TDK Mediactive

Credits

Descriptions by
EnormousRat

Video captures courtesy of
Digital media resources, Broken Saw and EnormousRat

Background

TDK Mediactive was founded in 1988 as Sound Source Interactive by Vincent J. Bitetti to create children's games. In 1998, the company acquired game development studio BWT Labs. In 2000, the company was acquired by Japanese electronics company TDK and renamed "TDK Mediactive". In 2003, the company was purchased by Take-Two Interactive and renamed to Take-Two Licensing; it was then shuttered shortly after the formation of 2K Games, one of Take-Two's main publishing labels, in 2005, which Take-Two Licensing was folded into.

Sound Source Interactive

Contents 1st Logo (1995-1998) 2nd Logo (1997-2001) 3rd Logo (1998-2000)

TDK Mediactive

Contents 1st Logo (September 29, 2000) 2nd Logo (May 1-29, 2001) 3rd Logo (2001-2004)

Sound Source Interactive

1st Logo (1995-1998)

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Logo: On a black background is a black box with a white border. On the left of the box are the stacked words " SOUND SOURCE INTERACTIVE" in a narrow font. On a right is a white/black stick figure that looks similar to the Knowledge Adventure stick figure, but with hair on his head, a thunderbolt left hand and a cartwheel in the right hand. There is also a white area covering the figure's black portion. Below the box is the word "present".

Variant: On Games like Babe: A Little Pig Goes A Long Way, the logo would share its appearence with other logos like the MCA/Universal Merchandising one.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Ultra rare. Seen on early games from this company, like Land Before Time: Math Adventure.

2nd Logo (1997-2001)

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  The nearly-finished logo

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  The finished logo

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  Still version

Logo: On a black background, several purple, orange and white dots fly in and form a large stylized "S" (which looks slightly similar to the Screen Gems "S from Hell", but not by much) with a purple circle behind and the white words "SOUND SOURCE INTERACTIVE" in a bolder font, while the background becomes a black/orange background. Moments later, the "S" and circle dissolve, and "SOUND SOURCE INTERACTIVE" zooms in to where it stops on the screen. The background becomes black again.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: Zapping noises are heard when the dots fly in, followed by a bang sound. A flourish is heard when the logo excluding the text dissolves.

Availability: Rare. It can be seen on titles like The Land Before Time: Return to the Great Valley and Casper: Friends Around the World for PS1. A still version appeared in the American Tail Animated Moviebook.

3rd Logo (1998-2000)

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  Casper Activity Center

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  Extreme Sports with the Berenstain Bears

Logo: On a black background, the text "SOUND SOURCE" in the same font as the previous logo and colored in a gold/orange/pink/green gradient, and a white smaller "INTERACTIVE" underneath it in the same font are seen.

Variants:

• On Casper Activity Center, the WayForward Technologies and Harvey Entertainment logos appear below this logo.
• On Extreme Sports with the Berenstain Bears, the logo is pixelated and more color-saturated, and is inside a black box on a white background. It shares the screen with the TDK logo below.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None, or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on Casper Activity Center, The Chipmunk Adventure Interactive Coloring Book, and Extreme Sports with the Berenstain Bears, among some other games.

TDK Mediactive

1st Logo (September 29, 2000)

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  Rainbow Islands

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  Elevator Action EX

Logo: Just the standard TDK logo (which consists of a stylized hexagon with several smaller triangles in it forming a star-like design, next to the text "TDK") in blue on a white background.

Variant: On Elevator Action EX for Game Boy Color, we see below the logo:

Published by
TDK Recording Media Europe S.A

as well as "LICENSED BY NINTENDO".

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on Elevator Action EX and Rainbow Islands for GBC.

2nd Logo (May 1-29, 2001)

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  Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown

Logo: On a black background, we see the TDK logo in white, with "MEDIACTIVE" below it.

Variant: On The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure, the logo has copyright information below it.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: A short 8-bit jingle, or none.

Availability: Seen on Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown for Game Boy Color and The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure for the PlayStation.

3rd Logo (2001-2004)

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  Still version

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  GBA version

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  Blue-toned version

Logo: Two light flashes come from both sides and collide into the TDK corporate logo, then other flashes create the bar below with "mediactive" in a custom font. A soft blue light is seen flashing across the logo for a second.

Variants:

• There is a variant with a complicated blue-toned background.
• On GBA releases, the background is white and the text is blue.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A few flipping noise sounds, followed by a soft drum rock tune.

Availability: The blue version was used on the PlayStation 2 version of Casper: Spirit Dimensions, Shrek Gameland Activity Center on the PC and the infamous Shrek for Xbox. The black version was first used on Pryzm: Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn, and was used on all console and PC games from the company. The still version appears on GBA games.

Legacy: Despite being known for being a hated company, this logo is still a childhood favorite for those who remember playing their games.