will be asked to provide their full name, age and mailing address within a specified time period. If a potential winner does not respond within the timeframe stated in the notification email, we may select an alternate potential winner in his/her place at random from all entries received during the Entry Period. Limit one (1) prize per household per Contest.

6. Requirements of the Potential Winners: Winners will be notified by the e-mail address associated with their account on destructoid.com.com and/or receive a Private Message on destructoid.com.com or through a Twitter Direct Message/Facebook message. Winners have five (5) days from the original message alerting them of their winnings to respond and claim their prize. If no winner comes forward within five business days, the prize will be forfeited and raffled again where Destructoid's hardcore fans are most active (forums/community blogs/facebook group).

7. Prize(s): The prize(s) (including each prize’s approximate retail value) available to be won in a specific Contest will be posted on the Contest site. No cash or other substitution may be made, except by the Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the prize is not available for any reason as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. The winners are responsible for any taxes and fees associated with receipt or use of a prize. Prizes will be mailed between 1 to 45 business days after winners have replied with their required info.

8. General Conditions: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, or other technical problem, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either: (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules; or (b) award the prizes at random from among the eligible entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. In case of a dispute as to the owner of an entry, entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the authorized account holder of the screen name from which the entry is made. The authorized account holder is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.

9.Release and Limitations of Liability: By participating in the Contest, entrants agree to release and hold harmless the Contest Entities from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of any prize, including, but not limited to: (a) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (b) technical errors related to computers, servers, providers, or telephone or network lines; (c) printing errors; (d) lost, late, postage-due, misdirected, or undeliverable mail; (e) errors in the administration of the Contest or the processing of entries; or (f) injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or receipt of any prize. Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Contest Entities’ liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the Contest Entities be liable for attorney’s fees. Entrant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.

10. Disputes: Except where prohibited, entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, entrant’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsors in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules (whether of the Commonwealth of Virginia or any other jurisdiction), which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth of Virginia.

11. Contest Results: To enter the contest without needing to buy/sell anything or request a written copy of the name of the winners, send a self-addressed stamped envelope (stating the specific Contest you are requesting the winners for) to destructoid.com Contest Winners 260 King Street Suite 883, San Francisco California 94107. We run many contests, so please be specific in what you are requesting. Winner requests must be received within thirty (30) days from the end date of the applicable contest (they're always posted on our site though). Winners are usually posted the day following the contest on our contest section.

Lastly, Destructoid has the right to kick your ass and take away your prize if you are a total dickhead, so be cool and don't kick any puppies on your way to victory. Have fun with our contests and be a good sport when you win or lose. Remember: First you get the power, then you get the money, then get the baby.

 




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44 comments | showing # 1 to 44
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Cheeburga's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:02
Cheeburga
Well, probably the only reason i'd get a ps3. :P
trydizon's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:04
trydizon
Awesome. I've been working on one. Can't wait to see the others.
ShadowXOR's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:06
ShadowXOR
Wait, you mean somebody owns one of those? Poor guy...
PrinceofCannedPeaches's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:07
PrinceofCannedPeaches
Wonder how feasible this would be:

Mr. Destructoid in the background, with the buttons as his teeth.

Anybody that commandeers that idea has to split the swag. Dibs!
AgentMOO's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:09
AgentMOO
Oh shit I want that one in the screenshot!
iRaf 's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:09
iRaf
when im done, do you want me to send a screenshot or the XMB file?
demonelite's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:10
demonelite
Mental note: steal his ideas
Nick Chester's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:18
Nick Chester
XMB files please!
BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:20
BluDesign
I was planning on doing one anyway. Prizes as co-ercion are just a bonus.
king3vbo's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:22
king3vbo
Dtoid XMB = The PS3's killer app?
jeep's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:26
jeep
See if I had won the Destructoid "Betrayal" contest I would be able to try to win this contest...but noooooo...you had to give it to somebody else...now no entry from me...
JLanphear's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:29
JLanphear
I wonder if you can make a PS3 theme without the PS3. I could just sell the PS3 games so I can finally get Mario Galaxy! :O
BluDesign's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:32
BluDesign
Alright, it's up to you, dtoid people, to find where I'm hiding Robert Summa's image in the theme.
trydizon's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 16:55
trydizon
I was going to hide an Optimus Prime made of wooden planks somewhere in my theme, but Jade Raymond stole my idea.
JLanphear's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 17:09
JLanphear
bullshit...fuckin racist against Macs. Lets just make the compiler a .exe.....bastards...
balth's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 17:17
balth
Oh man, I have great ideas for this.

I hope I can do it on a Mac.
liam2015's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 17:28
liam2015
oh my god

this is awesome
Sharpless's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 18:21
Sharpless
This will be the Halo killer that Sony's been waiting for.
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 18:49
ArrestedDeveloper
I'd try but I'm fairly lazy. Is there anyway to share the winners custom XMB theme with the community?
Brad Rice's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 19:18
Brad Rice
If for some reason I beat out the graphical abilities of everyone here, do I get the games for my lonely PSTriple?
Rainbowblack's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 19:47
Rainbowblack
why dont we make it for a system people acually own..a psp perhaps? lol
007's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 19:58
007
hey, did you hear? MGS4 is coming to the Xbox 360. but of course, old news is old.
Bricfa's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 19:59
Bricfa
@Rainbowblack

probably because there is some sponsorship involved. also you can only get themes on a Custom FW psp right?
linuxguy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 20:01
linuxguy
only us citizen?
or can I participate too(I'm from morocco)?
Gibb's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 21:29
Gibb
"probably because there is some sponsorship involved. also you can only get themes on a Custom FW psp right?"

The latest firmware for PSP has theme editing. Although not as complex as hacking themes, but good thing is, less chance of a brick.
Scrixx's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 21:30
Scrixx
@Bricfa

You could do it legally with the 3.70 firmware released along side with the PSP Slim.
Takeshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 21:48
Takeshi
This one's for Snaileb:

Snaileb Theme
Takeshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 22:23
Takeshi
This makes it easy to make a Dtoid XMB:

[url=http://jfblak.free.fr/FW2.0/theme p3t/logiciel/PS3ThemeBuilder.rar]PS3 Theme Builder[/url]

You still need the official Sony stuff. Works great, now show us them sw33t XMB's!
p.s. I didn't supply this to make is easier for you just to get better themes. Now get to work!
Kryptinite's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 22:24
Kryptinite
I have a mac so I'm fucked
Takeshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2007 22:47
Takeshi
There's a new version of the Theme builder
Right here
or
http://www.lili-chan.com/
But still only for windows...
Jayeugene's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/17/2007 00:28
Jayeugene
Here is a teaser of my Dtoid 2.0 theme so far....

waterblaze123's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/17/2007 05:32
waterblaze123
is there any basic templates for teh D-toid head? that i can download so i can custmize it
Simmy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/17/2007 06:46
Simmy
I had no idea at all that there was a custom theme creator. Once again DToid has provided me with valuable knowledge. I don't think I'll be creating anything on the level of Jayeugene - even at this stage the above theme looks awesome
Gameboi's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/17/2007 06:55
Gameboi
I sooooo want one of those custom Dtoid themes. Get cracking, people!
jerrt's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/17/2007 08:16
jerrt
let the creative juices flow, my ps3 yearns for dtoid love.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2007 00:09
Samit Sarkar
@ArrestedDeveloper: Well, if Nick was kind enough to post the winners’ XMB files here, we could download them to some kind of flash memory — SD card, USB thumbdrive, etc. — and install the themes directly from there. If you check out the Themes section of the XMB under the Settings tab, you’ll see an option named “Install”; if you hit X, it asks you to insert storage media.

I have no skills with this sorta stuff, but I’m really eager to see what the DTOID community comes up with. Get on it, people!
Jayeugene's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2007 00:35
Jayeugene
for some reason my artistic brain kicked in ultra warp speed and im making a much much more epic version of the teaser i posted above... sweet, its gonna take me a few days... i cant wait!!!
BS3 Owner's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2007 10:51
BS3 Owner
@ jayeugene

You go man! Looking Good so far!
Takeshi's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2007 13:02
Takeshi
Can't wait to see your creation! Looks good already. Only isn't that movie thing a Samsung icon?
Jayeugene's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2007 13:25
Jayeugene
OMG guys..... i just finished 3.0 and holy shit i am so proud of myself. Painfully done pixel by pixel!!! I can't wait for you all to see it and tell me what you think.
Jayeugene's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2007 14:06
Jayeugene
k, posted it early in my Cblog if anyone is interested in checking it out.
Tallgeese3w's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2007 20:31
Tallgeese3w
FUCKING AWESOME THEME MAN>...............GIVE THIS MAN A HUG, and a prise
riomccarthy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/29/2007 22:08
riomccarthy
I've emailed mine in, and it will hopefully be up to download soon on the PS3 Themes site. =) If you can't find it there, hopefully you'll be able to snag it from my server here:

Click here for a direct link to my theme
Fading Star's Avatar - Comment posted on 12/04/2007 16:23
Fading Star
Cool.
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