Crave Games

Background
Crave Games (known as Crave Entertainment until 2009) was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi, with headquarters in Newport Beach, California. The company mainly focused on budget titles, and imported games such as the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series. Crave was acquired by The Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95 million, but was then sold to Fillpoint LLC in early 2009 for only $8.1 million, due to Handleman's bankruptcy and pending liquidation. The company went bankrupt in 2012.

1st Logo (1997-November 7, 2001)
Visuals: Two thunderbolts appear from the top corners of the screen and make the logo appear. The logo consists of "CRAVE" and a rectangle with "ENTERTAINMENT" seen below it. The brightness of the lightning of the logo slightly changes on the second it appears.

Technique: The electricity.

Audio: A zapping sound.

Availability: Unknown. Last seen on Battle Realms for PC.

2nd Logo (January 6, 1998-November 3, 2004)
Visuals: On a black or white background, we see the words "CRAVE" in a grungy font. Next to the letter "E" is a plus sign. Below it is a grungy rectangle with "ENTERTAINMENT" in a similar grunge font etched on the rectangle.

Variants:
 * On Robotron 64, it's the same as the Williams logo, except a white box containing the Crave logo (minus the box below it) replaces the Williams logo.
 * The logo may or may not have a blue glow around the logo.
 * On Nintendo 64 games and the Dreamcast game Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm, the logo is steel.
 * On Milo's Astro Lanes, the logo is purple with relief behind it.
 * On Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko for Nintendo 64, the logo rotates. Plus the logo is silver with relief behind it. On Global Operations, the logo is surrounded by a purple box on a silver border.

Technique: None.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on games for cartridge-based consoles, especially Men in Black: The Series and Men in Black: The Series 2 for Game Boy Color, Babe and Friends for Game Boy Color, Fighting Force 64 for Nintendo 64, and the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance versions of Razor Freestyle Scooter.

3rd Logo (April 1999)
Visuals: On a black background, a blue tunnel appears. It explodes, revealing the same Crave logo from the previous logos. A blue glow similar to the one seen in the 1st logo appears.

Technique: The tunnel appearing and exploding.

Audio: What sounds like a car driving, ending in a 3-note theme.

Availability: Only seen on Shadow Madness for PlayStation.

4th Logo (July 27, 1999-April 20, 2005)
Visuals: We fade in to see a tall structure below a stormy sky. There seems to be a billboard at the top of the structure. The camera pans up, revealing that the billboard is lightened up, having the "CRAVE" text of the previous logo in front with a metallic material, and the word "ENTERTAINMENT" below it. The light is pretty strong after the camera stops but it becomes less brighter after a few seconds, and we fade out to black.

Variant: A still version exists.

Technique: The pan up to the billboard, the lights.

Audio: Sounds of the thunderstorm and electric zapping.

Availability: Appeared on various PS1, Dreamcast and PS2 games published by the company. A still version can be found on Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3, the Nintendo 64 version of Razor Freestyle Scooter and Tokyo Xtreme Racer Advance. First seen on Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu.

5th Logo (March 30, 2000)
Visuals: On a black background, we see the silver rectangle rotates. The Crave letters from the previous logo falls down. As the letters fall, the plate becomes the "ENTERTAINMENT" words from the previous logo on a gold rectangle.

Technique: The falling of the letters.

Audio: A falling sound ending in a chime.

Availability: Only seen on BattleZone: Rise of the Black Dogs for Nintendo 64.

6th Logo (November 4, 2004-March 20, 2005)
Visuals: On a black background, a white line draws over, revealing a white rectangle with two grey shaded lines on top and bottom. As the line draws, we see the Crave logo from the next logo, only the rectangle is black and the outline is red.

Technique: The drawing.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on Crave games from the period, like Pinball Hall of Fame: The Golliteb Collection and the GameCube version of Intellivision Lives!

7th Logo (November 4, 2004-November 24, 2009)
Visuals: On a white background, we see red unusual rectangles, with the white words "CRAVE" in a jumbled up font with a black outline. Below it is the black words "entertainment".

Variant: Sometimes, a copyright stamp is shown below.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on GBA and Nintendo DS games of the era. First seen on Elf: The Movie and last seen on Winter's Tail. Also seen on MX World Tour Featuring Jamie Little for PlayStation 2.

8th Logo (October 23, 2005-December 2, 2009)
Visuals: On a black background, an outline of the unusual rectangle from the previous two logos wipes in. Then the rectangle fills in with a red color. The words "CRAVE" in the same style as before, with a black outline bounces and settles on the rectangle. The last rectangle moves in, and stands on the top right of the logo and flashes. The words "entertainment" fades in below.

Technique: The drawing, the filling, the bouncing.

Audio: A warbling sound when the rectangle draws, followed by a synth drone, and it cuts off with a slash knifing sound effect when "CRAVE" appears, and a warble sound when the last box appears.

Availability: Seen on various Crave games, starting with The Bible Game and ending with the Wii version of Pinball Hall of Fame: The Golliteb Collection.

1st Logo (September 15, 2010-June 2, 2011)
Visuals: On a white background, we see the red words "CRAVE", with a line on the "A" extended. Below "AVE" it is "GAMES" in black and in spaced out letters.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on Big Buck Hunter Pro for Wii and it was shared with other logos on the 3DS version of Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion.

2nd Logo (September 19, 2010-November 18, 2011)
Visuals: On a black background, we pan out of the Crave wordmark from the previous logo in silver. A reflection appears while the logo pans. The text turns red and the words "GAMES" appears from a wipe effect via light letter by letter and the logo shines.

Technique: The panning of the logo.

Audio: An electronic melody with a whoosh when "GAMES" appears.

Availability: Seen on Crave's later games like Brunswick Pro Bowling, Man vs Wild: The Game, the 3DS version of Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, Sing4: The Hits Edition and Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion XL.