Why Sony Ditched The Spider-Man PS3 Font

By Brian Ashcraft (Edit, to draft, Slurp)

Copy this whole post to another site

Slurp cancel

select site advertising consumerist deadspin defamer fleshbot gay fleshbot gawker gizmodo idolator io9 jalopnik jezebel kotaku lifehacker valleywag artists gawkershop sploid

Since the console launched in 2006 until the official announcement of the new, slimmer machine, the PS3 has been written in the same font used for Sony's Spider-Man 3 movie.

What's more, the official way to type out the name was in ALL CAPS.

The new console iteration ditches both in favor of either the PlayStation 3 or simply the PS3. There's new font, too! When asked by The Times why the font was changed, Sony Computer Entertainment exec Kaz Hirai replied that the company wanted to "set a new direction for the PS3." And what better what to do that than by resetting the logo, Hirai asked.

The new PS3 Slim — which Sony is selling at a loss — also helps Sony transition into a new chapter in the PS3's lifespan.

The logo change, however, was inspired more than merely giving the console a re-start. "On a practical level, when you have PlayStation 3 spelt out, the aspect ratio was such that if you wanted it on a billboard it became tiny," Hirai said. "It didn't work in terms of visibility." Thank tiny text for for killing the Spider-Man font. Thank you, tiny text.

Sony boss reveals plans for PlayStation [Times Online]

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

PLAYSTATION 3 logo replaced due to 'visibility' issues

by Andrew Yoon 

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.

I like the old logos :P

So Sony may be losing money on the Slim but the losses are so little that they make up for it from SW, accessories and whatnot?

They are releasing a new design of the PS3 so they wanted to change everything and make it new as they are reinventing the console.A new design with new logo.If they kep the same old one,people would still associate PS3 as the costly old phat machine.

Anyways,i like the previous Spiderman logo but the new Slim one is even better,it is like the PS2 logo with curves.

"It didn't work in terms of visibility," he admitted.

That makes sense, Sony just wants to make their presence known.

changing the logo is ok but i hate the ending of each ps3 commercial now, i hate that robotic voice that says playstation in the end.

lol, nice.

So not only is it because they're treating this as a second launch/new direction for PS3, but also because of "visibility issues"? Mega lol. I see why they would be concerned about that, though. The old logo was pretty hard to notice at the end of commercials.

@deathgod33: Get used to it. They've been using it since the PS2 era (maybe even PS1? I don't remember that far back.)

Is it cause spiderman 3 sucked ass so bad?....emo peter parker....face palm.

OT: now that i look at it, it was kinda a pain to read the old PS3 logo

Sony changed it because of visabilty? I thought it was because the font was ugly as hell.

I'm glad they decided to change it back the PS2 font. I think it looks much better.