Electronic Arts

Background
Electronic Arts Inc. is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. It was founded by Trip Hawkins in 1982. It is the second-largest gaming company in the Americas and Europe by revenue and market capitalization after Activision Blizzard and ahead of Take-Two Interactive and Ubisoft as of March 2018.

1st Logo (May 20, 1983-1999)
Electronic Arts (1994)Electronic Arts (1992)Electronic Arts (1994)Electronic Arts (1997)Electronic Arts (1993)Electronic Arts (1995)Electronic Arts/High Score Productions (1996)Electronic Arts - Desert Strike - SNES

Nicknames: "The Square/Circle/Triangle Shape Combination", "The EA Square/Circle/Triangle Combo"

Logo: Against a black background, we see a segmented green square flip in, followed by a segmented blue circle and a segmented yellow triangle. At the same time, the words "ELECTRONIC ARTS" are formed below by two sets of lines coming in from the sides of the screen and merging together.

Variants:

On John Madden Football for 3DO, the steel-colored logo is visually in 3D (see 1st picture). On Grand Slam Bridge 2, the logo is red and featureless with golden text. Need for Speed 2 has the logo in turquoise color zooming in with light spots on the floor. For the variant on the PlayStation version of Viewpoint, the background is a space background. Then the 3D circle zooms through as we pan through the space. Then the light rays swipe through the circle to make the lines appear on the circle. Then it zooms out and the 3D Square and the 3D Triangle shapes (with lines intact), appear from left and right respectively forming the logo. Then "ELECTRONIC ARTS" appear in the game's font appears through the burning effect. Then the text dissolves. Then we move through as the 3D Square leaves the screen while the Circle moves onto the Triangle while the text zooms out through the burning effect this time reading "HIGH SCORE ENTERTAINMENT" (see here), appears while the Circle turns and glows yellow. Then the circle explodes as the text dissolves causing a hole in the triangle to appear. Then it slowly turns upside down and turns gray, becoming the Visual Concepts logo while "VISUAL CONCEPTS" (see here), appears through the burning effect forming the logo. Then the text rotates up and dissolves through fire. Then the VC logo zooms out as the games title zooms out turning with the light ray effect, making it's position into the center as the light rays dim out. Then it fades into the opening intro of the game. On Extreme Pinball, the blue logo is shown on top along with the High Score Productions logo (see here), on the bottom. On Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf for the Super NES, the logo in blue zooms out and rests in the middle. It stays there for a moment before fading to black. On Soviet Strike, the logo is purple. On Wing Commander Academy, a animated series based off the Wing Commanderseries by Origin Systems, the logo is on a space background in turquoise and in 3D with the name below in Times New Roman. Above it is "Based on the story and characters created by Chris Roberts for the series of games produced by Origin Systems, Inc. and published by" in very small text.

FX/SFX: The flipping and merging on the standard Genesis variant. The variants have different animation. None for the Wing Commander Academy variant.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the game.

Music/Sounds Variants:

B.O.B, released in 1993 on the Sega Genesis, had a series of ominous futuristic sounds which changed their pitch as the geometric forms flipped in. At the end, a "clunk" noise was heard. As far as we know, the SNES port of the game lacked the sounds.

Availability: Seen on SNES and Sega Genesis/Megadrive games of the era. Also seen on early PlayStation titles released by the company, as well as Saturn, PC and other systems through the era as well, including Soviet Strike, the Japanese version of Lemmings for 3DO, Escape from Monster Manor, John Madden Football for 3DO.

Editor's Note: TBA.

2nd Logo (1994-1995)
Electronic Arts (US Navy Fighters) Logo: We see the segmented shapes from the previous logo, all in blue, float in from the sides of the screen and spin and place together in the middle. The cyan name "ELECTRONIC ARTS" then zooms down with a white outline and places below the shapes. The name then glows in white.

FX/SFX: The shapes floating, the name zooming down and glowing.

Music/Sounds: An ominous synth crescendo that then ends with an orchestral hit.

Music/Sounds Variant: US Navy Fighters used a whoosh at first, ending with a very loud explosion sound.

Availability: Rare. This after all was Electronic Arts' first 3D-animated logo, so it only appears on DOS and 3DO games. Can be seen on Space Hulk (including the PS1/Saturn versions, the only titles on those systems to use this logo), US Navy Fighters, and the Japanese exclusive Perfect World.

Editor's Note: TBA.

3rd Logo (1997-2003)
Electronic Arts (1999)Electronic Arts (2002)

Logo: We see many mixed-up flying letters, which move quickly from us to their usual places, forming "ELECTRONIC ARTS". There's a glow around the words, and the website www.ea.com fades in below.

Variants:

Anno 1503 contains the print version of this logo just zooming in. The same logo appears on Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction. There also exists a variant without the URL; this was seen on Auto Destruct and Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the Xbox. On Sled Storm, the logo is slowed down. On Lego games published by the company, the logo is still, underneath the Lego logo and copyright information is below.

FX/SFX: Flying letters.

Music/Sounds: An explosion-like sound, followed by a male announcer (in an electronic style voice) pronouncing the company's name.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On Need for Speed: High Stakes, WCW Mayhem and WCW Backstage Assault, A different sound is heard and a female announcer replaces the male one. On Future Corp: L.A.P.D., different sounds are hears, with a different Electronic Arts voice heard. On Auto Destruct, the sound is in a lower pitch. ReBoot: Countdown to Chaos and Need for Speed III: Hot Persuit has a descending series of computer blips followed by a synth stab. On Diablo, a distorted computerized synth screech is heard. On Need for Speed: Porche Unleashed, racing car sounds are heard.

Availability: Very Common, seen on almost every Electronic Arts branded title released during this time, like Freedom Force, Sled Storm, Hot Wheels: Turbo Racing, Future Cop: L.A.P.D, Need for Speed titles until Porche Unleashed,WCW Mayhem, WCW Backstage Assault, Beetle Adventure Racing, ReBoot: Countdown to Chaos and Medal of Honor. After the next logo was introduced, this logo (but still) remained on EA-distributed games like Lego games from 2002-2003 and The Simpsons Skateboarding but the animated version made a surprise appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the Xbox.

Editor's Note: TBA.

4th Logo (EA Games 1st Logo) (1999-2002)
EA Games (1998)Electronic Arts (2002)

Logo: We see the current EA logo in dark blue stacked on top of the word GAMES in capital letters, encased in a circle on a white background. The circle rotates for a few seconds before placing itself into place. WWW.EAGAMES.COM fades in below along with the byline reading "EA GAMES is an Electronic Arts brand."

Variants:

On Desert Strike Advance for Game Boy Advance, the circle is absent. On Sid Meier'sSimGolf, the background is cloudy sky. On LoTR: The Two Towers, the golden ring of power appears in a fire and rotates to the logo. There is also a variant with a black background (seen on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone on PSX). On American McGee's Alice, the logo turns into flames.

FX/SFX: The circle rotating.

Music/Sounds: 'Whirling' effects for the rotation and when the circle stops there is a mild ding sound along with a thud sound.

Music/Sounds Variant:

On some games there is an explosion sound in place of the ding. On The Sims, we hear the sound of a crowd cheering which continues into the Maxis logo.

Availability: Very common, it can be found on EA published games from 1999 to 2002 such as Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit II, Cel Damage, 007: The World is Not Enough, 007: Agent Under Fire, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger and on The Sims from the Livin' Large expansion pack to the Unleashed expansion pack. Also appeared on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for GBA.

Editor's Note: TBA.

5th Logo (November 24, 2001)
Electronic Arts (2001)

Logo: The letters "EA" are shown in its corporate font, like in the 4th logo. The color is usually blue. Under the letters we can see "ELECTRONIC ARTS".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Appears on The Simpsons: Road Rage.

Editor's Note: TBA.

6th Logo (EA Games 2nd Logo) (2002-2005)
EA Games (2002)Electronic Arts (2002)Electronic Arts (2003)Electronic Arts (2003)

Logo: We see a zoom out of the late 90s EA Games logo, and it presses itself causing it to flash and "Challenge Everything" appears through the light ray effect below the logo along with the byline, "EA GAMES is an ELECTRONIC ARTS brand" and they stay there for a few seconds. Then the logo goes into a flash and disappears while the bylines fade away.

Variants:

Still version of this logo, used on GBA, had the byline in different font with the blue aura still in place. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for GBA had the logo on a piece of parchment. A still version with a black background and more accurate print was used on NDS even a year later, on GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. The reason is because this game was released for all other platforms in 2004. Another version with white background was used on 007: Nightfire for GBA. On Medal of Honor: European Assault for PS2, the logo starts out normal, but just before we hear "Challenge Everything" the logo fades to sepia tone and the quality deteriorates, much like a 1940s style movie. An early variant of this logo (seen on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for PSX) had the logo moving much slower and choppily, the "Challenge Everything" voice-over is omitted, and the "EA Games" voice-over is not reverberated.

FX/SFX: The zoom out, the voice-over, and the flash.

Music/Sounds: Multiple voices say "EA Games" simultaneously, then a whisper says "Challenge Everything". In the background a synth note plays (complete with a thud) as the logo presses itself, ending in a shut-off sound.

Music/Sounds Variants:

On TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, the music and voice-overs are played at a higher pitch On Def Jam: Fight for NY, D-Mob (a character from the game) says "Challenge Everything" in place of the whisper.

Availability: Seen on games of the era, such as Freedom Fighters, Batman Begins, Catwoman, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, SimCity 4, The Urbz: Sims In The City, most 007 games of the era (like Everything or Nothing) and most Harry Potter games of the era (like Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone (PS2/GCN/XBOX versions), and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). It also appears on The Sims from the Superstar expansion onward (unless you get the Complete Collection, or otherwise the next logo appears) as well as the console versions and The Sims Bustin' Out, and on The Sims 2 from the base game to the University expansion pack.

Editor's Note: TBA.

7th Logo (2005-2006, 2009)
Logo: On a black background, two white lines are seen whooshing in. They later go down and right, forming the EA logo. The logo then makes a sudden boom, and it zooms out. The byline "EA IS AN ELECTRONIC ARTS BRAND" appears under the logo. Electronic Arts (2005)

FX/SFX: The lines whooshing.

Music/Sounds: A synth whoosh, and then some sword drawing sound.

Availability: Seen on games from the era, including Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, Burnout Legends, Black & White 2,and 007: From Russia with Love. It appears on The Sims 2 from the Nightlife expansion pack (even though the last logo appears on the packaging) to the Open for Business expansion pack as well as the console versions and on The Sims Complete Collection. This also appears, surprisingly enough, on the trailer for the 2009 game Need for Speed: Nitro.

Editor's Note: TBA.

8th Logo (2006-2011 (main logo); 2006-present (variants))
Electronic Arts (2006)Electronic Arts - Standard version (2009)

Logo: On a black background, the current EA logo rapidly zooms and sends a red circle around it, then continues to zooms out slowly. Until 2007, the byline "EA IS AN ELECTRONIC ARTS BRAND" appears under the logo.

Variants: Since EA publishes many games, there is an incredibly great amount of variants.

FX/SFX: The zoom out of the EA logo.

Music/Sounds: The same whoosh heard on the last logo.

Availability: The original variant is very rare, and was only used on The Simpsons Game, Def Jam Icon, DarkSpore and Lord of the Rings: Conquest. The still version appears on Need for Speed: Carbon and G.I.Joe for DS. Also seen on some earlier trailers (before the new ones with custom logo appear).

Editor's Note: TBA.