Altron

Background

Altron Corporation was a Japanese video game developer that was formed in 1983. Initially selling Western products, the company began localizing games in 1991, and then developing games in its own right. The company stopped publishing games in the early 2000s.

1st Logo (January 30, 1991-May 2, 2003)

Visuals: On a white background, there is a red dot that was behind a curve, making it resembling a letter "A". On the right, there is the text "ALTRON" in italics.

Variants:

In early games, the text and the logo was smaller.
On the first three Famicom games, which are the Japanese versions of Paperboy, Super Sprint and The Untouchables, the logo was shown over the title screen.
Sometimes, "PRESENTS" is shown below the logo.
There is a version on a black background with a white logo.
On Game Boy games, the entire logo is black.

Technique: A sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None, or the opening theme of the game.

Audio Variant: On the Super Famicom versions of The Hunt for Red October and Tom and Jerry, the logo plasters the Hi-Tech Expressions logo theme, keeping the music intact.

Availability: Seen on numerous Famicom and Super Famicom games, starting with Paperboy. It also appeared on Redline F-1 Racer and several PlayStation games, like Rox and the Sega Saturn game of Sorvice.

2nd Logo (April 28, 1995-January 10, 1997)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a red sphere, while the curves from the previous logo move. Then red glass pieces shatter, which form the Altron text from the previous logo.

Technique: Early CGI.

Audio: A crystallized synth warbling theme. In early games, the logo is silent.

Availability: Seen on early PlayStation and Saturn games, like Missland, City Bravo!, Elf o Karu Monotachi: Hanafuda Hen, Tadaima Wakusei Kaitakuchuu! and Robo Pit.

3rd Logo (October 18, 1996-June 26, 2014)

Visuals: On a black background, pieces of the Altron logo flies in and settles to the center, but this time, the sphere is more realistic.

Variants:

Most commonly, the logo is still.
On some early games, like Mighty Hits and Elf o Karu Monotachi, the logo is tinted in sky blue. Plus, the text is bolder.
On some games like Elf o Karu Monotachi II and Backgammon, the text is in Japanese.
On the European version of Backgammon, the curve is smaller, while the text is larger.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Same as before. Sometimes, the logo is silent.

Availability: The main animated logo appears on several Japanese games from the era, starting with Robo-Pit 2. The still version appears on many Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and PlayStation games from the era.

4th Logo (July 30, 1998)

Visuals: On a black background, the curve from the last logo moves toward the screen and flips, while the red dot from before zooms in. Then the letters from the previous logo slides in and the letters flip one by one.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A twinkling synth.

Availability: Seen on the Sega Saturn game of Waku Waku Monster.

5th Logo (March 9, 1999-February 23, 2001)

Visuals: On a white background, there is a yellow rectangle with the Altron logo from the previous logos inside the logo.

Variants:

Sometimes, the text is black.
On the Game Boy Color game of Checkmate, the text "PRESENTS", and a language selection menu is displayed below the logo.
On the Game Boy Color game of Little Magic, the sphere is 3D.
On the Game Boy Color games of Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage and Sgt. Rock: On the Front Line, the Taito logo is shown below the logo.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on all Game Boy Color games from the era, such as the Japanese version of Rox, Front Line: The Next Mission, Elevator Action EX, K.O.: The Pro Boxing, Checkmate and Backgammon, among others.