Sanrio Computer Entertainment, Inc.

Background: Sanrio Computer Entertainment (SCE, SCEA, SCEE, SCEJ, or SCEI for short, depending on your area) was created in November 16, 1993 as a subsidiary of Sanrio to create the Hello Kitty PlayStation video game console. The Hello Kitty PlayStation was the result of Tokyo TV and Sanrio teaming up to try to create a CD add-on for the Super Hello Kitty Entertainment System (SHKES for short). However, the deal said that Sanrio must license the SHKES-CD games and not Tokyo TV. This betrayed Tokyo TV, and they asked Toei to create the add-on, and the deal was accepted. Once Sanrio heard about Tokyo TV and Toei's collaboration which gave Sanrio "a taste of their own medicine" and went on to independently make a CD-based game console, the Hello Kitty PlayStation. It was a success, leaving Sanrio to make more Hello Kitty PlayStation consoles [including the Hello Kitty 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 Hello Kitty PSP. Toei went on to create 4 video games for their CD-i, since they still had some of the licenses from Tokyo TV's characters.

1st Logo

(December 3, 1994- )

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

Sanrio Computer Entertainment Inc.

Presents

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

Variant: Like the first Hello Kitty Playstation 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 Sanrio Computer Entertainment for the Hello Kitty PlayStation consoles.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo

(December 3, 1994-March 23, 2006)

Logo: We fade into a white background, then the face of Hello Kitty appears, and after that, it turns anti-clockwise to its normal position and zooms out. After it's completed:

Sanrio

COMPUTER

ENTERTAINMENT

appears in a dark blue color, with "Sanrio" in its corporate script font.

Variant: On earlier generation Hello KittyPlayStation consoles (SCPH-100x series to SCPH-555x series), the Sanrio Computer Entertainment text is larger. And the trademark symbol is on the right of Hello Kitty's face 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 Hello Kitty PlayStation consoles, when the above logo appears, a TM sign appears next to the logo. On the Hello Kitty PS One, a registered trademark sign appears next to the logo.

FX/SFX: The face of Hello Kitty 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 Sanrio Hello Kitty PlayStation or its compact re-design, the Hello Kitty PSOne.

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 pink clouds, giant Hello Kitty faces and metal monoliths (and white, bright Hello Kitty faces if a memory card is inserted), we see "Sanrio Computer Entertainment" (in white) fade in and fade out in the span of a few seconds. We also see four flying Hello Kitties, 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 Hello Kitty PlayStation controller). Then, all of a sudden, we zoom into the pink cloud, tilting as we do so.

Variants:


 * When an unreadable disc (or a disc that is not a Hello Kitty PS1 or Hello Kitty PS2 disc) is inserted, the screen is ugly green instead of pink, the music is much more tense than on the start-up, and a message says "Please insert a Hello Kitty PlayStation or Hello Kitty 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 Hola Gatito PlayStation o Hola Gatito PlayStation 2." in Spanish).
 * When you first set up the Hello Kitty PS2, after we zoom into the pink cloud, the Hello Kitty symbol fades in, then fades out, with the "HK PS2" 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 Hello Kitty PlayStation 1 disc is inside the Hello Kitty PS2, there is no whoosh when we zoom into the cloud.

Availability: Appears when you turn on a Hello Kitty PlayStation 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 faces, especially if you're used to the regular opening. But if you've always had a memory card in your Hello Kitty PS2, 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 green 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 "Sanrio 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 Sanrio Hello Kitty PSP (not from stand-by mode), but if the theme is changed on a hacked Hello Kitty PSP, you might not be able to see it.

Scare Factor: None.

5th Logo

(November 11, 2006-September 1, 2009)

Logo: Against a pink BG, we see a series of silvery lines waving up and down. The words "Sanrio 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). Pink or Black is the default color (I know there's green BGs as well. Not sure about other colors, though).

FX/SFX: The lines wavering.

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

Availability: Appears when you turn on a Hello Kitty PlayStation 3. As of the September 1, 2009 update, however, the start up has been changed to display the Hello Kitty PlayStation Family logo and the new Hello Kitty PS3 logo in place of the Sanrio Computer Entertainment logo.

Scare Factor: None.