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 Viacom. 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 Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which was released that year, after the Extinction mode for Call of Duty: Ghosts, released in November 2013.

1st Logo (April 16, 1996-November 17, 1998)
Visuals: On a black background is a brown/purple 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: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: 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)
Visuals: Over a black background is the text "Times New Roman" (in a grunge Times New Roman font jumbled up and colored orange, yellow-orange, and red with lines above and below it respectively), with an eyeball as an "O" with a spear sticking across it and its optic nerve twined around it, fading in and appearing 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 shown glowing. Plus, the logo is sped-up a bit.

Technique: CGI.

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

Audio Variant: On the final demo version of the game (dated 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).

3rd Logo (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2/Spider-Man variant) (September 1, 2000-November 15, 2001)
Visuals: There is the Neversoft eyeball moving like a worm on the bottom line. The "Times New Roman" in the Neversoft logo falls down to the line as the eyeball notices the letter. Then the "Times New Roman" falls down as well, shocking the eyeball. It runs to the left, but an "Times New Roman" falls down, blocking the eyeball's way again. The eyeball runs to the right as "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman" and "Times New Roman" fall down forming "Times New Roman" and the eyeball goes to the "Times New Roman's spot. 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 slam to 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: CGI.

Audio: 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 splattering sound play shortly after the spear hits the eyeball.

Audio 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)
Visuals: There is the Neversoft logo with the body of a headless person with various stitches on a black room with a spotlight on the floor with a skateboard. The eyeball looks down, then jumps into the person's body, becoming its head. The person 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 of 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 play as the Neversoft Eyeball in this game, but only after you beat all the goals in the game and get every gold medal in all three competitions with a different skater each time, or simply going to the options menu, going to the Cheats section and entering either "FREAKSHOW" (GameCube), "YOHOMIES" (PS2/PC), or "TEAMFREAK" (Xbox), which also unlocks some hidden characters. This is only for GameCube, PS2, Xbox and PC. 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: CGI.

Audio: 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, PS2, Xbox, and other systems.

5th Logo (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 variant) (October 23, 2002-August 14, 2003)
Visuals: There is the Neversoft logo, but without the eyeball. A gorilla appears skateboarding on the previous logo's ground, but brighter than before. It does some tricks, then gets off and sits down. It picks its nose, only to pull out the Neversoft eyeball, which it throws the eyeball 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: CGI.

Audio: 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)
Visuals: The logo starts with 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 black and white with film effects.

Trivia: T.H.U.D., who appears in this 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 C.H.U.D., a 1984 horror movie.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: 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)
Visuals: Over a black background is the eyeball's optic nerve holding a spray can that draws Tony Hawk's Underground 2 graffiti. The camera zooms out to reveal a beach. The graffiti is a red background with some black on it with a stylized Neversoft logo, with "Thug 2" ("2" smaller than "Thug") to the left of the logo and the stacked text "WORLD DESTRUCTION TOUR" to the right of the logo. A UFO flies in and tries to shoot the eyeball, but the eyeball dodges its blasts. The UFO destroys the stylized Neversoft logo, revealing the normal logo. 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 like usual. The sequence then fades out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Beach noises with sounds of spraying, the UFO and the splattering.

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)
Visuals: Eight paper fragments, each with a letter in various styles, fall down on a white floor. Two blue and white hands appear and arrange the fragments to make the word "NeVERS fT." Then one of the hands draw a stylized version of the Neversoft eyeball. The background turns black, and "PRESENTS" is drawn below. After this, the background and paper fragments go away to start 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: 2D computer animation.

Audio: "California Uber Alles" by The Dead Kennedys, which is a part of the game intro. There are also scribble 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)
Visuals: The sequence starts with the game's intro. After some time, the Neversoft logo toned in sepia fades in via some sort of strange way, then "Times New Roman" appears below in the same way.

Technique: Fading effects.

Audio: 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)
Visuals: The sequence starts on a night sky with a Moon and some trees. The screen pans to a forest, where a projector lights the place. Some drops fall from above, then a small white person with a big skull-like head falls. It 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 the screen zooms 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: CGI.

Audio: Forest sounds, then "Chase The Devil" by Eagles Of Death Metal plays after the big-headed small white person 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)
Visuals: There is a skateboard on a street. The screen pans to reveal the eyeball riding it, standing up by its optic nerve. It does some tricks, and the dodges some obstacles, but hits one while it flies, and falls down on the ground. Then the eyeball gets threaded onto the spear that was shot down. The text "Times New Roman" along with the top and bottom lines appears drop down from above. The threaded eyeball is in the "O"'s place as its optic nerve twines around the spear. The background turns black, then the logo ends with a TV turn-off effect.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: 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)
Visuals: A hand is seen adjusting an equalizer. Then the camera shows a rocker on a floor with an electric guitar, playing a rock tune. When it raises his head, we can see that its head is the Neversoft eyeball, without its optic nerve. The Neversoft logo without the eyeball fades in, as the background turns black. The spear falls, sticking the eye and making its optic nerve appear around it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A hard rock tune.

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

13th Logo (Guitar Hero: Aerosmith variant) (June 27-October 17, 2008)
Visuals: There is a CGI version of the rock band Aerosmith rocking out at a concert. Then, Steven Tyler (the band's lead singer) 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: CGI.

Audio: Nearly the same as the previous logo.

Availability: Appears on Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.

14th Logo (October 26, 2008-February 19, 2010)
Visuals: The logo starts with short close-ups of scene artists, which vary depending on the 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 in different directions. The spear appears sticking through the eyeball, which twines it with its optic nerve. Then the screen zooms 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: CGI.

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

Audio 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)
Visuals: 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: CGI.

Audio: 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)
Visuals: After the Infinity Ward logo is the Neversoft logo as a 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: CGI.

Audio: The opening theme to the game.

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