Atari SA

Background
Infogrames Entertainment SA was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell. Over the years of its existence, Infogrames became famous for many titles, including Alone in the Dark, Shadow of the Comet, and Hogs of War.

The company began to expand further in the mid-90's after applying an "Expand through Acquisition" policy, by purchasing out other companies left and sqaure, including Ocean Software, Philips Media, Gremlin Interactive, Accolade, Beam Software, GT Interactive Software, Humongous Entertainment, Shiny Entertainment, Eden Games and Hasbro Interactive (with the MicroProse and Atari brands).

Following the rebrand of their subsidiaries under the Atari name in May 2003, Infogrames' presence was reduced to solely being a holding company that licensed out the Atari brand name from Atari Interactive. In October 2008, the company fully purchased Atari, Inc. and in May 2009, was rebranded as "Atari SA", after many financial struggles.

1st Logo (1984-1995)
Nicknames: "The Armadillo", "The Rainbow Armadillo", "Ugly Armadillo"

Logo: Against a white background, we see a black armadillo with rainbow stripes. Below it is the word "INFOGRAMES". The logo usually fades in, stays a while, and fades out. The quality of the logo may vary on different platforms.

FX/SFX: None.

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

Availability: Rare, but can still be found on copies of old games from the 80s.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1992)
Nicknames: "Armadillo In The Dark", "The Rotating Armadillo", "CGI Armadillo", "InfogrAGH!", "Rainbow Armadillo II"

Logo: We fade in to see a primitive version of the 90's Infogrames logo on a black background. After a brief flash of lightning and sudden clap of thunder, the armadillo becomes a very early CGI rendition of itself, and rotates in the same manner as an object from the game Alone in the Dark. The logo fades out after it makes one rotation.

Variant: On some American versions of Alone in the Dark, "INFOGRAMES" is replaced with "I*MOTION", which was Infogrames' trading name in the United States at the time. Some versions though have the regular logo.

FX/SFX: The thunder, the lightning flash, the armadillo turning into CGI and rotating.

Music/Sounds: Just the thunder.

Availability: This logo is only found on the game Alone in the Dark. This logo is not a variant of the third logo; it is a direct precursor to it, and was therefore only used once.

Editor's Note: The sudden thunderclap, accompanied by the dark background might scare some younger viewers.

3rd Logo (1993-1998)
Nicknames: "The Gray Armadillo", "Rainbow Armadillo II"

Logo: Same as the last logo, but the coloured stripes aren't as bright as the first logo.

Variant: Like with the last variant, on some North American released games, "I*MOTION" replaces "INFOGRAMES".

FX/SFX: None.

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

Availability: Rare, found only on games of that period.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (1995-September 7, 2001)
Nicknames: "Spiral Armadillo", "Fancy Rainbow Armadillo"

Logo: On a white background, a more stylized version of the armadillo draws itself starting from the tail (while slightly rotating anticlockwise), then the text "INFOGRAMES" fades in below.

Variants:
 * Sometimes only the fade-in was used, and the background can be black. This can be seen on Starshot: Space Circus Fever (with the Nintendo logo) and V-Rally Edition '99, both for Nintendo 64, and the PlayStation version of Mission: Impossible.
 * A still version exists, which was spotted on pre-2000 Game Boy Color games and on DOS versions of The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun, Tintin in Tibet, The Smurfs, Asterix and Obelix and Spirou.
 * On Independence War - Defiance (Expansion pack to Independence War that was bundled with the base game), the animated logo appears fully in yellow and on a black background.
 * On Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time, the still logo is flat. Then it cuts to the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment logo.
 * On Slave Zero, the words "PRESS START BUTTON" are seen under the still logo.
 * On Test Drive Off-Road 3, after the logo finishes, copyright info appears below the logo. This logo is plastered by the next logo on the European version of the game, which was renamed 4X4 World Trophy.

FX/SFX: The drawing.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized note with the faint arpeggio and a whoosh in the background, then a 6-note trumpet melody with the last note being the orchestral hit and a synthesized buzz when the feet, rainbow "stripes" and the eye of the armadillo fade in. None for the still version.

Availability: Uncommon. Appears on the company's games from this period such as V-Rally and Test Drive Off-Road 3. The logo is surprisingly seen on the PS1 version and later copies of the PC version of Nicktoons Racing, even though the entire packaging and title screen have the next logo.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (2000-2009, April 7, 2014, August 13, 2015)
Nicknames: "Crazy Armadillo", "Springy Armadillo", "Spiral Armadillo II", "Colour Hysteria", "The Armadillo With No Feet"

Logo: We cut from black to see a shiny black 3D line de-thickening itself on a flashing rainbow background. The line starts to wiggle and stretch (like a radio-wave), and then snap-compresses itself together like a spring. The line loosens itself to reveal a heavily spiral-stylised armadillo. The armadillo then becomes a 3D flat drawing, and the word "INFOGRAMES", in a black rectangle-like shape, fades in and zooms out in front of the logo. It lands on the logo as the background turns white. A shadow fades in below the logo, and then the entire thing cuts to black.

Variants:
 * A still version exists. The latter appeared on Duck Dodgers. Sometimes, the logo is in the print style seen on game cases by this company, though this variant on some GBA games like Backyard Baseball 2003 could have its colors inverted, with a copyright notice below.
 * Another variant has the armadillo standing on the left side of the name banner. The background can be black or white. The version with white background appeared on Nicktoons Racing for GBA. This variant was used on European game cases and later American cases as its print logo.
 * On the PlayStation 2 version of Splashdown and Stuntman, only the banner appeared on the background. Then the Atari logo follows. The 2002 version of Le Mans 24 Hours uses a  background.
 * On RollerCoaster Tycoon for Xbox, the logo is inverted, still and pans from bottom to top, plastering the Hasbro Interactive logo. RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 has the logo on a white square over a black background, and pans from top to bottom.
 * For the Lyons House division, it uses the same animation, but when it ends, the armadillo fades out and "Lyons House" writes itself below the banner. It uses a droning synth after the usual music. It is followed by the Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment logo and is seen on Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf (or Looney Tunes: Sheep Raider in North America).
 * The logo can be seen on Ralph's TV screen in the game as an Easter egg.

FX/SFX: The zooming, the flashing colors, the springy line, the 3D effects, the fading.

Music/Sounds: Several weird whooshing and stretching sounds and a synthesised hit (most of them are from Hanna-Barbera's sound effects library), ending in a heavy synth chord reminiscent of several Cyan Worlds logos.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * The still version is silent, or it may have the opening theme of the game play over it.
 * On the 2014 iOS version of Pajama Sam: No Need To Hide When It's Dark Outside, the music is high pitched.
 * Ghost Vibration has the music running faster and is also higher pitched.
 * On Blue's Clues: Blue's Reading Time Activities, the still version has the tail end of the Humongous Entertainment drum roll playing over it.

Availability: Very common. Used on lots of games from this period, produced by Infogrames and/or its divisions. Games branded under the Atari name however (such as Enter the Matrix) do not have this logo (except for Ghost Vibration, which had the regular Infogrames logo and no Atari logo outside the packaging). The still version (white on black) made a surprise appearance on the 2015 iOS versions of Spy Fox 3: Operation Ozone and Freddi Fish and the Case of the Creature of Coral Cove, alongside the 1996-2002 Humongous logo, due to an editing mistake. The normal version also appeared on the 2014 iOS version of Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When it's Dark Outside, due to (yet) another editing mistake.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (May 18, 2001)


Nickname: "Armadillo In The Dark II"

Logo: We fade in to see a still of the 2000s Infogrames logo, colored in white. The armadillo and the banner are lit up by a flashlight, and then the logo fades out.

FX/SFX: The flashlight panning through the logo.

Music/Sounds: Just the wind blowing.

Availability: It's only seen on Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare.

Editor's Note: None.

1st Logo (October 26, 2001-December 2, 2003)
Nickname: "Seven Times Action"

Logo: On a, , or background, we see a giant tripod on the right, even larger than the screen, and it begins to rotate. On each rotation, a word appears and then wipes out on the left. Each of them have a tripod instead of A. These words are: ATTACK, REAL, BLAST, PLAY, ESCAPE, ADDICT, GAME and A@#%!. After this, the giant tripod zooms inside the screen with the name below, and becomes white (metallic for the black version).

Variants:
 * On the PlayStation 2 version of Splashdown, Stuntman and the PC version of Le Mans 24 Hours, the Infogrames logo appears at the beginning, without the armadillo and with "PRESENTS" below it. The logo then plays as normal.
 * The PlayStation 2 versions of Splashdown and MX Rider feature a prototype version that doesn't feature the "A@#%!" word and more narrower text.
 * On TransWorld Surf, the background is lighter.
 * On Neverwinter Nights and the GBA version of Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma, the logo is still, the background is white and the tripod and text are black.
 * On Superman: The Man of Steel for Xbox, a still version with a background and copyright information appears below the logo. It follows after the next logo plays below.

FX/SFX: Simple, but effective animation.

Music/Sounds: A disco synth followed with sudden crystallized noises.

Availability: Appears on several Infogrames titles from the time period branded under the Atari name:
 * Blue: First used on Splashdown, and went on to appear on TransWorld Surf (the next logo appears on the GameCube version of the latter), Stuntman (The GBA version uses a still version of the next logo), the PAL PlayStation 2 release of Superman: Shadow of Apokolips, and the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of Battle Engine Aquila
 * Metallic: First used on TD Overdrive: The Brotherhood of Speed (Simply known as Test Drive in North America) and also appeared on Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, Grand Prix Challenge and the GameCube version of Ikaruga.
 * Red: First used on MX Rider for the PlayStation 2, and also appeared on the 2002 version of Le Mans 24 Hours for PC. The still version was used on Superman: The Man of Steel for Xbox.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (June 18, 2002-2008)
Nickname: "The Tripod A"

Logo: We see a rectangle with the 2003-2010 version of the Atari logo in (the second "A" in "ATARI" is replaced with the tripod).

Variants:
 * The logo is normally seen sideways, where the text is facing the right.
 * On Driv3r for the GBA, the Atari logo is seen on a background with the stretched tripod (similar to the V-Rally 3 variant on the same console), scanlines and copyright year.
 * On Driver 2 for GBA, the shield with the logo, albeit with the more angular R (as if the bitmap was poorly-traced), is placed on a white background.
 * On Micro Machines for GBA, there is the background with the stretched tripod posted over it (similar to the V-Rally 3 and Driv3r variants).
 * On Battle Engine Aquila, the sideways logo appears in the game's title screen and intro (the 4th logo appears at the beginning).

FX/SFX: Mostly none.

Music/Sounds: None, or the game's opening intro.

Availability: Appears on several Infogrames and Atari titles from the time period, mainly on the Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo DS. This was originally introduced as a print logo.
 * As a print logo, the first game this appeared on was the North American release of Neverwinter Nights for the PC, and last appeared on the European version of Beyblade: Let it Rip! for the PlayStation.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (September 11, 2002-September 23, 2003)
Nickname: "Crystal Circles"

Logo: There is a big ball with a reflection of the tripod over it. The picture zooms out, while concentric circles of glass swirl around the sphere. The ball appears to be inside of another white ball, with the remaining background  or white. Some letters quickly flip and change on the sides of the tripod, which make words (In order, they are Eat, Insane, Habit, Heavy, Chaos, React, Fear, Escape, Race, Real, Fast, Game & Play.) and later the word "ATARI" comes in below the tripod. The circles slow down before the logo fades.

Variants:
 * On Beyblade V-Force: Super Tournament Battle, the logo is shorter.
 * On the GBA version of Stuntman, the logo is still.

FX/SFX: The animation of the logo.

Music/Sounds: Several noises followed with the computerized voice saying "ATARI".

Availability: As with the last logo, this appears on several Infogrames titles from the time period branded under the Atari name, mostly Xbox titles:
 * The regular red variant first appeared on The Terminator: Dawn of Fate and was used on these games: TransWorld Snowboarding, Superman: The Man of Steel, Furious Karting, Apex/Racing Evoluzione, and the PAL release of Beyblade: Let it Rip!. It also appeared on a trailer for Battle Engine Aquila,  and the demo of Fugitive Hunter: War on Terror which can be found on the OPM Issue 71 demo disc.
 * The shorter variant appeared on Beyblade: Super Tournament Battle for the Nintendo GameCube.
 * The white background version appears on TransWorld Surf: Next Wave for the Nintendo GameCube, Unreal Championship for the Xbox, and the 2002 Micro Machines remake.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (August 25, 2003-March 2, 2010)
Nickname: "The Tripod A II"

Logo: On a white background, the Atari tripod logo is shown. It is transparent white at first, and then fills up with a color. It zooms out, and "AT RI" is drawn around it. The tripod serves as the second "A" and adds a longer middle section of the tripod. Then, the letters slide behind the tripod.

Variants:
 * Like the last logo on game covers, the logo is sideways, where the text is facing the right.
 * The colors may be opposite ( background, white name). It usually appeared this way on NDS.
 * On PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and some later PC titles, an HD variant is used. This version misses the filling of the tripod - instead, it just appears and zooms out. Then the logo folds into the HD "High Definition Gaming" marker after completion.

FX/SFX: The animation.

Music/Sounds: A loud synth descending sound, then a whoosh and a beep at the very end.

Availability: Very common. Appears on almost every title from the company released during this time period.
 * The still version (and the logo overall) made it's debut on Blue's Clues: Blue Takes You to School for PC.
 * The animated version first appeared on The Temple of Elemental Evil for the PC and last appeared on Project Runway for the Wii (even though the 9th logo appears on the cover).
 * The Atari HD version first appeared on Test Drive Unlimited for the Xbox 360 and last appeared on a trailer for Test Drive Unlimited 2.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (November 11-December 3, 2003)
Logo: On a black background, some sort of liquid forms up a metal-colored Atari tripod. "ATARI" is formed through a laser, also in a metal color. The tripod has the same look as the last logo.

FX/SFX: The forming liquid and the "ATARI" appearing through the laser.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Only appears on Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines for Playstation 2 and Xbox, and Terminator 3: War of the Machines for the PC.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (May 25, 2010-November 25, 2014)
Logo: Over a white gradient background, many little squares come together and form the word "ATARI" with its common tripod logo above. Both are in 3D view with a little shine. The URL "www.atari.com" appears below the text and tripod. The tripod is back to its original look.

Variant: The games usually have this logo still on a black background, with or without the box.

FX/SFX: The animation in CGI.

Music/Sounds: Some kind of up-speeding console sounds.

Availability: Uncommon. Depends on the game:
 * Animated version: Seen on trailers for new Atari games. It also appears on some games such as Star Raiders and Test Drive Unlimited 2.
 * Red box on white BG: Appeared on Haunted House for iOS, Yar's Revenge, Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers and RollerCoaster Tycoon 3D.
 * Red box on black BG: Appeared on Blade Kitten, Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush and The UnderGarden.
 * White tripod and text on black BG: Appeared on Project Runway (Possibly the PC version, as the Wii version uses the 7th logo) and the Nintendo DS version of Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers.
 * Red tripod and text on white BG: Appeared on Atari Scratchers, Breakout: Boost, Asteroids: Gunner, Atari Greatest Hits Volume 1 and Atari Greatest Hits Volume 2.
 * White tripod and text on red BG: Appeared on Centipede: Infestation.
 * Black tripod and text in white square on black blackground: Appears on the DS version of Backyard Sports: Rookie Rush.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (March 22, 2016-)
Logo: On a white background, squares form the Atari tripod logo. After the tripod is completed, it slams down, sending many little squares everywhere. "ATARI" is on the bottom of the tripod, but unlike the last logo, the text is longer and there is no URL.

FX/SFX: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Current. It first appeared on the trailer for Atari Vault on Steam, and later appeared on the said game. It also appears on Roller Coaster Tycoon World, also for Steam.

Editor's Note: None.