SCI Entertainment Group

Background
SCi Entertainment Group (formerly Sales Curve Interactive) was a British video game developer formed in 1988 in London, England. The company published games under the moniker "Storm" until 1993. In 2005, the company purchased Eidos Interactive, merging their operations in 2006 and becoming the biggest game publisher in the UK in the process. In 2008, the company briefly renamed themselves to Eidos, before being acquired by Square Enix the next year. In May 2022, Embracer Group made a deal with Square Enix to acquire the assets of Square Enix Europe, which includes Eidos-Montréal, Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix Montreal.

1st Logo (1989-1993)


Logo: On a black background, a rectangular border is seen bearing the word "Serif" above and "SALES CURVE" below. Between them, there is a white circle drawn over a box. After a few seconds, sharp black lines are drawn in to create the silhouette of a human face. The line on eye level is either ( or ).

Technique: Very simple animation of drawing lines.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Uncommon, seen on most of their games before 1993.

2nd Logo (1993)


Logo: On a black background, the camera rides across a series of white monoliths, along with a one, as a large / block is seen above it. After riding over the blocks, the camera suddenly turns and rotates out to reveal that the white blocks were actually the 1st logo's profile, although now in white. The camera continues to zoom out to reveal a logo similar to the original one, but without a white circle and the word "Serif", instead having "SALES" above and "CURVE" below.

Technique: The 3D logo turning.

Music/Sounds: A somber piano theme.

Availability: Seen on the DOS release of The Lawnmower Man.

3rd Logo (1994)


Logo: On a black background, a large set of letters zoom out while slowly rotating, covered in a chrome, sky-like texture. These letters read "sci" in a rather abstract font, with the dot of the "i" being oval-shaped. As the logo zooms out into position, the text "Serif" zooms in below in a powder blue color, and the logo stops moving.

Technique: The logo zooming out.

Music/Sounds: A soft MIDI string theme.

Availability: Seen on the Sega CD release of The Lawnmower Man.

4th Logo (1997-September 1, 2000)


Logo: On a black background, the same "sci" letters from before, but with silver borders and a higher-resolution on the chrome texture, fly out one-by-one, their shadows covering each other. The letters then spread out and settle into position.

Variant: A still version with copyright info underneath the logo is seen on Carmageddon 64.

Technique: The letters moving.

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

Availability: Seen on Carmageddon (preserved on the Steam port), Spellcross, and Live Wire.

5th Logo (October 2000)


Logo: On a black background, an outline of the SCI logo, made from a substance, appears and starts to turn into position. After finishing their movement, the letters become a shiny color and the background turns white. The oval also has a large grey blob covering most of it, creating a blue crescent shape.

Technique: The moving letters.

Music/Sounds: Harsh thunder sounds.

Availability: Seen on Mille Miglia for PS1.

6th Logo (September 1, 2000-August 8, 2003)


Logo: On a white background, the iconic "sci" letters zoom out and rotate one-by-one from off-screen. The entire screen is also filled with bright reflections and shadow copies of them as well. As the letters settle into place, a large bar of light slides over them before stopping, and then they start to compress on the Z-axis. Effectively, this turns them into the 2D print logo at the end, and the dot of the "i" becomes a crescent.

Variant: The logo is still on a black background on Conflict: Desert Storm. The ovoid is filled with grey as well.

Technique: The moving letters with their reflections.

Music/Sounds: A hard rock note, followed by a four-section rock note.

Availability: Scarce; found on The Italian Job and Gumball 3000.

7th Logo (August 29, 2003-November 18, 2005)


Logo: We fade into a shot of crystal monoliths rising out of white clouds, and the camera starts to fly through them. The crystals have a blue color to them and glimpses of a ethereal-looking background are seen from the gaps. As the camera makes it out of the labyrinth of columns, it settles for a second before "sci" in a crystal-like material swings in suddenly, along with "G A M E S" below in a spaced-out formation (which were actually the columns in the beginning). The logo starts off dark, but then starts to glow white and brightens up, as well as it compressing like the 6th logo. A "TM" symbol is also seen with them.

Technique: The animation of the letters.

Music/Sounds: An ascending note followed by a bang blast. Chimes are also heard throughout.

Availability: Common; seen on Richard Burns Rally, The Great Escape, and Conflict: Desert Storm II.