Sega Rosso

Background

Sega Rosso was a major development studio owned by Sega between 2000 and 2003. At less than 40 staff, Sega Rosso was the smaller first-party studio serviced by Sega during this period. Sasaki and many of his peers had previously migrated from Namco (having worked on the original Ridge Racer), being part of Sega AM3 (working on Sega Rally Championship) and then AM Annex/AM12 during the 1990s. In 1999, AM12 became Sega Software R&D Dept. 5 for a year; Sega Rosso is the continuation of this effort.

As Sega was considered to be "blue" and "cool", Sasaki wanted to name the company after something "red" and "hot", eventually landing on "Sega Rosso", with Rosso being the Italian word for red. A core part of the company was dealing with racing games, though it branched off into other genres. The company was well known for creating the Initial D: Arcade Stage series and Cosmic Smash. The company eventually went defunct in October 2003 when it merged with Sega's other division, Hitmaker, creating an odd case where the Initial D: Special Stage credits Sega Rosso in its original release, but Hitmaker in the PlayStation 2 The Best budget range.

Logo (September 13, 2001-2004)

Cosmic Smash (Dreamcast port)
Soul Surfer
Initial D: Arcade Stage, Initial D: Arcade Stage Ver. 2, Initial D: Special Stage, and Initial D Arcade Stage Ver. 3
Sega Rally Championship (GBA port)

Visuals: On a white background, preceding the "Presented by Sega" logo, a curve forms the letter "S" as it begins to zoom out of position. Another curve forms the letter "R" as it merges with the "S", as other curves also form throughout as they surround the two letters and various black lines form the word "Sega Rosso" while "created by" slides into position. The logo then "flashes" white into a still product of the logo with the trademark symbol. After a few seconds, the logo splits apart as it fades to black.

Variants:

On most games, such as the Dreamcast port of Cosmic Smash, Initial D: Arcade Stage 2 and Initial D: Special Stage, the logo is still.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A "squeal" sound accompanied by a shattering sound along with a 3 note synth tune, ending with a thud sound as the logo is formed. Everything is sync with the logo.

Availability: Seen on games such as the Dreamcast port of Cosmic Smash, Soul Surfer, as well as the first three Initial D: Arcade Stage games.