Neversoft Entertainment

Background
Neversoft Entertainment was an American video game developer founded in July 1994 by Joel Jewett, Mick West and Chris Ward. Its first game was Skeleton Warriors for PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Neversoft was well-known for their line of skateboarding games, mainly the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series; Tony Hawk's Proving Ground was the last installment developed by Neversoft, as the development of the series moved to Robomodo, starting with Tony Hawk: Ride. In October 1999, it was acquired by Activision. In 2007, Neversoft became the developer of the Guitar Hero series after Harmonix Music Systems was acquired by MTV. In 2010, after the release of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Neversoft attempted to hand the Guitar Hero series to Vicarious Visions; however, Activision decided to disband the series in February 2011. The studio was fully absorbed into Infinity Ward on July 11, 2014. Its last project was the Extinction mode for Call of Duty: Ghosts, released in November 2013.

1st Logo (April 16, 1996-November 17, 1998)
Logo: On a black background, we see a / gradient bricked triangle with a stylized symbol that resembles a hawk. The words "NEVERSOFT ENTERTAINMENT" are above and below the symbol respectively in a curve effect.

Variants:
 * On Skeleton Warriors, the logo is shown on the top left corner along with the Playmates Interactive Entertainment logo on the top right, the Landmark Entertainment Group logo on the bottom left, and the Tommy Tallarico Studios logo on the bottom right and the game's title logo in the middle. The logos are stretched horizontally.
 * On the PlayStation port of MDK, the Shiny Entertainment logo replaces the Landmark Entertainment Group logo from the above variant.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Skeleton Warriors for PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Also appears on Apocalypse and the PlayStation port of MDK.

2nd Logo (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater variant) (August 26, 1999-June 29, 2000)
Logo: On a black background, we see an eyeball posed as an "O" with a spear sticking across it and its optic nerve twined around it, fading in. Then the "Times New Roman" text (in a grunge Times New Roman font jumbled up and colored orange, yellow-orange, and red with lines above and below it respectively) appears a few seconds later while the eyeball looks around. The website URL "www.neversoft.com" appears below. The eyeball resumes to its normal position, as the text along with the website URL slowly fade away. Then the eyeball fades out.

Trivia: This is the first appearance of the definitive Neversoft logo.

Variants:
 * On the PlayStation version of the game, a gum-like stuff is under the eyeball. Plus, the logo is centered.
 * On the Pizza Hut demo version, the website URL appears at the same time as the "Times New Roman" text.
 * On the Dreamcast demo version (which is found on the July/August 2000 issue of Official Dreamcast Demo Disc), the logo is still with the URL intact.
 * A still artwork version of the logo without the website URL can be seen on the N64 version of the game.
 * On the final demo version, the logo is glowing as usual. Plus, the logo is sped-up a bit.

Technique: The text appearing, the eyeball looking around.

Music/Sounds: A short punk rock tune. On the N64 version, it's the opening theme of the game.

Music/Sounds Variant: On the final demo version of the game (dated to July 10, 1999), a circus-like theme plays (which sounds like the Inflated-head stage from Earthworm Jim 2).

Availability: Seen on the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for PlayStation. Also appears on the Dreamcast and N64 versions of the game. It also appears on the demo of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (found on the Jampack Summer 2K demo disc for PlayStation, although the full game has the next logo).

Legacy: The design of the logo can scare some.

3rd Logo (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2/Spider-Man variant) (September 1, 2000-November 15, 2001)
Logo: We see the eyeball moving like a worm on the bottom line. A "Times New Roman" comes crashing into the line and the eyeball notices it. Then an "Times New Roman" comes crashing in as well, shocking the eyeball. It runs to the left, but an "Times New Roman" comes crashing in, blocking the eyeball's way again. The eyeball runs to the right as the rest of the letters, from "Times New Roman" to "Times New Roman" come crashing down forming "Times New Roman" and the eyeball goes where the "Times New Roman" should be. The top line falls on top of the text and the eyeball. The camera zooms out to reveal the whole logo with the website URL in the same font from the previous logo, but a bit bigger this time. The eyeball looks around and does a "phew" gesture, only for the spear to shoot down into it, causing its optic nerve to twine around it and the text to jumble up to form its normal position, with the URL shaking at the same time. At the end, one of two actions (see below) will happen depending on the game.

Variants:
 * Spider-Man: A cut-out of Spider-Man's symbol zooms onto the eyeball with a dark red background. Then everything inside turns -tinted and fades out. The logo is also a bit darker.
 * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2: A skateboard crashes through the logo, breaking it and knocking the eyeball to the left, leaving only the website URL. On the PlayStation version, the website URL fades out a few seconds later.

Technique: The eyeball running, the letters falling and the spear shooting into the eyeball.

Music/Sounds: The sounds of the eyeball slithering, then several loud electric guitar notes as the letters fall, ending in a short hardcore punk tune. Then two last notes and a splat sound play shortly after the spear hits the eyeball.

Music/Sounds Variant:
 * On Spider-Man, a synth charging-up sound is heard as the Spider-Man logo zooms out.
 * On Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, several cracking and splattering sounds can be heard as the skateboard breaks the logo.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Spider-Man (the 2000 game) for PlayStation, Dreamcast and PC. The THPS2 variant also appears on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x for Xbox.

4th Logo (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 variant) (October 30, 2001-August 20, 2002)
Logo: We see the Neversoft logo and the body of a headless skateboarder with various stitches on a dark ground with the skateboard. The eyeball looks down, then jumps into the skateboarder's body, acting as its head. The skateboarder stands up and flips the skateboard with its feet for a couple of seconds, then it tries to skate but falls down, causing the eyeball to get off it, after which it runs to the right and jumps back onto the logo. The spear shoots down into the eyeball and its optic nerve twines around it.

Trivia: You can actually play as the Neversoft Eyeball in this game. However, you can only unlock it after you beat all the goals in the game and get all the gold medals in all three competitions with a different skater each time. You can also unlock it by simply going to the options menu, going to the Cheats section and entering "FREAKSHOW" in the GameCube version, "YOHOMIES" in the PS2 and PC version, and "TEAMFREAK" in the Xbox version, which also unlocks other hidden characters. This is only in the GameCube, PS2, Xbox and PC versions. You can also play as the Neversoft Eyeball in the total conversion mod THUG Pro.

Variant: On some versions, the logo fades out shortly after the spear sticks into the eyeball.

Technique: The skater flipping, the falling, the logo forming.

Music/Sounds: A punk theme, taken from Officer Dick's video on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and sound effects corresponding to the actions.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and other systems.

5th Logo (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 variant) (October 23, 2002-August 14, 2003)
Logo: We see the Neversoft logo, but without the eyeball in it. A gorilla appears skateboarding on the previous logo's ground, but it's a little brighter than before. It does tricks, then it gets off and sits down. It picks its nose, only to pull out the eyeball, which it promptly throws onto the Neversoft logo. The spear shoots into the eyeball and its optic nerve twines around it as the gorilla looks at the logo.

Technique: The gorilla skating, the eyeball coming out and the logo forming.

Music/Sounds: Some jungle music which segues into a short version of music from the previous logo when the eyeball appears.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and other systems.

6th Logo (Tony Hawk's Underground variant) (October 27-November 21, 2003)
Logo: We see Eric Sparrow skating down an alley at night. Stopping in front of a manhole, a fish-like sewer monster named T.H.U.D. bursts from it, frightening Eric off his board. T.H.U.D. then drags Eric into the manhole, and Eric's skeleton parts fly out moments after. The Neversoft logo then appears as the eyeball bounces out and the background fades to white. The eyeball goes into the "Times New Roman" and the spear shoots into it, with its optic nerve twining around it. The logo is in black in white with film effects at the same time.

Trivia: T.H.U.D., who appears in the logo, later appears as an unlockable character in the game by beating Story Mode in "Sick" difficulty. T.H.U.D. is a parody of 1984 horror film, C.H.U.D.

Technique: Eric Sparrow skating, the sewer mutant bursting out, the dragging into the sewer, his bones flying out and the logo forming.

Music/Sounds: Some creepy music with the sounds of Eric skating, a cat meowing, T.H.U.D. appearing, Eric screaming, his bones flying out, and the spear hitting the eyeball.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's Underground for GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

7th Logo (Tony Hawk's Underground 2 variant) (October 4, 2004-September 1, 2005)
Logo: We start out on a black screen where the eyeball is spraying a custom Neversoft logo graffiti with spraying can. The camera zooms out to reveal a beach scene, where a UFO comes in and tries to shoot the eyeball, but the eyeball dodges its blasts. The UFO destroys the custom Neversoft logo, revealing the regular one. Then the UFO successfully shoots the eyeball, sending it through the air and into the logo as the spear shoots into it and its optic nerve twines around it. The background then fades to black.

Technique: The spraying of the can, the UFO shooting, and the logo forming.

Music/Sounds: Beach noises with sounds of spraying and the UFO.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's Underground 2 for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. Also appears on its PSP port, Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix.

8th Logo (Tony Hawk's American Wasteland variant) (October 18, 2005-April 7, 2006)
Logo: Several paper fragments fall onto a white surface, each with a letter in various styles. Two cartoon hands appear and arrange the fragments to make the word "NeVERSOfT." Then the hand draws the Neversoft eyeball in its familiar style. The background changes to black, and "PRESENTS" is drawn below. After this, the picture moves off to show the game intro.

Trivia: This is the only variant not to use the standard logo, although it appears on the game's cover art.

Technique: The cartoon-style animation of drawing.

Music/Sounds: "California Uber Alles" by The Dead Kennedys, which is a part of the game intro. There are also scribbling sounds.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's American Wasteland for GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, and other systems.

9th Logo (Gun variant) (November 8, 2005-November 3, 2006)
Logo: The Neversoft logo, toned in sepia, is superimposed onto the game's intro cutscene; "Times New Roman" is revealed gradually, then "Times New Roman" appears below in the same way.

Technique: The logo revealing.

Music/Sounds: Grinding sounds with wind.

Availability: Seen on Gun. It also appears on its PSP port, Gun: Showdown.

10th Logo (Tony Hawk's Project 8 variant) (November 7, 2006-June 8, 2007)


Logo: We see a starry sky with the Moon and some trees. The camera pans down into a forest, where a projector lights the place. Some drops fall from above, then a weird alien with a big skull-like-head falls. He recovers slowly, stands up, catches a skateboard and starts to play tricks. The projector flashes with various colors, like in a disco hall. The actions zoom out to reveal that it's a reflection on the eyeball of the Neversoft logo. Then we zoom out completely to reveal the whole logo, which hangs still for a little. The eyeball's design looks different (its optic part is shown more, the eye part is a bit smaller and the spear looks more realistic). The logo then disappears via a TV turn-off effect.

Technique: The whole animation.

Music/Sounds: Forest sounds, then "Chase The Devil" by Eagles Of Death Metal plays after the big-headed alien drops down.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's Project 8 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. However, it's also seen on the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PSP versions as well.

11th Logo (Tony Hawk's Proving Ground variant) (October 15-November 9, 2007)
Logo: The eyeball skates down the street, standing on a skateboard by its optic nerve. It makes tricks and jumps over obstacles, but misses one and takes a flight. Then the eyeball gets threaded onto the spear that fell from the top of the screen. The word "Times New Roman" along with its top and bottom lines appears dropping in from above. The threaded eyeball is already in its place as its optic nerve twines around the spear. The background fades to black, then the logo disappears via a TV turn-off effect.

Technique: The whole animation.

Music/Sounds: A punk theme, with the sounds of the board hitting the boxes and the spear threading the eyeball.

Availability: Appears on Tony Hawk's Proving Ground for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, which was the last Tony Hawk game Neversoft developed. However, it also appears on the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of the game.

12th Logo (Guitar Hero III variant) (October 28-November 30, 2007)
Logo: First, we see somebody's hand adjusting an equalizer. Then the camera shows a rocker uttering on the scene. He stands on a floor with the Neversoft logo drawn on the scene. When the rocker raises his head, we can see he has an eyeball instead of it. Everything else disappears and the eye takes its place between another letters, making it into its still artwork logo. The spear falls, sticking the eye and making its optic nerve appear around it.

Technique: The whole animation.

Music/Sounds: A hard rock tune.

Availability: Seen on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

13th Logo (Guitar Hero: Aerosmith variant) (June 27-October 17, 2008)
Logo: We see a CGI version of the rock band Aerosmith rocking out at a concert. Then, Steven Tyler does a spin and purposely knocks his microphone into the screen. The screen fills with static for a split-second before the Neversoft logo (in a similar style as the 10th logo) appears. Some more static appears and the logo shuts off like a TV.

Technique: The whole animation, the screen getting hit and the turn-off.

Music/Sounds: Nearly the same as the previous logo.

Availability: Appears on Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

14th Logo (October 26, 2008-February 19, 2010)
Logo: We see short close-ups of scene artists, which is different depending on each game. One of the fragments zooms into an eyeball. The letters from "Times New Roman", along with the top and bottom lines, fly to their places, while the eyeball looks at various directions. The spear appears sticking through the eyeball, which twines it with its optic nerve. Then we zoom rapidly into the eyeball.

Variants:
 * On Guitar Hero: Smash Hits and Guitar Hero: Van Halen, the scene artists part is removed.
 * On Guitar Hero 5, the still logo is seen against the wall, alongside the Budcat Creations logo on the game's opening intro. Plus, the colors are inverted.
 * On Band Hero, the still logo flashes in and glows in.

Technique: The whole animation.

Music/Sounds: A hard rock tune, which ceases quickly as the fragment zooms into an eyeball.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero, the game's opening theme is heard.

Availability: Seen on Guitar Hero: World Tour, Metallica, Smash Hits and Van Halen. The variants appear on Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero.

15th Logo (Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock variant) (September 24-28, 2010)
Logo: Like other logos in the game's intro, the Neversoft logo is hanging over a rock, while lava flows and pours around, making everything tinted.

Technique: The lava flowing.

Music/Sounds: A kind of rock tune.

Availability: Seen on Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, which was the last Guitar Hero game Neversoft developed.

16th Logo (Call of Duty: Ghosts variant) (November 5-29, 2013)


Logo: The logo forms after the Infinity Ward logo ends, as a gray spear falls from the top of the screen and the Infinity Ward logo disappears in a cloud of smoke. The Neversoft logo appears in metallic bluish purple. It then forms the Raven Software logo.

Technique: The spear falling, and the Infinity Ward logo disappearing, the Neversoft logo appearing.

Music/Sounds: The opening theme to the game.

Availability: Seen on Call of Duty: Ghosts, which was the last game Neversoft developed.