Random: Turns Out the PS1’s Boot Up Logo Is a 3D Model

If you’re visiting Push Square, you’re no doubt familiar with the original PlayStation’s memorable boot up sequence. Imposing music plays as the old Sony Computer Entertainment logo comes into being, followed by the appearance of the iconic PS emblem, accompanied by some mysterious, magical, twinkly sounds. Watching it again today, it’s still a powerful thing. But did you know that the PS logo that pops up is actually a 3D model, not a flat image?

To be honest, it’s not something we’ve ever put any thought into. You start up the PlayStation and play Croc: Legend of the Gobbos like anyone else, right? We suppose the general assumption is that it’s simply a pre-rendered 2D image, but it turns out the logo is rendered in 3D every time you start a game up.

On this interesting wiki page, it talks about a glitch that occurs when you try to play a non-PlayStation disc in your PS1. The SCE logo will appear as usual, but then the PS icon won’t show up, and you’ll see some strange lines and shapes instead. The reason the PS logo is missing is that it only appears if the disc passes an authentication test to check that it’s a PlayStation game disc. If the disc is recognised, the 3D PS logo is loaded onscreen from the disc itself.

Here are a couple of people using Unreal Engine to recreate the logo and mess about with it. There’s something very odd about seeing the PS symbol from behind:

So, there you go. When you start up your PS1, that colourful logo we all know and love is a real-time 3D model, not a flat graphic. Cool!