Hasbro Interactive

Background

Hasbro Interactive was the video game division of toy company Hasbro, founded in December 1995 by Hasbro vice-president Thomas Dusenberry (credited as "Tom" in the company's games). In February 1998, the company bought the Atari brand name from JTS Storage, and used it to publish retro-themed remakes of several classic Atari titles. By late 2000 however, growing losses at the company prompted Hasbro to sell their gaming division to French software company Infogrames for $100 million. With it, Infogrames also purchased the Atari brand and in 2003, rebranded itself under that name. Hasbro later bought back the gaming rights for their properties in 2005 and signed a casual publishing deal with Electronic Arts two years later.

Hasbro Electronic Entertainment

Contents

Logo (1995-1996)

Hasbro Interactive

Contents

1st Logo (1996)	2nd Logo (1996-March 12, 2001)	3rd Logo (1996-December 24, 2000)	4th Logo (October 15, 1997-December 6, 1999)	5th Logo (1998-October 13, 2000)	6th Logo (Late 1999-December 15, 2000)

Hasbro Electronic Entertainment

Logo (1995-1996)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a white rectangle with the word "HASBRO" on the top. The word "ELECTRONIC" with a purple Saturn-like planet with a red atom revolving around in place of the "O" is seen below. The word "ENTERTAINMENT" is seen below "ELECTRONIC".

Variant: On Monopoly, the logo is revealed via a ripple effect.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: A MIDI tune, depends on the game.

Availability: Appears in place of the Parker Brothers logo on the European version of Version 1.0 and 1.1 of Monopoly (retained on the 1996 and 1997 re-releases), and is also known to appear on the first CD-ROM release of Trivial Pursuit. This logo is plastered on the later versions of both games.

Hasbro Interactive

1st Logo (1996)

Visuals: The sequence starts on a black background, which ripples to live-action footage of a sky and some clouds. After a few seconds, a transparent triangular prism appears along with 5 gold spheres spinning around. The prism starts shining and flashes into a space background. The spheres turn around the back of the prism and turn red, orange, gold, green and blue which face to a moon. A giant triangle faces down to the screen where the prism is. Below the triangle is "HASBRO" and "Interactive^TM". The footage inside the triangle stops.

Variant: On Ultimate Yahtzee, the logo freezes before it fully finishes. Afterwards, three die crash into the logo while it resumes, segueing into the game's opening theme.

Technique: Live-action footage for the clouds, and CGI for the rest. Depending on the game (and the resolution of the corresponding video file), the logo may run at 15 frames per second or 30 frames per second.

Audio: Starts with an 8-note harp arpeggio, one ascending and one descending. It is followed by a descending series of bells and a synth line (although it could be heard at a lower volume before it's actually heard at normal volume; the faint synth line is looped 3 more times, ending when the triangle and wordmark zoom into place), accompanied by ascending and descending electronic sounds. A loud whoosh is then heard when the flash from the rotating pyramid transitions the setting into outer space, along with an orchestral hit, in which the music evolves into a futuristic, space-like theme (using the same arpeggios as the beginning in synth form). Whooshes (which sound like paper sounds) are then heard as the golden spheres pass through the pyramid and are given their respective colors. As the triangle and wordmark zoom out into place, a timpani drumroll (which sounds like a thunderclap) is heard, segueing into an ascending horror suspense-like stinger (which is heard twice in succession). The music finally ends with a loud, echoing drumbeat, plus an electric guitar sting and wind sounds.

Audio Variants:

Depending on the game, the audio may be compressed, which is the case with Ultimate Yahtzee.
On Ultimate Yahtzee, thunder sounds are heard after the orchestral hit, which stop when the gold spheres start passing through the pyramids. Afterwards, another thunder sound is heard as the triangle and wordmark zoom into place and freeze. The drumbeat and electrical guitar sting then perfectly transition into the game's intro music, without the echo.
On Scrabble, the opening theme to the game is used.

Availability: It appears on very early Hasbro PC titles. So far, this is known to appear on Scrabble, Ultimate Yahtzee, and the US version of version 1.1 of Monopoly for PC (versions 1.0 and 1.4 have the Parker Brothers logo instead, or the previous logo) and at least a 2001 UK reissue of the title.

2nd Logo (1996-March 12, 2001)

Standard logo
Sorry!
Daytona USA 2001

Visuals: There is a still version of the standard Hasbro Interactive logo, with a light blue background inside the triangle.

Variants:

The logo can have a box around it (just like the print logo), for example on H.E.D.Z., where it shares places with the Vis logo, and on Daytona USA 2001.
On Sorry!, the logo zooms in to let the Third-I logo appear.

Technique: A still, sprite-based graphic.

Audio: Normally none, depends per game.

Availability: Appears on a few titles from the company.

PC CD-ROM: Trivial Persuit (1996 re-release), Sorry!, Candy Land Adventure, H.E.D.Z., Mr. Potato Head: Activity Pack, etc.
Consoles: Daytona USA 2001 (Dreamcast)
Game Boy Color: Pong: The Next Level

3rd Logo (1996-December 24, 2000)

Standard logo
H.E.D.Z.
Monopoly (1999)

Visuals: The screen flashes white, before dying down to reveal a blue 3D planet on a blue background. All of a sudden, several information-esque objects swirl down the center of the screen, as it flashes different colors to several corresponding spheres sucking down the swirl as well (going from green, gold, orange to red) until the Hasbro Interactive logo is formed (with no dot on the second "i"). This logo is more elaborate, with reflections and 3D effects. After the logo is complete, the balls themselves continue animating as the logo disappears in a white flash (a la the 1985-2006 Walt Disney Pictures logo).

Variants:

On RollerCoaster Tycoon, the logo is still and pans from the top to the bottom. The MicroProse and Chris Sawyer logos soon follow.
On Monopoly (1999) for N64, the logo is still and small with a copyright notice on the bottom.
On some MicroProse games, the logo billboards over to the MicroProse logo before the white flash appears and the logo itself is much faster to match the audio of the 6th logo.
On some games, the white flash at the end may seamlessly transition (or crossfade) to whatever the next logo may be (i.e. in Monopoly Junior, where it crossfades to the Mind's Eye Productions logo, and on the PC version of The Next Tetris, where it crossfades to the Atari Interactive logo).
The speed of the logo may vary.
The PC version of The Next Tetris uses the lower-quality version of the music but the logo plays at standard speed.
On Operation!, after the animated logo finishes, a still version then appears.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: It starts with a cymbal crash and a brass hum, followed by several electronic sound effects that ascend and grow rapidly until the end, where it culminates in a twinkle, three drumbeats, and an echoing whoosh.

Audio Variants:

On a handful of games with this logo, the audio is a bit lower in quality. Additionally, the whoosh at the end may leave much more of an echo (if one listens closely to it, that is).
On Monopoly (1997) for PS1, the audio is low-pitched and slightly slower as a result.
- The audio is slower on Stratego and several Spot titles as well.
On the MicroProse variant, the 6th logo's theme is heard, and when the logo ends, the MicroProse logo's music kicks in as the last half of the former's theme trails off.
On RollerCoaster Tycoon, one of the coaster lift hill sounds plays over this logo and the others.

Availability: This is the most frequent logo of the company to find and appears on a majority of the company's titles.

On PC CD-ROM games, the standard version was first used on Clue/Cluedo, and later went on to appear on Risk, Boggle, Battleship, Frogger, Beast Wars: Transformers, Mastermind, Centipede (3D remake), Scrabble (US version), The Next Tetris, Operation!, Candy Land, Trivial Pursuit: Millennium Edition, Stratego, Tonka Construction 2, Tonka Dig 'n Rigs, Tonka Power Tools, Chutes and Ladders, Atari Arcade Hits Volume 1, Kids Tetris, Barney's Magical Music, Action Man: Raid on Island X, Atari Arcade Hits Volume 2, and so on.
The slower, lesser-quality music version appears on Parker Brothers Classic Card Games, Milton Bradley Classic Board Games, Clue/Cluedo Jr., Monopoly Junior, Thomas & Friends: The Great Festival Adventure, Easy-Bake Kitchen, Risk II (A MicroProse branded title), Nicktoons Racing (the PS1 version & later copies of the PC version plaster it with the third Infogrames logo), and Pac-Man: Adventures in Time.
On PlayStation titles, you can find this on Monopoly, Frogger, Beast Wars: Transformers, Risk, Scrabble (US version, slower version), Centipede, and The Next Tetris (slower version).
The MicroProse variant can be seen on Civilization II: Test of Time and the 2000 remake of Gunship!.

4th Logo (October 15, 1997-December 6, 1999)

Visuals: 5 white dots move clockwise by a spiral towards the center. There, they merge and form a rotating blue pyramid with a big blue sphere carved on its sides. The spheres pass over the pyramid as they become the normal colors of the spheres in the Hasbro Interactive logo. Then the spheres appear again, spin around the pyramid (which becomes 2D) and take their usual places. The words "HASBRO Interactive" move in with a door-closing effect and the logo sparkles, forming its usual design.

Variants:

Later games would have the logo with the animation enhanced but with a lower speed.
On The Game of Life for PC, the logo is shortened, with just the Hasbro Interactive wordmark moving into its position. Additionally, the logo is bigger.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A THX-like ascending theme that ends in a 5-note orchestral fanfare. There are various whooshes and ambient sounds heard throughout. The quality varies on each game.

Audio Variant: On The Game of Life for PC, only the last two notes are heard.

Availability: Not as common as the previous two logos, but still infrequent.

It appears on four Tonka games: Tonka Search and Rescue, Tonka Garage, Tonka Raceway and Tonka Workshop.
It also appears on many Artech Studios-developed titles such as My Little Pony: Friendship Gardens, Wheel of Fortune (PC and PlayStation), Jeopardy! (PC and PlayStation), and Monopoly: Star Wars.
Other titles that have this logo include Stuart Little: Big City Adventures, The Game of Life (Short version on PC, standard version on PlayStation) and Axis & Allies.

5th Logo (1998-October 13, 2000)

Standard logo
Action Man: Jungle Storm

Visuals: Some colored electrons move around a blue atom. The camera zooms out to reveal the space full of debris, then the triangle cuts off the space and makes the blue sphere inside it, surrounded by electrons as in the usual Hasbro logo. The logo is outlined. Suddenly, the red electron enters, making the way to its place and the logo shines to reveal "LET'S PLAY!" below the picture.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A fuzzy synth tune ending with a brief choir. Several whooshes can be heard as the electrons move.

Availability: Only appears on a small number of games. First used on Super Scattergories, and later appeared on the 1999 version of Monopoly, Guess Who?, Action Man: Jungle Storm, and Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (PC and PlayStation versions). It also appeared on commercials prior to the aforementioned games.

6th Logo (Late 1999-December 15, 2000)

Visuals: The sequence starts on a black background, where an ascending whistle of a rocket is heard. All of a sudden, a gold comet appears, quickly moving upwards over a space background (if one pays close attention enough; a la The Learning Company) as a big white spark appears. The comet then crashes into the spark, resulting in an explosion. It dies down, revealing the Hasbro Interactive logo, which is the same as the print logo. The wordmark is the same as the third logo as well, albeit with the dot on the second "i".

Variant: On certain games such as Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge for the Dreamcast, the logo is in better quality and moves at a smoother frame rate.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A rocket whistle and explosion noises, ending in an electrical guitar-like sting and some thunder clapping sounds.

Availability: It's quite frequent to find even though it was only used for one year. Can be found on Thomas & Friends: Trouble on the Tracks, Barney on Location: All Around Town, Wheel of Fortune: 2nd Edition (PC and PlayStation), Jeopardy!: Second Edition (PC and PlayStation), Family Feud (PC and PlayStation), Squad Leader, Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (Dreamcast version), B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th (A MicroProse branded title), and Tonka Space Station (PC and PlayStation).