Sega

Background
Sega was originally founded in 1940 as "Standard Games" in Honolulu, Hawaii. The company was then moved to Tokyo, Japan by Raymond Lemaire and Richard Stewart as a means of distributing coin-operated games and was renamed "Service Games". In later years the company would become "Sega" (an abbreviation for "Service Games"), its current identity. Sega would soon become an immediate competitor to Nintendo right after they started manufacturing video game consoles (such as the Genesis, Sega Master System, etc.) and came up with their own iconic mascot Sonic the Hedgehog. As of today, Sega is still active.

Note: There are over 100 different variants of this logo, all of which are covered by the Sega Logo Project, but it has always retained the same basic design. This page focuses on Sega's main logos.

1st Logo (1980s-1989)
Logo: On a black background we see a prototypical version of the Sega logo (thinner than the current one in white with Sega, a blue outline and with still shines on the "S" and "A"). COMPUTER SOFTWARE is beneath in the same color with "© 1989" in red and yellow below. "PROGRAM LOADING..." is on the very bottom of the logo in the same color as the first two texts.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The intro of the game or none.

Availability: Ultra rare. Seen on earlier games released by the company.

Editor's Note: The game's soundtrack may startle some, otherwise harmless.

2nd Logo (October 29, 1988-1998, June 22, 2017-)
Logo: We see the Sega logo in its futuristic font (which is in blue and contains many white stripes around it) on a black background. On most games, the color changes in shades of blue.

Variants: This logo has a lot of variations, but below are some variants for the regular logo:
 * On its early days since until 1991, the registered trademark symbol "®" symbol was used. Starting around late 1990, the "TM" symbol replaces the registered trademark "®" symbol.
 * Sometimes, the logo lacks the trademark symbol.
 * On some Game Gear titles, the logo is plain blue and takes place on the blue background.
 * Starting in 2017 to honor Sega Forever, this logo returned as a secondary logo for its placeholder, with the on-screen logo turning into the 1988 logo with the Sega Jingle.

FX/SFX: Just the changing color. Sometimes, the logo fades in and/or fades out.

Music/Sounds: None or the opening theme of the game. But on games produced by Infogrames (except for The Smurfs 2), we hear a vocoder yell "SEEEEGAAAAA!".

Availability: Common. Seen on most games for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Also appears on some games for the Sega Game Gear (and the Sega 32X attachment for the Genesis/Mega Drive). Some of the only games not to use this logo were most Sega Master System games and every Electronic Arts game for Sega Genesis (including EA Sports games as well). But one EA Genesis game that contains the logo is Shaq Fu, while Baku Baku Animals, Bonkers Wax Up!, Daffy Duck in Hollywood, Double Dragon, Lemmings, Sonic Blast, Streets of Rage, Ultimate Soccer and Virtual Fighter Animation were the only Sega Master System games that contain the logo. The logo can be also seen on EA Game Gear games. It is generally left intact in most re-releases of Sega games of the time period like on Wii Virtual Console re-releases of Genesis games.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1990-1997, 2010-2012, 2017)
Logo: On a white background, we see the Sega logo in blue. The animation varies depending on the game. Starting in 2010, the "TM" symbol is changed into the registered trademark symbol.

Variant: Like before, this has a plethora of variations.

FX/SFX: Depends on the variant.

Music/Sounds: On many games, a choir singing "SEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAA!". This particular soundbite has made its first appearance on Japanese advertisements for the SG-1000 (which was Sega's first console) back in 1983.

Availability: Common. First seen on Columns for the Sharp X1, but it's best known for its appearance on the Sonic the Hedgehog games, including the first three games (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3), as well as several others.

Editor's Note: This logo is a favorite among gamers. The "SEEEEGA!" jingle might, oddly enough, become stuck in your head!

4th Logo (1994-)
Logo: On a white or black background, we have the Sega logo with the words "PRESENTED BY" in small lettering above.

Variants:
 * A light blue variation of the logo exists on Japanese and Asian versions of Sega titles.
 * In the original PC port of Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, the logo is on a white background and the view is resized by the screen resolution (the bigger the resolution is, the smaller the logo gets) unless the fill modes under "UI Scaling" (in the graphics tab in SADX Mod Loader) was set to "Fit" or "Fill" with the loader installed.
 * On the 2011 remake of Sonic CD for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Android and iOS, the logo is on a dark blue background.
 * On Sonic Forces, the logo is zoomed out further than usual. "Presented by" is not above the logo.
 * On Sonic Shuffle, "Presented by" is in the same font as the Dreamcast logo.
 * On Rhythm Tengoku for the Sega NAOMI, "Presented by" is in a different font, and is colored light blue.
 * Sometimes, "Presented by" isn't shown.

Music/Sounds: Usually none.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * Sonic Mega Collection, Sonic Gems Collection, the 2011 remake of Sonic CD and Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit use the "SEEEEEGA!" yell.
 * The Hatsune Miku: Project Diva series has Miku or her other Vocaloid friends yelling "SEEEEEGA!" or "SEGA!".
 * K-On! Houkago Live!! has lead character Yui (voiced by Aki Toyosaki) yelling "SEEEEEGA!".
 * Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast has one of the characters in the game say "Sega." It changes each time the game starts up.
 * Similarly, Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary, Puyo Puyo Tetris and Puyo Puyo Chronicle has one of the characters in the game say "Sega." It changes each time the game starts up.
 * Since 2018, a dramatic electronic synth with an echo effect from the 9th logo is used. This can be seen on newer games that were released by the company after 2018, including rereleases of older games (such as Shenmue I&II, Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD and the remastered Yakuza games).

Availability: Very common. Seen on several games published by the company since at least 1994. This also appears on the cancelled Sonic DS demo.

Editor's Note: TBA.

5th Logo (1994-1995)
Logo: We see the Sega logo in a grayish-blue underwater background with bubbles floating toward the surface.

Variant: On Ecco the Dolphin (PC), "PRESENTS a PC Conversion by" is below the logo. The background is also more realistic and is rippling.

FX/SFX: The underwater background.

Availability: Extremely rare. Seen on Ecco: The Tides of Time for the Mega Drive/Genesis, as well as Ecco the Dolphin for the PC.

Editor's Note: TBA.

6th Logo (1994-1995)
Logo: On a purple space background, the Sega logo zooms into the screen, then goes back while "wiggling" like Jell-O. The logo then zooms into the screen again while going black.

FX/SFX: The Sega logo zooming and shaking/rippling.

Prototype Variant: On prototypes of the game, the background is a CGI-like rendering of Newtrogic High Zone.

Music/Sounds: None, but on the prototypes there are 2 different sound variations:


 * The earlier prototype has a long synth-like sound.
 * The later prototype had what sounded like a synth rendition of the SEGA chant, sounding suspiciously like the NBC chimes.

Availability: Extremely rare. Only seen on Knuckles' Chaotix for the 32X add-on. It hasn't been ported or re-released since its release in April 1995.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (1996)
Logo: On a gradient blue/lavender background, we see the Sega logo in a dark gray being written out by a trail consisting of four stars. Just as the "G" is being written, the word "Entertainment" (in red and a cursive font, sporting an underline) wipes in using the same trail. The logo fades after a few seconds.

FX/SFX: The logo being written in by star trails.

Music/Sounds: A bit-crushed version of the SEGA choir, followed by the game's music, which is just the Gumball Machine bonus stage from Sonic 3 and Knuckles.

Availability: Only seen on releases of Sonic's Schoolhouse for Windows.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (2006-2017)
Logo: On a black background, several trails of different colored lights move across the screen at a rapid pace, which come together and form the Sega logo.

Variants:
 * A light blue variation also exists on Japanese and Asian versions of Sega titles.
 * On Alpha Protocol, a red streak runs through the formed logo, coloring it golden. The classic SEGA choir is heard.
 * On The Conduit, we see several circles adjusting around the pyramid with an eye sign above. They match and form "SEGA", which shines and reveals as a regular logo. The woosh and the announcer are heard as well.
 * On Iron Man 2 for the PSP, a blue spot lights on and creates blocks which form the computerized Sega logo.
 * There's an early variation of the logo after it's fully formed the words "Presented by" appears on top of the logo.
 * A still variant exists, but in the remake of Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, the whoosh and the announcer is heard as well.

FX/SFX: The trails of light along with flashes and the forming of the Sega logo.

Music/Sounds: A synth whooshing while the logo forms, followed by a male announcer saying the company name. In Samba De Amigo for the Wii, a male announcer says the company name then chuckles after the logo forms, just like in the original games, but without saying "Presented by" or "Produced by" before that. In Bleach: Versus Crusade, Ichigo Kurosaki (voiced by Masakazu Morita) yells the company name after the logo forms.

Availability: Common. Used along with the 4th logo, mainly for external publishing. Seen on several games such as Sonic games like Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, and Sonic Generations, The Incredible Hulk, Alpha Protocol, The Club, Iron Man, Valkyria Chronicles and its sequel, The House of Dead 4.

Editor's Note: TBA.

9th Logo (May 18, 2017- )
Nicknames: "The Eye", "Amazing Sega", "Sega Eye"

Logo: We see a close zoom-in of a person's blue eye at an angle in front of a white background. We can see the Sega logo reflected inside of the eye, upon which the logo rotates to the right. As the Sega logo gradually comes to a stop, the eye widens in size and the pupil grows larger. In the static version, used for its games, the static Sega logo appears (see 4th logo).

Trivia: This logo was introduced as part of a new "Amazing Sega" corporate identity introduced by the company. The concept for this identity (and by extension, the logo) is based on studies based on the eye being the first part of the body to respond to an "amazing" experience. However, a static Sega logo is used in games instead.

FX/SFX: The rotating Sega logo, the moving eye and iris. Seems to be a mix of live-action and CGI effects. For the static version, it pops in or fades in then fades out.

Music/Sounds: A rising droning sound, promptly followed by a dramatic electronic synth with an echo effect. For the games, a dramatic electronic synth with an echo effect is used instead, similar to the start of each trailer.

Availability: It appears in future Sega games going forward at the end of each trailer, retiring the previous logo. It was first seen on the Sonic Forces story trailer.

Editor's Note: This is a very cool logo, and might remind a few of Virgin Interactive's Eye logos.