Williams Entertainment

Logo decriptions and captures by EnormousRat and CuriousGeorge60 Editions by CuriousGeorge60 and Logophile Video captures courtesy of QuakegodLogoArchive

Background: Founded in 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, Williams Manufacturing Company was a pinball machine producer. In 1994, Williams purchased Tradewest and renamed it as Williams Entertainment, Inc. to enter the wide gaming market and to develop its own games.

1st Logo (1994) Williams Entertainment (1994)Williams Entertainment (1995)

Nickname: "The Gold Script"

Logo: We see a golden word "Williams" written in the corporate font. Below, the word "Entertainment" is orange-colored.

Variant: On Troy Aikman NFL Football, the background is covered by W-Shields and the word "SPORTS".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Troy Aikman NFL Football and Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1994-1996)

Williams Entertainment (1995)Williams Entertainment (1995)Williams Entertainment (1995)Williams Entertainment (1995)Williams Entertainment (1996)

Nicknames: "W-Shield", "The Williams Shield"

Logo: The black word "Williams" is seen on white background, and below, there's a byline "Williams Entertainment Inc." Right to the text, we see the sphere with W inside (called W-Shield).

Variants:

On Genesis versions of Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, the logo is small. On Doom for SNES, the logo is white on a black background. On Mortal Kombat 3 for DOS, the logo has "A" above and "Production of" below. On Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey, the logo has the shiny blue-white gradient color with "Williams Entertainment Inc." in gray on a black background. Plus, it shares the screen with NHL, NHLPA and N64 logos below along with Wayne Gretzky's signature above.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Depending on game:

On Genesis versions of Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, it's silent. On SNES versions of Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, we hear the victory music from The Subway stage. On the Super NES version of Doom, it uses the first seven notes of the Plant level. On the DOS version of Mortal Kombat 3, we hear the sound of the bell ringing.

Availability: Seen on Mortal Kombat 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for Genesis and SNES. It also appears on the DOS version of former as well. The black background variant can be seen on Doom for SNES.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1995-1996)

Williams Entertainment (1995)Williams Entertainment (1996)

Nicknames: "W-Shield II", "The Williams Shield II", "CGI W-Shield"

Logo: The vertical panel of many orange dots enters the screen and turns horizontal. Many laser beams begin to emerge from every dot in various directions. Then the dot panel flash and we see the solid grey Williams logo, which is same as above, but the W-Shield surface is purple. A few light splashes appear over the logo.

Variant: Still version was used on Cruis'n USA for Nintendo 64. It shared the screen with Nintendo logo. Plus, the W-Shield isn't there and the words, "Developed By:" are above the logo.

FX/SFX: Laser beams and the splash of the logo.

Music/Sounds: Deep synth note, then the rough splash (which sounds like the Sentry Gun destroyed in Team Fortress 2) as the logo appears, and the note continues.

Availability: Seen on Doom, Final Doom, and Mortal Kombat 3 for PlayStation. Also seen on the console ports of Area 51, as well as the PC ports of T-Mek and Return Fire.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (Along with Midway logo) (1996)

Williams / Midway (1996)Williams/Midway (1996)

Nicknames: "W-Shield III", "The Williams Shield III", "Williams-Midway Combo", "CGI W-Shield II"

Logo: Two gray dots (above an "i") appear with a green firework effect. The camera moves to the opposite side on the plain, and the word "Williams" (in its corporate font) is being drawn from both sides to the center, with the same green effects. A flash draws the byline below, and thered letters of the Midway logo fly from the bottom of the screen to their positions letter-by-letter in the backwards order of how its spelled (i.e, Y first, then A, etc.) while the camera zooms out a little. The Midway logo then glows. As both logosare ready, they then flash once and fade out.

Variant:

There is a still version of the logo, which features the still version of the 3rd logo with the flash intact on the dot above the "i". On a PlayStation PAL version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, it's a still logo with the flash effect intact.

FX/SFX: The two dots appearing, the words of "Williams" being drawn, the fireworks effect, and the logos sparkling.

Music/Sounds: The sounds of firework effects, followed by the deep synth note (same as before). Then we hear whoosh sounds as the letters of theMidway logofly in, and a rough splash (which again sounds like the Sentry destroyed in Team Fortress 2) is heard when the logos flash.

Music/Sounds Variant: None or the opening theme of the game on the still version.

Availability: Can be seen on Mortal Kombat Trilogy and NHL Open Ice for PlayStation. The still version is shown on NBA Hang Time for Genesis, SNES and Nintendo 64. Also appears on NHL Open Ice, and Robotron X (for PlayStation), and the Windows 95 version of Mortal Kombat 3 as well.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (1996)

Williams Entertainment (1996)Williams Entertainment/Digital Eclipse Software, Inc. (1996)

Nicknames: "W-Shield IV", "The Williams Shield IV", "CGI W-Shield III", "Crystallized W-Shield"

Logo: Against the black background, we see the W-Shield, but in a crystal gradient purple and green color. Then it zooms back and spins and moves to the right revealing the "Williams Entertainment" text from the wipe transition with "Williams" in it's corporate font and "Entertainment" under it which are also in the same color and the text shines during. After the W-Shield goes to the right of the logo, the orange glow appears around it and dims a little.

Variants:

On Ms. Pac-Man for the SNES and Williams' Arcades Greatest Hits for Genesis and SNES, it's a still logo with the glow intact around the W-Shield. On Williams' Arcades Greatest Hits, the still logo was shown along with the Digital Eclipse Software logo. Above the logo is "Presented by". Next to the Digital Eclipse logo is "Developed by DIGITAL ECLIPSE SOFTWARE, INC." in stacked words.

FX/SFX: CGI animation of the W-Shield. None for the still version.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Appears on Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for Saturn. The still version is seen on Ms. Pac-Man for SNES and Williams' Arcades Greatest Hits for Genesis and SNES.

Editor's Note: None.

Final Note: In 1996 Williams acquired Time Warner Interactive and Williams Entertainment was merged into the new corporation, "Midway Home Entertainment". However, early Midway Home Entertainment games used the Williams Entertainment logo.