Sony Computer Entertainment/PlayStation

Logos[]

1st 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).Then, n a black background, we fade into the PlayStation logo, consisting of a giant red "P" turned clockwise over a teal-blue-yellow striped "S" which is striped horizontally. The "S"is shown lying down over the word "PlayStation" in a computerized futuristic font in white. Below that, we see "Licensed by" in white over "Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.", which is over "SCEI", both in white.

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.
As you'd probably guess, the copyright changes depending on the region the game was released in. For example, the byline mentioned is for use on NTSC-J PlayStation games, but PAL (European) games have "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe" and "SCEE", while NTSC-U/C (North American) games use "Sony Computer Entertainment America" and "SCEA". Multi-regional consoles (such as developer units) have no "SCEI/SCEA/SCEE" identifier.
There are earlier variants of the PAL and NTSC-U/C variants respectively. The variation is in the byline; on PAL games from 1995 to early 1996, the "Europe" is in brackets/parentheses, while on NTSC-U/C games from 1995 to 1996, the byline says "Sony Computer Entertainment of America". Starting in 1996, the "of" is removed.
On pretty much all the original PlayStation consoles released outside of Japan, when the above logo appears, a TM sign appears next to "PlayStation". On the Japanese consoles, the PSone, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, a registered trademark sign appears next to the "PlayStation" logo.
On some games, the logo cuts off while the PlayStation sound can still be heard fading out.
Some games have the logo actually fading out rather than cutting to black.
Some games have the logo cutting straight to the first visual of the game, with no blank screen in between. This happens on the PAL version of TOCA Touring Car Championship (where it cuts straight to the piracy warning) and KKND: Krossfire (where it cuts straight to the copyright screen), among others.
When the Fearful Harmony plays (only on Playstation consoles with added modchips), the SCEI logo plays as usual, but a deformed version of said logo combined with an even more deformed version of the Playstation logo appear on a black background, along with a jumble of letters.

2nd logo: On a black background with blue clouds and 5 dark,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.

3rd logo: It's just "PSX" in a futuristic font (same one used in the PS2 logo) fading in on an abstract blue background.

4th logo: The lava lamp background from the third Sony Computer Entertainment logo wipes away, with the PSP logo, consisting of the letters "PSP" in a futuristic font, the same one used in the PS2 logo, with "PlayStation Portable", in the "PlayStation" font, under the letters against a white background, appears via a rainbow light shine effect.

5th 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.

6th 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. We then cut to a black background and see the letters "PLAYSTATION 3" in the same font used in the Spider-Man films, appear in then disappear quickly.

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.
Sometimes, "Sony Computer Entertainment" would be replaced by the PlayStation Family logo, "PS3," and the text "PlayStation 3" below it. It's followed with a health warning.

7th logo: We either see the words "Sony Computer Entertainment" against a black background or just see the white PlayStation logo, also on a black background.

8th logo: We start with the logo above then we see a health warning (reading "See important health and safety warnings in the Settings menu"), and finally, on a light-blue wave background similar to the PS3, the PS4 logo in the upper left corner. In the middle is text telling you to press the PS Button (reading "Welcome Back to PlayStation®" and "Press the PS button to use the controller.").

Variant[]

When logging out of your user, it skips the health warning and goes directly to this screen, but without the text "Welcome Back to PlayStation®".

Music/Sounds[]

1st logo: A synthesized whoosh, followed by a real fast chime arpeggio, then five synth-flute notes (which is actually one single chime slowed down). When played on a PlayStation/PSone with a disc inserted when the power has been turned on, the audio from the first Sony Computer Entertainment logo can be heard fading out over this logo; this doesn't happen when a disc is booted up from the menu or on a PlayStation 2 or 3.

Music/Sounds Variants[]

On some games, the sound cuts off abruptly at the last note, with either the logo doing so at the same time, shortly after the sound has cut off, or shortly before the sound cuts off.
Sometimes, the sound will enter a glitched loop, usually on the last note of the PlayStation sound. A few examples of this happening are Wipeout, Wipeout 2097' ('Wipeout'XL' in North America), Gran Turismo, Formula 1, Formula 1 '97' (and the latter game's Championship Edition), Medal of Honor (1999), Medal of Honor: Underground,Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto 2' (worded as "GTA2"), Destruction Derby RAW, some (if not all 5) of the Namco Museum volumes (Volume 2 is one of them that has this strange glitch), Ridge Racer (the 1994 arcade game, released for the PlayStation in Japan and North America on the same dates the said console launched in the said countries but the console came out on different dates in the countries; see below) and countless other titles, PAL region demo discs from before late 1997/early 1998 and a few NTSC-U/C demo discs, with its audibility depending on how quickly the game loads.
On rare occasions, if you put in a damaged or dirty disc, sometimes you will get a blank screen along with a much more jarring version of the PlayStation sound (nicknamed "Personified Fear"). The synthesized whoosh comes in looped (causing the whoosh to sound more heavy) and the chime sound and the five synth-flute notes are replaced with a slightly different synth-flute note sequence that is higher-pitched (this is actually the same chime sound as normal except sped up slightly). Only reported to happen on the PlayStation and PSone (if this was done on the PlayStation 2, you will get the screen saying "Please insert a PlayStation or PlayStation 2 format disc" instead). This can also happen when you insert a pirated CD-format PlayStation 2 game into the PlayStation or PSone.
There are also two other error sounds: one of them is the normal sound but without the chimes and the other is the chimes playing slowly. These variants are nicknamed "Callous Venture" and "Fearful Harmony", respectively. This happens when you install a certain mod-chip into the console. The sound "Callous Venture" is mostly described as "loud and startling sound".

2nd logo: 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.

3rd logo: Dreamy synthesized music.

4th logo: A soft and short five note synth-chime tune.

5th logo: A synth guitar note accompanied with a synth whistle, which sounds sort of muffled.

6th logo: An orchestra of string and woodwind instruments warming up, Sounding like the orchestra in the THX Cimarron trailer, ening in chimes. After the September 1, 2009 update, the sound was changed slightly.

7th logo: None.

8th logo: A new-age synth choir that continues to play until you load up an application or a disc. The logout variant has just the PS menu music.

Scare Factor[]

1st logo: Depending on the variant:

Original Version: Low to medium, due to the music. However, this is a favorite of many, especially those who grew up with the logo playing PS games in the '90s and 2000s. However The logo being a 3D model and the drowning sound of the music may put some on edge
"Callous Venture"/"Forbidden Image": Medium to high, due to the deformed PlayStation/SCEI logo, though the chime-less PlayStation sound isn't that bad (if not a bit strange). The same can't be said for the next variant...
"Fearful Harmony": High to nightmare. The chimes playing slowly one-by-one after one minute can be quite chilling and unnerving. The deformed PlayStation/SCEI logo while this is happening can add to the scare factor.
"Personified Fear": High to nightmare. The blank screen along with a tense version of the PlayStation sound can scare many people when they're not expecting it.

2nd logo: Depends.

Minimal to low for the normal variant, as the music might get to some.
None for the PSBBN variant.

3rd logo: Depends on the variant.

Original Version: Medium. The ominous, dark environment combined with the music may unnerve a daydreaming viewer unfamiliar with the opening. However, this is a favorite of many. 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. But this is NOTHING compared to the next variant…
The "Red Screen of Death": Nightmare. The sudden appearance, redness, tense music and the feeling the screen gives of eternal falling alongside the semi-menacing text and use of the actual PS1 and PS2 logos in the zrnic font would probably scare 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: Minimal, due to the music. However, this is a great logo.

5th logo: None.

6th logo: None. It’s very peaceful and soothing.

7th logo: None, it's just boring.

8th logo: Low to medium, due to the dark environment and music. But this is a relaxing logo.