EA Black Box
Background
Black Box Games was a studio founded in Vancouver, Canada in 1998 by former employees of Radical Entertainment. In June 2002, it was purchased by Electronic Arts and became a subsidiary of their Canadian division known as "EA Black Box". The studio was primarily known for the Need of Speed and Skate game series. In July 2012, it was renamed to "Quicklime Games" during the development of Need for Speed World, and shortly thereafter closed for good in April 2013.
Black Box Games
Logo (February 9, 2000-November 1, 2002)
Visuals: The camera zooms through giant 0's and 1's (like binary code) to the words "BLACK B X GaMeS" on the screen, with the B's lower end extending to the right. A yellow box comes and takes its place as the letter "O". There are blue rays beaming from the box, and many dots and the background flicker.
Variant: There is a still variant where the rays are gray instead of blue. Plus, the text is black and "GAMES" is smaller.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: Several adverse grinding sounds.
Availability: Seen on NHL Hitz 2002 and 2003, as well as on Sega Soccer Slam. The still variant can be seen on NHL 2K for Sega Dreamcast, although the animated variant appears after the game's intro on said game with the cheat codes having been entered when starting the game.
EA Black Box
1st Logo (August 20-November 18, 2008)
Visuals: The EA logo appears first and the Black Box logo after, with the byline "An Electronic Arts Studio" below. The "O" letter is replaced with an orange box. When shown, the logo transitions into a speedometer with the box converting into its arrow, and further into the intro.
Technique: 2D digital animation.
Audio: Various noises and screeches.
Availability: Seen on Need for Speed: Undercover and its trailers.
2nd Logo (September 19, 2008-January 23, 2009)
Visuals: There is a grainy background with a reflection of some room. There is a crumpled gray box with "BLACK BOX" written below. The sides of the box randomly rotate.
Technique: CGI.
Audio: Faint film rolling sounds.
Availability: Seen on Skate 2 and its trailers.
3rd Logo (November 13, 2009-May 13, 2010)
Visuals: Flashing in from the EA game variant are the chipped white words "BLACK BOX", where "BOX" is below and the "O" is replaced with a box.
Technique: A still digital graphic.
Audio: None.
Availability: Seen on Skate 3 and its trailers.
4th Logo (April 28-November 15, 2011)
Visuals: A stone cube pulsates with an orange material inside, then zooms out as the letters for "BLACK BOX" appear together. The cube overlaps the right side of the "X".
Technique: CGI.
Audio: Rumbling sounds heard over the opening theme.
Availability: Seen on Need for Speed: The Run and its trailers.
