Sony Interactive Entertainment

Background
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE for short, formerly "Sony Network Entertainment" and "Sony Computer Entertainment") 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 Media to create the add-on, and the deal was accepted. Philips went on to create four video games for their CD-i, since they had some of the licenses from Nintendo's characters. 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. They continued to make a successful line of consoles and handhelds, such as the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation Vita, the PlayStation 4, and most recently the PlayStation 5. In April 2016, Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment was restructured and reorganized into Sony Interactive Entertainment, carrying over the operations and primary objectives from both companies.

1st Logo (December 3, 1994-October 24, 2006, December 3, 2018)
Visuals: The screen fades into a white background, then an / gradient diamond appears. Two triangles, which appear to be the left and right halves of the diamond, shrink and slide towards the center of the diamond to form an abstract "S" shape. After it's completed, "SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT" appears, with "SONY" above the diamond and in its corporate font (actually a variation of the Clarendon typeface font). If a game is inserted, the logo will fade to black to transition to the PlayStation logo, otherwise it will cut directly to the console's menu.

Variants:
 * A variant exists where the logo stays longer as usual.
 * On earlier generation PlayStation consoles (SCPH-100x series to SCPH-555x series), the SCE text is larger and the trademark symbol is on the right of the diamond.
 * From the SCPH-700x onwards, however, the SCE text is a bit smaller and fades in. The trademark symbol is moved down, next to the word "ENTERTAINMENT".
 * 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.
 * On the PlayStation Classic, it's the same as usual, but the diamond is smaller and moved to the left. “Sony Interactive Entertainment” appears next to it, replicating the company's current print logo. It was also made in 16:9 widescreen.

Technique: 2D computer animation running at 60fps.

Audio: A synth bass note with chimes ringing, followed by another bass note, which often continues to the PlayStation logo of the time. Note that the music starts before we even fade into the white background.

Audio Trivia: The music's sequence is generated by 3 integrated PCM sound files which come from the BIOS software (the chimes, bass note and a "shattering"-like reversed sound). All of them are being played in different speeds and pitches than the original samples (also processed in reverb). This is also the same with the following PlayStation logo.

Availability: Appears when you turn on a Sony PlayStation or its compact re-design, the PSone. The logo is not seen when you play a PlayStation game on the PlayStation 2 or 3. The "Sony Interactive Entertainment" variant appears on the PlayStation Classic, released on December 3rd, 2018.

Legacy: Many people consider this to be one of the greatest console startups, due to its unique sound and nostalgia factor. Notably, this logo is still used as the print logo for Sony Interactive Entertainment today, and can be found on box art of several first-party games from Sony.

2nd Logo (December 3, 1994-)


Visuals: On a plain black background is this text saying: Helvetica Neue Helvetica Neue

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).

Variants: Helvetica Neue Helvetica Neue
 * 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. They are shown like this:
 * North America:

Helvetica Neue Helvetica Neue
 * Europe:
 * There are also countless other variants of this logo, for instance, font differences, animations and backgrounds.
 * Later versions say "Helvetica Neue" and most recently, "Helvetica Neue".
 * On some games, a URL or copyright stamp appears below the text.

Technique: None.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: 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.

3rd Logo (March 4, 2000-November 8, 2013)
Visuals: On a black background with clouds and 5 dark, giant glass cubes is "Sony Computer Entertainment" in white fade in and fade out in the span of a few seconds. We also see four comets, colored, , pink, and (representing the colors of the shapes [X, Triangle, Square, and Circle, respectively] that are on the round buttons on a PlayStation controller). The screen slowly zooms into the clouds, 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:
 * 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 a game gets played more and more, its block will become an ever-growing tower with a misty trail behind it. The screen will be empty if there is no Memory Card inserted.
 * The number of blocks also vary. For example, there can be no blocks when you first start your PS2.
 * There is also a variant referred to as the "Red Screen of Death". After the screen zooms into the blue clouds is clouds of mist or smoke spiraling around a moving  light. A glass cube zooms into view and starts to revolve around the light as a message appears saying "Helvetica Neue" (this appears in a different language depending on what language your PlayStation 2 is set on, e.g. "Helvetica Neue" in Spanish). Another glass cube that is further away from us comes into view from behind the text, and also revolves around the light.
 * An earlier variant of the RSOD appears on SCPH-1xxxx models, which has different centering for both lines and has different wording for the error message.
 * When you first set up the PS2, after the screen zooms 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.
 * If the aspect ratio is set to 4:3 or 16:9, it is in a letterbox format. Setting it to Full will remove the letterbox.
 * If a Network Adapter is already installed into the PlayStation 2 (SCPH-3000x to SCPH-5000x models only), the screen zooms straight into the blue cloud without any tilting motion.

Technique: CGI running at 60fps.

Audio: A whooshing, breathy synth jingle with bells, followed by a whoosh when the screen zooms into the cloud. If a disc is not inserted inside the PS2 and the logo takes you to the main menu, a breathy, flute-like sound is also heard. When a PlayStation disc, a DVD/CD, or a hard drive is inside the PS2, there is no whoosh when the screen zooms into the cloud.

Audio Trivia: Similarly to the 1st logo, the music is generated from a sequence of different PCM audio files from the BIOS software (with about 17 included), all played in different pitches and playback speeds. The other sounds available are used for the RSoD screen, the PS2 logo, and the menu.

Audio Variants:
 * The length of the music 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 can last anywhere from four to twelve seconds.
 * When the red background appears, there is a more tense synth jingle with a breathy humming sound. The remainder of the logo is silent, save for the sounds of wind blowing and waves flowing.

Availability: It was used for 13 years.
 * 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.

Legacy: This is another nostalgic logo among gamers; however, the “Red Screen of Death” variant can catch many off-guard (thanks to the long silence, the dark background, the music and the clouds).

4th Logo (December 12, 2004-July 27, 2016)


Visuals: On a black background, the white text "Sony Computer Entertainment" fades in, which is 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.

Variant: On development kits running the pre-release 1.00 firmware, known as "Bogus", the text reads "Sony Computer Entertainment Inc." The music consists of a whoosh, and a dreamy synth crescendo.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A soft and short five note synth-chime tune.

Audio Trivia: A high-quality audio-only file of the logo can be heard here.

Availability: This can be seen when you boot up a PSP (not from stand-by mode), but if the theme is changed on a hacked PSP, you might not be able to see it.

5th Logo (November 11, 2006-September 1, 2009)
Visuals: Against a background, there is 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 are the default colors. A and purple background also exists.

Technique: CGI running at 60fps.

Audio: An orchestra of string and woodwind instruments warming up, sounding similar to the orchestra in the THX Cimarron trailer. Like the 1st logo's music, it starts before the background fades in. After the September 1, 2009 update, the music was slightly changed.

Availability: Appears when you turn on any PlayStation 3 that has firmware below 3.00, which might be hard to find on sites like eBay. As of the September 1, 2009 update, the startup has been changed to display the PlayStation Family logo and the new PS3 logo, in place of the SCE logo.

6th Logo (December 17, 2011-)
Visuals: There are the words "Sony Computer Entertainment" against a black background.

Technique: None.

Audio: 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 PS4 for the first time.