Logo captures by mr3urious Editions by mr3urious, sega3dmm, and Wyraachur
Background
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE, SCEA, SCEE, or SCEI for short, depending on your area) was founded and established on November 16, 1993 in Tokyo, Japan as a subsidiary of Sony to create the PlayStation video game console. The PlayStation was the result of Nintendo and Sony teaming up to try to create a CD add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES for short). However, the deal said that Sony must license the SNES-CD games and not Nintendo. This betrayed Nintendo, and they asked Philips to create the add-on, and the deal was accepted. Once Sony heard about Nintendo and Philips' collaboration which gave Sony "a taste of their own medicine", they went on to independently develop a CD-based game console, the PlayStation. It was a success, leaving Sony to make more PlayStation consoles (including the PlayStation 2, which has gone on to become the best-selling console of all time, at sales of over 150 million units worldwide), even a portable console called the PSP. Philips went on to create four video games for their CD-i, since they still had some of the licenses from Nintendo's characters.
1st Logo
(December 3, 1994-March 23, 2006)
Logo: We fade into a white background, then an orange/yellow gradient diamond appears. After that, two triangles appear on the diamond in an "S" shape. After it's completed:
SONY
COMPUTER
ENTERTAINMENT
appears in a dark blue color, with "SONY" in its corporate font (actually a variation of the Clarendon typeface font).
Variants:
- On earlier generation PlayStation consoles (SCPH-100x series to SCPH-555x series), the Sony Computer Entertainment text is larger and the trademark symbol is on the right of the diamond instead of the "COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT" text.
- From the SCPH-700x onwards, however, the SCE text is a bit smaller. Also on pretty much all the original PlayStation consoles, when the above logo appears, a TM sign appears next to the logo.
- On the PSone, a registered trademark sign appears next to the logo.
- On very early Japan-region consoles, the sound can still be heard fading out over the menu screen.
FX/SFX: The diamond and two triangles appearing.
Music/Sounds: A synth bass sound with chimes ringing. Note that the music starts before we even fade into the white background.
Music/Sounds Trivia: This music, in fact, was stolen in the Manoli Films logo, with laser zaps throughout.
Availability: Appears when you turn on a Sony PlayStation or its compact re-design, the PSone. Still used as a print logo on slipcases of first-party PlayStation games. The logo is not seen when you play a PlayStation 1 game on the PlayStation 2 or 3.
Scare Factor: Low to medium. The heavy synth sound will not sit well with most, but it's a favorite of many.
2nd Logo
(December 3, 1994- )
Logo: On a plain black background, we see text saying:
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Presents
in a Helvetica-like font. It usually appears after the PlayStation logo on Japanese/NTSC-J and North American/NTSC-U/C PlayStation games, but on European/PAL games, it usually appears after the piracy warning (which is common on PAL PlayStation games from 1995 to 1999).
Variant: Like the first PlayStation logo, there are regional variants. The version mentioned above is normally used on games from Japan, but there are also North American and European variants. There are also countless other variants of this logo, for instance, font differences and backgrounds.
FX/SFX: None or the fading in/fading out.
Music/Sounds: None or some music from the game.
Availability: Common. It appears on many games developed and/or published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation consoles. The first game to use this logo was the Japan-only PlayStation launch title Crime Crackers.
Scare Factor: None.
3rd Logo
(March 4, 2000-January 4, 2013)
Logo: On a black background with blue clouds and giant glass cubes, we see "Sony Computer Entertainment" in white fade in and fade out in the span of a few seconds. We also see four comets, colored blue, green, pink, and red (possibly to represent the colors of the shapes [X, Triangle, Square, and Circle, respectively] you find on the round buttons on a PlayStation controller). We slowly zoom into the blue cloud, tilting as we do so. After a few seconds, depending on a few things explained below, we suddenly zoom in and go to either the main menu, the PlayStation Broadband Navigator, the "Red Screen of Death" variant listed below, the PS2 logo, the PS1 logo, or the start of the DVD/CD if one is inserted.
Variants:
- How long we zoom into the blue cloud depends on a few factors; whenever there is a hard disk inserted, if the hard disk is corrupted, if the PSBBN is installed in the HDD, how long the console takes to boot up the software, etc. It ranges from instantaneous to about twenty seconds.
- Depending on how much data you have on a PS2 Memory Card, there will be white blocks all over the screen when you turn on the PS2. This only happens if a Memory Card and/or Memory Cards with saved data is inserted into the Memory Card slots. As the player plays a game more and more, its block will become an ever-growing tower with a misty trail behind it. The screen will be empty (as the picture on the top left shows) if there is no Memory Card inserted.
- There is also a variant referred to as the "Red Screen of Death." After we zoom into the blue clouds, we see red clouds of mist or smoke spiraling around a moving red light. A glass cube zooms into view and starts to revolve around the light as a message appears saying "Please insert a PlayStation or PlayStation 2 format disc." (this appears in a different language depending on what language your PlayStation 2 is set on, e.g. "Por favor, inserte un disco de formato PlayStation o PlayStation 2." in Spanish). Another glass cube that is further away from us comes into view from behind the text, and also revolves around the light.
- When you first set up the PS2, after we zoom into the blue cloud, the "PS" symbol fades in, then fades out, with the "PS2" logo fading in, then out. The music can still be heard on both logos.
FX/SFX: The text fading in and out, the zoom-in onto the cloud.
Cheesy Factor: Simple animation, and the clouds look more like ink gas.
Music/Sounds: A whooshing, breathy synth jingle with bells, followed by a whoosh when we zoom into the cloud. When a PlayStation disc, a DVD/CD, or a hard drive is inside the PS2, there is no whoosh when we zoom into the cloud.
Music/Sounds Variants: When the red background appears, there is a more tense synth jingle with a breathy humming sound, followed by the sounds of wind blowing and waves flowing.
Availability: Appears when you turn on a PlayStation 2. The "Red Screen of Death" only appears when an unreadable disc (or a disc that is not a PS, PS2, DVD, or Audio CD disc) is inserted.
Scare Factor: Depends on the variant.
- Original Version: Low to medium. The ominous, dark environment combined with the music may unnerve a daydreaming viewer unfamiliar with the opening. Same goes with the Memory Card variant. You may be surprised upon seeing the blocks, especially if you're used to the regular opening. But if you've always had a memory card in your PS2, you should be perfectly fine with this one.
- With the "Red Screen of Death": Nightmare. The red screen and tense music would probably unnerve most people, especially if you're expecting your game to start up and wind up with this. However, the scare factor is lower to some players, or those who are used to it.
4th Logo
(December 12, 2004-Early 2014)
Logo: On a black background, text reading "Sony Computer Entertainment" in white as positioned on the center of the screen. Behind it is a line of color starting to emerge. The text fades out and the line emerges, revealing a moving lava lamp-like background in a color depending on the month or selected in the settings. The XMB interface appears when there is no UMD in the latch or the UMD Auto-Start is turned off.
FX/SFX: Just the background moving.
Music/Sounds: A soft and short five note synth-chime tune.
Availability: This can be seen when you boot up a Sony PSP (not from stand-by mode), but if the theme is changed on a hacked PSP, you might not be able to see it.
Scare Factor: None.
5th Logo
(November 11, 2006-September 1, 2009)
Logo: Against a blue background, we see a series of silvery lines waving up and down. The words "Sony Computer Entertainment" in white fade in on the right.
Variant: The color of the background varies depending on the month it is set to (the colors can be set manually, however). Blue or black is the default color and a gold background exists. A version with a purple background.
FX/SFX: The lines wavering.
Music/Sounds: An orchestra of string and woodwind instruments warming up, Sounding like the orchestra in the THX Cimarron trailer. After the September 1, 2009 update, the sound was changed slightly.
Availability: Appears when you turn on a PlayStation 3. As of the September 1, 2009 update, however, the startup has been changed to display the PlayStation Family logo and the new PS3 logo, in place of the Sony Computer Entertainment logo.
Scare Factor: None.
6th Logo
(February 12, 2012- )
Logo: We see the words "Sony Computer Entertainment" against a black background.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: None. It's boring when compared to its predecessors.
Music/Sounds: None on the Vita version, but the PS4 version has a tense synth sounder (which is actually the opening notes of the tune you hear at the initial setup screen).
Availability: Seen only when booting up a PS Vita or a PS4 for the first time.
Scare Factor: None. It's just boring.