Absolute Entertainment

Background

Absolute Entertainment was founded in 1986 by former Activision programmers, who chose the name to be shown alphabetically before Activision (which itself did the same thing in 1979, when it wanted to leave Atari behind). The company was closed due to bankruptcy in 1995, and some of the employees, including the co-founders Garry Kitchen and David Crane, to form Skyworks Technologies.

1st Logo (November 1988-1993)

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Visuals: A sand-colored triangle is shown, with the right side of it darker to represent it as a pyramid, is shown poking out of a rectangular frame made out of 2 black outlines. Below the pyramid is the text "ABSOLUTE ENTERTAINMENT" in a serif font and below it is "PRESENTS". The logo slides up from the bottom of the screen.

Variants:

• On F-18 Hornet, the logo is shown in a higher resolution, is contained inside of a large white rectangle, the pyramid is segmented with more lines on the lighter-colored side, and "ABSOLUTE" is colored dark blue. "Presents" is also in a serif font and properly capitalized.
• On Space Shuttle Project, the rectangle is filled with white.
• On some of their SNES and Genesis games, the logo is presented in a higher-quality resolution, with detailed textures on the pyramid and the text is shown in a rainbow gradient. The serif font used is also different for "ABSOLUTE ENTERTAINMENT", and "presents..." is seen in yellow and over the border.
  • On Super Battletank: War in the Gulf for the Genesis, the 2 halves of the pyramid slide in from the sides of the screen and cross over each other before stopping, and the rest of the logo fades in, followed by "PRESENTS" in a military stencil font typing in below. It also is an early version of the logo, as there's no scrolling gradient, the pyramid has less detailing, and "ABSOLUTE" is in white.
  • On the Genesis version of Toys, the pyramid slides in from each side of the screen and combines in the center, with the rest of the logo connected to the left side of the pyramid, and then briefly flashes white. The gradient in "ENTERTAINMENT" is also flipped.

Technique: Sprite-based animation.

Audio: Depends on the game, but usually none or the opening theme of the game.

• Space Shuttle Project: A series of ascending notes when the logo stops scrolling up.
• Toys: A rising 7-note tune, which sounds different depending on the system. The Genesis version has a thud when the logo comes together.

Availability: Seen on their earlier games starting with F-18 Hornet (Commodore 64), and can be seen on Space Shuttle Project, Super Battletank: War in the Gulf (Genesis), Toys, and Star Trek: The Next Generation (Game Boy). Was used in tandem with the 2nd logo for a short time.

2nd Logo (July 17, 1992-December 1996)

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Visuals: 2 sets of yellow segmented lines, with the left half thinner than the right, slide in from both sides of the screen and converge in the center, creating an abstract version of the pyramid as a blue sphere fades in behind it. Below it, "ABSOLUTE", in the same serif font as before, fades in. Both the logo and the text have trademark symbols on the bottom right corner for the both of them.

Variants:

• A still version exists.
• The speed of the animation tends to vary.

Technique: Sprite-based graphic animation.

Audio: A rising 7-note tune, which sounds different depending on the game and system, or none.

Availability: Seen on a majority of their games at the time.

• Can be seen on Space Ace (SNES), Goofy's Hysterical History Tour, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends (Genesis), Super Battletank 2, Turn and Burn: No-Fly Zone, ESPN Sunday Night NFL (SNES/Genesis), Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit,
• The logo debuted on Redline: F1 Racer as the still version, and then later appears on Star Trek: The Next Generation (NES/Game Gear), A/X-101, Star Trek: Generations - Beyond the Nexus, and Casper (SNES), their final game released a year after they closed.

3rd Logo (1994)

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Visuals: In a space environment, the camera waves around wildly through a solar system, with a sun and a flying pyramid in the distance, and passes by a grey moon before heading towards a blue planet with thin yellow bars surrounding it. The camera then pans behind the planet, revolves around it to the front, and then reveals the bars are actually the Absolute logo as they zoom back onto the planet and the tiny pyramid tips off the logo. Below, "ABSOLUTE" in its corporate font, rises up underneath the logo, and the the camera eventually settles in front of the logo, set at a slight downwards-facing angle.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A rising synth trumpet note is played alongside several synth plucks and chimes, before ending with a luscious chime rendition of the 7-note tune.

Availability: Seen on the Sega CD versions of Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, and ESPN Sunday Night NFL.

4th Logo (1995)

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Visuals: In space, a detailed globe of the Earth passes by the camera before settling in the upper part of the screen as "ABSOLUTE", in a different serif font, zooms out from the top of the screen and settles below the Earth. From the right side, the pyramid swings in piece-by-piece over the globe as a yellow lens flare runs across "ABSOLUTE", and then the background turns into a rotating grey marble surface, and the Earth turns into a plain blue sphere that changes its lighting position to face the upper left.

Variants:

• A higher-quality still version of the logo is seen on the 3DO port of Rise of the Robots.
• On a trailer for the unreleased Sega CD game Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors, the Earth now has a layer of clouds over it and the "ABSOLUTE" text spins while zooming out. It's also videotaped and is higher quality.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A rising synth trumpet note is played alongside several synth plucks and chimes, before ending with a luscious chime rendition of the 7-note tune.

Availability: The original animated version is seen on RDF - Global Conflict for the Sega CD. It also appears on the aforementioned console's unreleased game Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors and its accompanying trailer.