EA Black Box

Background
Black Box Games was a studio founded in Vancouver, Canada, in 1998 by former employees of Radical Entertainment. In June 2002, it was purchased by Electronic Arts and became their wholly-owned subsidiary known as "EA Black Box". The studio was primarily known for the Need of Speed and Skate game series. In July 2012, it was renamed to "Quicklime Games" during the development of Need for Speed World, and shortly thereafter closed for good in April 2013.

(February 9, 2000-November 8, 2002)


Logo: We zoom through giant 0's and 1's (like binary code) to the words "BLACK B X GaMeS" on the screen, with the B's lower end extending to the right. A yellow box comes and takes its place as the letter "O". There are rays beaming from the box, and many dots and the background flicker.

Variant: There is a still variant where the rays are instead of. Plus, the text is black and "GAMES" is smaller.

Technique: The flipping and merging on the standard version. The variants have different animation.

Music/Sounds: Several adverse grinding sounds.

Availability: Seen on NHL Hitz 2002 and 2003, as well as on Sega Soccer Slam. The still variant can be seen on NHL 2K for Sega Dreamcast, although the animated variant appears after the game's intro on said game with the cheat codes having been entered when starting the game.

1st Logo (September 2008-January 2009)


Logo: We see a grainy background with a reflection of some room. There is a crumpled box with "BLACK BOX" written below. The sides of the box randomly rotate.

Technique: The screen trembling and the box's sides rotating.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Skate 2 and its trailers.

2nd Logo (November 18, 2008)


Logo: The EA logo appears first and the Black Box logo after. The "O" letter is replaced with an box. When shown, the logo transitions into a speedometer with the box converting into its arrow, and further into the intro.

Technique: Background lightning and shining effects.

Music/Sounds: Various noises and screeches.

Availability: Seen on Need for Speed: Undercover.

3rd Logo (November 2009-May 2010)


Logo: There are the chipped white words "BLACK BOX", where "BOX" is below and the "O" is replaced with a box.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Skate 3 and its trailers.

4th Logo (November 15, 2011)


Logo: The name appears in, with the last "X" overlapped by a 3D rhombus box, inside.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Need for Speed: The Run.