The PlayStation 2 was released by Sony in 2000 and quickly became one of the best-selling consoles ever, with its distinctive startup sequence greeting players every time the system powered on. As millions of households kept the console for years, that brief boot sound became inseparable from memories of early 2000s gaming. It later spread through YouTube retrospectives, TikTok edits and meme videos, where creators use it as instant shorthand for nostalgia, a retro gaming era or the start of a play session.