Bits Studios

Background

Bits Studios was a British video game developer that was originally formed in 1984 by Foo Katan as Mitko Limited, and started a game development subsidiary B.I.T.S.. In 1995, Mitko's business and assets were renamed to Bits Corporation Limited, and in 1996, Bits Studios Limited was started with the acquisition of certain fixed assets and IP from the receiver of Bits Corporation. In 2000, Bits Studios became a subsidiary of Bits Corporation plc, which was merged into Playwize plc in July 2006. The company was liquidated in 2008.

1st Logo (January 1992-October 1993)

Visuals: On a white background, there is the text "Bits" in a metallic font, with a yellow lightning bolt crossing the text.

Variants:

On Game Boy, the logo is in black-and-white.
On Terminator 2: Judgement Day for the Game Boy, the text "A" and "PROGRAMMED GAME" appears above and below the logo.
On the Game Boy and Game Gear games of Last Action Hero, the text "A" and "PRODUCTION" above and below the logo. The logo is set within a box on a white (Game Boy) or black (Game Gear) background.

Technique: A sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Appears on the Game Boy game of Terminator 2: Judgement Day and the Game Boy and Game Gear games of Last Action Hero. However, the logo is not seen on other titles for the NES, Game Boy, SNES, Genesis and the Watara Supervision.

2nd Logo (1 November 1994-12 March 1996)

Visuals: On a white background, there is the metallic text "bits" in an odd font, and below it was the text "corporation". A water ripples throughout the logo.

Variants:

A still version exists.
On the Game Gear game of The Itchy & Scratchy Game, the text is black.

Technique: 2D sprite animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on the Genesis and SNES games of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and No Escape, the SNES game of Wolverine: Adamantium Rage, The Itchy & Scratchy Game for both the SNES, Game Gear and in a prototype for the Genesis, the 32X and DOS game of T-Mek, and the DOS game of Maximum Roadkill.

3rd Logo (24 July 2000)

Visuals: On a white background, there is the same logo from before, except "studios" replaces "corporation", and the logo is in black. A shadow fades in, and the URL "www.bitscorp.com" fades in below the logo.

Technique: 2D sprite animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on the Game Boy Color game of Warlocked.

4th Logo (15 November 2002-6 February 2004)

Visuals: Over a black background, the logo starts with binary codes of "0"s and "1"s zooming out, and move towards the direction, and the binary codes form a silver version of the Bits Studios logo from the previous logo, via a flash effect. The logo shines and then zooms out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An ethereal theme plays all throughout the logo, featuring a whoosh, and a choir, ending in a dreamy synth.

Availability: Seen on Die Hard: Vendetta and Rogue Ops.

5th Logo (22 May-1 August 2003)

Visuals: On a blue-white gradient background, there is the Bits Studios logo from the last logos, except it has a shadow. Below it was the URL, "www.bitsstudios.com".

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on the Game Boy Advance game of Sega Arcade Gallery.

6th Logo (17 February-4 March 2005)

Visuals: Over a black background, the logo starts with claw-like lines that form a rougher version of the Bits Studios logo. Then the logo flashes, forming the logo from the previous logos with a yellow glow and then it turns green.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: Cracking sounds, ending in a choir.

Availability: Seen on Constantine.

7th Logo (15 August-24 November 2006)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a silver version of the Bits Studios logo from the previous logos.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on Payout Poker & Casino.