PLAYSTATION 3 logo replaced due to 'visibility' issues

The system wasn't the only thing that got smaller when Sony officially unveiled the slimmer PS3. The entire PlayStation branding has been reworked: the system is no longer PLAYSTATION 3 (all caps), it's PlayStation 3. The logo no longer uses the Spider-Man font to spell out the entire system name. Instead, marketing materials now feature three simple characters: "PS3."

Kaz Hirai explained the meaning behind the change to Times Online. The new logo represents a "reset" of sorts. Hirai explains that he wanted it to represent "going back to our roots."

There are practical applications to a revised logo, as well. "When you have PlayStation 3 spelt out, the aspect ratio was such that if you wanted it on a billboard it became tiny. It didn't work in terms of visibility," he admitted. We took a look back to this Call of Duty 4 TV ad to emphasize the difference: the Xbox 360 logo is more than twice as large as the now-outdated PLAYSTATION 3 logo. If you watched this ad on a SDTV, you probably wouldn't even notice the PS3 logo at all! While we're not entirely sure the new logo will have an effect on sales, we (and other games bloggers) are glad to finally give our CAPS LOCK keys a break. Thanks, Sony.

Reader Comments (85)

Pretty pathetic, but expected. It's marketing we're talking about here.

http://www.destructoid.com/gc-09-let-s-get-a-better-eyeful-of-that-new-ps3-logo-144792.phtml

^
Logo

"Go back to roots". I love that sentence. I missed the old Playstation times, and now there back. Thanks again, Sony.

I agree. Remember Vagrant Story?

Love the new logo. The original "PS3" logo just didn't feel right to me. It was so...non-Playstation. That font seemed to only fit with Spiderman.

I think the only problem was that someone forget that you can make fonts larger...shame, I liked the old logo....

Only you'd end up making that logo take a lot more space on the screen horizontally.

Here it is roughly the same size as the Xbox 360 logo/font.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9286/fontz.png

It is as large as both the PS3 and 360 logos combined. So pretty much what Frank said. Yep.

and whats wrong with that? Its VERY obvious..oh well i'm not mad over it...

@Frank

They could have done that, which would have eliminated this silly "Xbox 360" logo.

i kid, i kid.

who were the ad-wizards that came up with that one?!?

Deatheaters.

"The new logo represents a "reset" of sorts. Hirai explains that he wanted it to represent "going back to our roots.""

Yes - Go back to your "Roots" and put back the Ps2 backwards compatibility you took out.

THEN I will consider buying a PS3.

DC Skate

But then you'll bitch about the price =[ and if price is not the issue then get a ps2 or you should of gotten the 60/20 GB like some of us did.

Yeah because there are so many more compelling titles coming out for the PS2 than the PS3, and the PS2 is so expensive!

Oh wait.

No you won't, you'll just find something else to bitch about. BC is a thing of the past and its most likely part of the reason for the slow ramp up of PS3 games on the market.

Will you people ever shut up? 20 and 60's are selling on eBay for under 250 bucks (especially the 20gb's). If you guys really wanted one that badly, you would buy one off eBay. SO don't give me this put back BC crap. You will never own a PS3 and nobody gives a shit.

If I were going to play a PS2 game, I'd either play it on my PS2 with 100% compatibility, or play it on a PS2 emulator at a higher resolution and with configurable controls*

*Note that this requires a PC which will cost about $800-1200 to build as of this posting

I actually like the new font more so than the Spidey font, its just so familiar.

I've been thinking the four-colors contorted PS logo is an artifact of CRT-display age. Sony should ditch it.

It's black and white on the Slim and in advertisements now, usually. It stinks that you can't rotate the logo anymore, though.

Most importantly, why is the image about telling me that I can get Call of Duty 4 on the PSX?

I associate that colored P&S with the original Playstation. I realize it's been on all their consoles to date but is it necessary to have both goddamn logos?

I thought they used that to represent the rest of the PlayStation family (PSP & PS2), though that doesn't seem to be the case here.

It's kind of a classic, like how Nintendo still uses the same logo. I miss the big "N" from the N64 era, though.

that represents the overarching playstation brand not any individual console

I think I saw this new logo in one of latest game trailers I downloaded from the PSN. Looks good. There was also a quick view of the Slim at the end of a video.

good move, PS3

i like they kind of went back with ps3, but i like it spelled out on the game cases. and caps lock is for the weak, i hit the shift key every time i capitalize in formal writing

"reset" means that up until now the PS3 has been a dismal failure.

...but, I'll give credit to Kaz and Sony that at least they had enough nerve to try again. Microsoft, on the other hand, just tacks on a warranty on their system and pretends their problems are solved.

If you define failure by 24 million consoles sold worldwide (and those are real, in-consumers-hands numbers), I'll take a failure like that any day of the week. For a company that got lapped by MS while they polished up their hardware, they are doing great. The Slim is the final salvo in the hardware wars, they will not revise the PS3 further. From here on out it's great exclusives and more goodness on the free PSN.

BTW Fat Princess rocks and the MAG beta is shaping up nicely.

He's not saying it was a failure. He's saying that by Kaz saying the PS3 is getting a reset, the current PS3 was a failure.

Im happy they went to back to PS3

PS1,PS2,PS3,PS4...

Its family. it should stay that way.

That makes sense... but anyone with reasonable marketing knowledge probably would have tried to change that a long time ago i think any color which looks cool would be acceptable because the gamers want some great stuff from for achieving its gamers demand it has to work on its creation rather than its logo because its a secondary factor.......................
http://www.elecrocomputerwarehouse.com

it's kind of interesting how everyone associates mata (the font) with spider-man. it's been around since '95 and for 7 years you could actually use it for anything you wanted, but since 2002 any time it's used everyone's reaction is "oh, the spider-man font"
in the 47 years spider-man has been around in various forms of media this font has been used for only three movie titles and somehow it has become the official spider-man font in the collective consciousness.

The story might be too old for people to see my comment, but if Sony's phasing out the all-caps logo, why does their website not reflect that yet?
http://i32.tinypic.com/fwog8p.jpg

the logo change it nice it stands out more IMO. as for m$ using the music from LBP that is such a punk move real f'ed up. hope it bights them in the ass!

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PLAYSTATION 3 logo replaced due to 'visibility' issues

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