Your most favorite console startup screens of all time?

Dear gamers in Giant Bomb forums

My two personal favorite console startup screens of all time are:

Because these two makes me feel relaxed and motivated before I can start playing games or media and I personally think it's a draw.

To me, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are the most nostalgic consoles as they have the housing design, menu UI and line-up of driving games that I like the most (But not all of them though).

And probably the GameCube as a close second, edging out PS2 which i also like purely for nostalgia.

@lego_my_eggo: Great choices!

Nothing has nor ever will surpass the PS1 startup sound in my book. The combination of spacey sounds with my age at the time created a mystical magical tingle that I still get whenever I hear it. It’s definitely tinged with nostalgia, but I honestly think it also stands up objectively as a great startup, high up on just about anyones list.

And while they aren’t console, the next 99 spaces on a top 100 list would be for cracktros and scene installers from my unrepentant pirate days. Not exactly startups but damned enjoyable nonetheless.

It's definitely a close race between GameCube and PS1 for me.

It's not exactly the same thing, but I also think the Sega CD deserves a shout for its wild demo scene boot screen.

As a devoted Nintendo fan at the time, I'll never forget the day my cousin rented a PS1 and Triple Play '97. I just had a good laugh looking up footage of that game because in no way does it actually look better than Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run, but something about the actual player names and that PS1 boot sound has stuck with me for decades.

for me its a tossup between gamecube and xbox they were both great. that said i think i have to give it to xbox , there were plenty of times i wanted to skip it on the gamecube and when i chipped my xbox and had a chance to get rid of or tweak it for xbox i left it the same.

@nodima: It's funny that you say that the boot sound stuck in your head and Triple Play '97 somehow stuck with you despite it not looking better than the prior generation's game. The answer is right in front of your ears.

The 5th gen consoles didn't always look better than the 4th gen consoles but they almost always sounded better (with the exception of musical composition, which of course could be amazing in 4th gen and crappy in 5th gen depending who was doing it.) For something like baseball where the music isn't key but announcer voices and the crisp sounds of the crack of the bat and the stadium noises bring authenticity to the presentation, that matters a lot. What probably stuck with you was the immersion that the far superior sound brought.

As for OP's question...a lot of people are picking consoles with some pretty long boot sequences. The best will always be the one that was cute, quick, and perfectly set the tone for the console's software library.

PS1 & PS2 were it for me, never got tired of those sound effects

@lego_my_eggo: It would have to be the ps1 (close second the original xbox commercial pimple pop sound.. the actual system start up was lame). The Ps1 has gotten the most screentime with me and has been played across all the generations since it came out. It's been played through head phones on tihe playstation portable (the white psp with the flip screen) up through to the ps4 with psnow (not sure if those get boot up sounds). It got me in trouble when i thought the tv was turned down low. In my burned disc days it was the glorious sound of a successful burned game. Crushed ps5 isnt out the box disc-based backwards compatible. I might have divorced myself completely. The opposite is now true.

@bigsocrates: I still love GameCube's startup screen and this also makes me miss the F-Zero series so much!

F-Zero GX is my personal favorite Nintendo's 1st party title of all time!

That bootup screen is so interesting!

PS1 has to take it with it's big, space-ship blasting synths blasted to the face telling you that it's not here to fuck around.

BUT, PS2 is almost a tie by going the opposite direction making a soft, dreamy vaporwavish sound, with little flutters and whooshes here and there. Really good and creative stuff.

I actually really like the current Xbox Series startup, although I rarely see it as my TV can't turn on quick enough to catch it. Loving the current Gen speed.

Although OG PS1 is the king for me.

To me, that one is the GOAT.

The "SEGA!" one for the Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic games is the second best

PS2 for me. Those swirling orbs coming out of the mist, and dreamy, ambient noises were like primordial building blocks, waiting to turn into fantastical worlds, and astonishing adventures. And a then state-of-the-art rendering of a Nissan Skyline or whatever, I guess, since I played a lot of Gran Turismo 3 back then.

I like the way how you described the PS2's boot up.

Personally, I only have an attachment to PS1 because that was the system I had in that era, and while I think the Dreamcast and GameCube ones are amazing in retrospect, nothing is ever going to fill my teen mind with like "Oh shit this is going to be awesome" vibes.

I have some nastagas for most of them, but I do like the PS3 startup....it is very symphonic.