Misi Computer Entertainment

Background: Misi Computer Entertainment (MCE, MCEA, MCEE, MCEJ, or MCEI for short, depending on your area) was created in November 16, 1993 as a subsidiary of Misi to create the PlayZone video game console. The PlayZone was the result of Argosy Games (which was renamed to Blake Games in 2008, then KBCharge Games in 2010, then Final+Fronteir Games in 2011) and Misi teaming up to try to create a CD add-on for the Super Argosy Entertainment System (SAES for short). However, the deal said that Misi must license the SAES-CD games and not Argosy Games. This betrayed Argosy Games, and they asked Breil to create the add-on, and the deal was accepted. Once Misi heard about Argosy Games and Breil's collaboration which gave Misi "a taste of their own medicine" and went on to independently make a CD-based game console, the PlayZone. It was a success, leaving Misi to make more PlayZone consoles (including the PlayZone 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 PlayZone Portable. Breil went on to create 4 video games for their iCD, since they still had some of the licenses from Argosy Games' characters.

1st Logo

(December 3, 1994- )

Logo: On a plain black background, we see text saying:

Misi Computer Entertainment Inc.

Presents

in a Helvetica-like font. It usually appears after the PlayZone logo on Japanese/NTSC-J and North American/NTSC-U/C PlayZone games, but on European/PAL games, it usually appears after the piracy warning (which is common on PAL PlayZone games from 1995 to 1999).

Variant: Like the first PlayZone logo, there are regional variants. The version mentioned above is 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.

FX/SFX: None, or the fading in/fading out.

Music/Sounds: None, or some music from the game.

Availability: Current; appears on many games developed or published by Misi Computer Entertainment for the PlayZone consoles.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo

(December 3, 1994-March 23, 2006)

Logo: We fade into a white background, then an red/green diamond appears, and after that, 2 triangles appear on the diamond in an "M" shape. After it's completed:

MISI

COMPUTER

ENTERTAINMENT

appears in a dark blue color, with "MISI" in its corporate font (actually a variation of the Clarendon typeface font).

Variant: On earlier generation PlayZone consoles (SCPH-100x series to SCPH-555x series), the Misi Computer Entertainment text is larger. And the trademark symbol is on the right of the diamond instead of the "COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT" text. But from the SCPH-700x onwards, it is what the picture on the right shows. Also on pretty much all the original PlayZone consoles, when the above logo appears, a TM sign appears next to the logo. On the PZ One, a registered trademark sign appears next to the logo.

FX/SFX: The diamond and 2 triangles appearing.

Music/Sounds: A synth bass sound with chimes ringing. Note that the music starts before we even fade into the white background.

Availability: Appears when you turn on a Misi PlayZone or its compact re-design, the PZOne.

Scare Factor: Low to medium, due to the heavy synth sound, but it's a favorite of many.

3rd Logo

(March 4, 2000- )

Logo: On a black background with blue clouds, giant glass cubes and metal monoliths, we see "Misi 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 letters [ A, B, Y, and X, respectively] you find on the round buttons on a PlayZone controller). Then, all of a sudden, we zoom into the blue clouds, tilting as we do so.

Variants:

When an unreadable disc (or a disc that is not a PZ1 or PZ2 disc) is inserted, the screen is red instead of blue, the music is much more tense than on the start-up, and a message says "Please insert a PlayZone or PlayZone 2 format disc." (this appears in a different language depending on what language your PlayZone 2 is set on, e.g. "Por favor, inserte un disco de formato PlayZone o PlayZone 2." in Spanish).

When you first set up the PZ2, after we zoom into the blue cloud, the "PZ" symbol fades in, then fades out, with the "PZ2" 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 PlayZone 1 disc is inside the PZ2, there is no whoosh when we zoom into the cloud.

Availability: Appears when you turn on a PlayZone 2.

Scare Factor: Depends on the variant.

Low to medium; the dark environment combined with the music may unnerve a daydreaming viewer unfamiliar with the opening. Same goes with the Memory Card variant. You may get surprised to see the blocks, especially if you're used to the regular opening. But if you've always had a memory card in your PZ2, you should be perfectly fine with this one. But compared to the unreadable disc variant, this and the regular variant are NOTHING.

Medium to nightmare for the unreadable disc variant. 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. The scare factor is lower for those who are used to it.

4th Logo

(December 12, 2004- )

Logo: On a black BG, text reading "Misi 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 BG moving.

Music/Sounds: A soft and short 5-note synth-chime tune.

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

Scare Factor: None.

5th Logo

(November 11, 2006-September 1, 2009)

Logo: Against a blue BG, we see a series of silvery lines waving up and down. The words "Misi Computer Entertainment" (in white) fade in on the right.

Variant: The color of the BG varies depending on the month it is set to (the colors can be set manually, however). Blue or Black is the default color (I know there's gold, green, red, purple, orange, yellow, aqua, forest green, and indigo. Not sure of any more colors).

FX/SFX: The lines wavering.

Music/Sounds: An orchestra of string and woodwind instruments warming up.

Availability: Appears when you turn on a PlayZone 3. As of the September 1, 2009 update, however, the start up has been changed to display the PlayZone Family logo and the new PZ3 logo in place of the Misi Computer Entertainment logo.

Scare Factor: None.