Shaba Games

Background

Shaba Games was a video game developer founded in September 1997 in San Francisco, California. Its first game was Grind Session for PlayStation. In April 2002, it was acquired by Activision and became a wholly-owned subsidiary. In later years, the studio was known for its assistance work on multi-platform titles. In October 9, 2009, Activision confirmed that the studio would be closed.

1st Logo (April 29, 2000)

Logo: We see a night sky with stars and glowing outlines of constellations depicting skaters. Then we move down to a sandy surface and see an orange trapezium shield with a small blue attachment above. The name "Shaba Games" is written on the shield in two lines and slowly ripples. A weird-looking human head appears below, with flames instead of hair. The head winks at us.

Technique: The flames.

Music/Sounds: First cicadas chirping, then the burning flame and a wink sound.

Availability: Appears on Grind Session for PlayStation.

2nd Logo (December 11, 2000-November 18, 2005)

Logo: We see a strange man (probably of Japanese origin) within old cinema effects. The man greets us with "Shaba" and says "Ha-ha", then suddenly zooms out and the name "SHABA GAMES" in Comic Sans appears right to him. Then the logo ends.

Technique: The man moving his head and the flickering old film effects.

Music/Sounds: Sounds of a film projector and the man talking, then a gong.

Availability: Seen on Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX for PlayStation, Shrek SuperSlam and Razor Freestyle Scooter. It also appears on Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix for PSP as well.

3rd Logo (June 3, 2003)

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Logo: We first see a presentation showcasing the history of the Shaba brand name, which traces all the way back to 1953 with Shaba Amusements & Diversions. At the end of the presentation, the Shaba name appears in a similar way to the first logo, and the byline "50 years of fun!" is wiped below in a curve. The whole logo is gold.

Technique: The presentation, the logo forming.

Music/Sounds: A synth tune.

Availability: Seen on Wakeboarding Unleashed.

Legacy: Although it's nice to see the diverse selection of businesses listed in this intro, Shaba Games itself is only related to them in-name, so it's kind of unnecessary in that way.

4th Logo (November 7, 2006-June 8, 2007)

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Logo: We see a fish lying on a cooking table, with old film effects. Suddenly, a hand with a knife appears and chops the fish in a cartoonish style, while the background rapidly flickers with various views. The fish opens its mouth and remains solid during the execution, but then promptly turns into a chopped form. The hand passes over the fish meat and creates "SHABA". Then the hand puts spices on the upper right corner. Two characters are on the bottom left and right corners, one of them being the man from the 2nd logo.

Technique: The old film effects, the cooking action.

Music/Sounds: The cook saying "hm!", then sounds of chopping and yelling "Shaba!", then a gong.

Availability: Appeared on Tony Hawk's Project 8 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It's also seen on the PSP version as well.

5th Logo (October 21, 2008)

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Logo: We pan over a dark interlacing view on the city towers, where the background is red. The black Shaba logo rises up. Then the city outlines clear out and the logo is left alone on the screen.

Technique: The logo rises.

Music/Sounds: Ominous humming sound.

Availability: Appeared on Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.