Elite Systems

Background

Elite Systems is a video game developer/publisher, based in Lichfield, England. It was founded in 1984 as Richard Wilcox Software, only for it to be relaunched as Elite in August 1984. They then started developing games for the popular Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, and ZX Spectrum computers, as well as other computer at the time. After those winded down in popularity, they started working on console titles for the SNES and Game Boy through their Motivetime division. Somehow against all odds, they still manage to continue to the present day, formerly developing iOS and Android ports of their old titles prior to 2014. In 2020, it's been reported that Elite is pursuing to become a electric vehicle manufacturer, with their first product aiming to be the Paperboy, an "eBike".

1st Logo (1984-1998)

Visuals: The logo consists of the rounded text "elite" with a line below it, and 2 lines right beside it. The entire logo has a beige/bluish-silver gradient shine to it.

Variants:

The logo is usually embedded into the title screen or even the gameplay somewhere, usually in a different color palette or distorted features, on many computer and even early console titles.
On the infamous Virtuoso on the 3DO, the logo is placed on a black/lavender gradient background, with "SYSTEMS" in white spaced out below the logo. "PRESENTS..." can also be seen on the bottom. The DOS version contains this on a black background, with the text in a slightly different font and having a glow effect around them.
On some titles, the logo is positioned to the right of the lines, and zooms in from the top of the screen. on a black background.
Early PlayStation titles, like Test Drive: Off Road and StrikePoint, had the logo in 3D, rotating towards the screen before freezing. The former was shortened to its last few seconds, but the latter had the full version, showing the logo flying from off screen before rotating up.

Technique: None. CGI for the last variant.

Audio: The game's music/sounds playing over it. None for the logo when it isn't part of the title screen, but Test Drive: Off Road had a reverse cymbal crash.

Availability: Seen on almost every single game they have produced/distributed at this time, at least in Britain. Some of their Game Boy games like The Fidgetts have this. These are also preserved on their mobile ports of their titles.

2nd Logo (November 27, 1997)

Visuals: The screen fades in to a metal plate, tinted with a mix of purple, red, and a bit of blue on it. White particles emerge, followed by a white beam being projected onto the now rotating piece of metal. The beam stops, leaving a large indention, and the machine producing the beam moves down, beginning the next indention. The screen then fades to a different shot of the metal being marked with more machines, placed over a background of magma. It slowly crossfades over to a new shot, showing that the indentions were the "elite" name from before, just without the lines, as a large machine comes down to stamp it, and it fades over to a shot of a bucket of magma being prepared to be pored into the machine. It then fades to the completed "elite" text being revealed by the machine opening up, before the screen fades to the text, now cooled down to the same tinted effect at the beginning of the logo, slowly rotating to face head-on towards the screen.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The loud sounds of machinery, as well as a very loud whirring sound in the background are heard throughout the logo, but is silent when the logo rotates.

Availability: Only seen on Hybrid.