Many gamers will cherish that Holiday morn when they opened their presents and discovered the hot new console underneath all that wrapping paper. Of course, the first instinct was to then hook the thing up, press the power button and watch as the console booted up with a start-up animation. In modern times, however, consoles load much faster, making these elaborate sequences largely a thing of the past.
It’s a shame because these visual splendors deliver the first impression of a machine consumers paid good money for. Additionally, if the console’s old, they serve as a nostalgic window into a time in gaming history that’s long past.
10/10 Xbox 360 Heralded HD Gaming For Many Consumers
The Xbox 360 beat the PlayStation 3 in the race to the 2005 holiday season, serving as the herald of the HD generation to many consumers. The tagline for the console was “jump in,” and that’s exactly what the opening sequence invites players to do. The camera zooms out and exposes a large sphere coming out of the darkness.
The sphere is then given an X-shaped hole before a green ring reveals the Xbox 360 logo. When the console interface was updated a few years later, the logo was changed to incorporate a bunch of green swirls enveloping the sphere.
9/10 Gameboy Advance Showcased A Huge Leap Over Its Predecessor
Before mobile gaming changed everything, Nintendo had a bit of a stranglehold on the handheld market for years. While the Sega Game Gear boasted color, it just didn’t have the software to back it up. However, the Gameboy’s technical limitations were showing in the years that it was on the market.
The flashy sequence of the GameBoy Advance logo showcases how much of a leap forward it was in the visual and sound department over its predecessor, the Gameboy Color. Several letters sway on the screen to make up the Game Boy logo, accompanied by some nifty sound effects.
8/10 The Sega Saturn Provided A Nice Welcome To 32-Bit Gaming
Often regarded as the console that would eventually doom Sega in the hardware business, the Saturn at least boasted a snazzy start-up sequence. A bunch of small gray polygons come out of the blackness like a swarm of insects to join together before a flashing ray of light reveals the Sega Saturn logo. Simple but effective. It’s as if the console is saying, “Welcome, gamers, to the 32-bit generation.”
While the Japanese boot-up music went for a loud and triumphant track, the American and European music was considerably calmer and more ambient.
7/10 PlayStation 3 Gets Players Ready For A Gaming Symphony
The PlayStation 3 had a very rough start at the beginning of the sixth generation of consoles, with its overpriced tag and underwhelming launch titles turning away consumers. A shame because the console actually delivers a great first impression. Players who turn the console on are greeted with the sound of an orchestra tuning as if preparing for a triumphant symphony of quality titles.
At the climax, the PlayStation 3 logo pops up, and players are tasked with creating or selecting a profile. It prepares players more for cinematic titles such as Uncharted and God of War 3.
While the American Nintendo Entertainment System utilized cartridges, the original Japanese Famicom was a disc-based system that accepted cards. Once players turned the system on, they’d be prompted with a descending sign to insert the disc card into the system. The screen accompanying this request is a shot of outer space while Mario and Luigi run across the area.
Bolstering this sequence is a majestic musical track that puts players in the mood for fun and adventure. This track even made a cameo with a slowed version being played on the browser menu of the Nintendo Gamecube.
5/10 The Sega Dreamcast Swirl Was Downright Ethereal
While it served as Sega’s final foray into the hardware business, fans could at least say that the brand went out swinging. As the console starts up, players are greeted with a small dot bouncing on the screen with ethereal raindrop-like sounds, revealing the letters that make up the Dreamcast logo and forming a swirl.
The color was different depending on the region: orange in Japan, red in America, and blue in Europe. It’s said that the reason for Europe’s change was because the orange swirl looked too similar to the logo for a German company called Tivola.
4/10 Gamecube’s Benign Logo Had Many Secrets
A small cube drops on the screen to form a giant G representing the Gamecube logo to a suitably whimsical track. It’s effective on its own, but the best aspects of this start-up sequence are the secret tracks players can unlock by holding certain buttons on the controllers.
By holding Z on one controller, players are greeted with a squeaky version of the start-up tune that’s finished with the sound of a child laughing. If the button is held on four controllers, the version is done with tycho drums that climax with a kabuki shout.
3/10 Sega/Mega CD Was Paid Homage In A Later Collection
The boot screen for the Sega CD add-on varied from region to region, with the Japanese and European versions retaining the same music track, while NTSC versions went for a completely different approach. The Japanese version shows a bright blue sky as the logo moves around in an elaborate fashion accompanied by upbeat music.
Conversely, the American boot-up showcases the Sega CD logo looming over the Earth with a strangely sinister track. Fun fact: the track that played during the Japanese and PAL start-up sequences was remixed in M2’s Sega Ages Collection for the Nintendo Switch.
2/10 PlayStation 2’s Towers Aren’t Just For Decoration
Sony’s second foray into the console market showcased a bunch of rising towers coming out of the darkness before flashing the PlayStation 2 logo. Players can recall putting in their game and waiting with bated breath to see if the console would read the disc or if they’d be sent to the browser menu.
One neat little touch is that the rising towers actually aren’t just decoration. The console reads players’ memory cards to keep track of how many games they play and how long they play them. Basically, more games mean more towers, and longer sessions mean longer towers.
1/10 The Original PlayStation’s Start-up Is The Most Iconic
Arguably the most iconic console start-up of all time, the original PlayStation’s introduction left its mark in gaming history. Gamers are met with an ambient music track as the black screen illuminates, and the Sony Computer Entertainment logo greets them. If the disc is read successfully, they’re immediately shown the PlayStation logo against a black background.
So quintessential is this boot-up screen that it’s made cameos in other mediums, such as a sly little Easter egg in the Ratchet & Clank film. It even popped up in a short little sequence in Uncharted 4.