Electronic Arts

Background

Electronic Arts Inc. is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. It was founded by Trip Hawkins in 1982. It is the second-largest gaming company in the Americas and Europe by revenue and market capitalization after Activision Blizzard and ahead of Take-Two Interactive and Ubisoft as of March 2018.

Contents

1st Logo (May 20, 1983-1999)	2nd Logo (May 20, 1983-1988)	3rd Logo (1990-1995)	4th Logo (1994-1995)	5th Logo (1994-January 1, 1996)	6th Logo (May 6-August 16, 1994)


7th Logo (August 31, 1997-November 8, 2000)	8th Logo (EA Games 1st logo) (August 3, 2000-October 24, 2003)	9th Logo (EA Games 2nd logo) (September 10, 2002-July 15, 2005)	10th Logo (September 13, 2005-August 17, 2007)	11th Logo (October 31, 2006-)	12th Logo (2021-)

1st Logo (May 20, 1983-1999)

Visuals: On a black background is a picture of segmented lines of geometric shapes that represent a square, a circle and a triangle. Underneath it is the text "ELECTRONIC ARTS" in Goudy Old Style font.

Variants:

On several games, the logo is shown within the game's title screen.
On early Amiga and Atari ST games, the logo was used as a loading screen.
Most games just feature the logo still, with the entire logo in blue and the text in white.
On Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf for the Super NES, the logo in blue zooms out and rests in the middle. It stays there for a moment before fading to black.
On Soviet Strike, the logo is purple.
On Shaq Fu, the shapes were colored.

Technique: A still sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the game. Sometimes, on some games, like Fire Flight, we can hear an announcer saying the company name.

Availability: Seen on many games from the period, such as Soviet Strike, as well as many Amiga, MS-DOS, Atari ST, SNES, PlayStation and Saturn and several PC games from the era. In its logo's early years, it was used as a copyright screen.

2nd Logo (May 20, 1983-1988)

Visuals: On a white background, a pixelated version of the EA Shapes logo in blue wipes in. It then changes colors at once.

Technique: 2D sprite animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on any 8-bit computer game for the Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari 8-bit and IBM PC when it was loading, such as the C64 game of Archon: The Light and the Dark, and The Seven Cities of Gold.

3rd Logo (1990-1995)

Visuals: Against a black background, a segmented green square flips in, followed by a segmented blue circle and a segmented yellow triangle. At the same time, the words "ELECTRONIC ARTS" are formed below by two sets of lines coming in from the sides of the screen and merging together.

Variant: A still version exists on the Sega Genesis game of Blades of Vengeance, the Game Gear game of Jungle Strike and the Game Boy game of Shaq Fu. On the latter, it is in black and white, although colored on the Super Game Boy.

Technique: 2D sprite animation.

Audio: None.

Audio Variant: The Sega Genesis version of B.O.B had a series of ominous futuristic sounds which changed their pitch as the geometric forms flipped in. At the end, a "clunk" noise was heard.

Availability: Seen on many Sega Genesis titles produced by the studio, such as the Road Rash trilogy, Desert Strike, Jungle Strike and the American version of Marble Madness.

4th Logo (1994-1995)

Visuals: On a black background is a 3D version of the shapes logo from the previous logos. Below it is the same company name in a flatter font.

Technique: A still sprite-based graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: It can be seen on a few games, like the Sega CD game of Road Rash and the Genesis game of Urban Strike.

5th Logo (1994-January 1, 1996)

Visuals: On a black background, the segmented shapes from the previous logo, all in blue, float in from the sides of the screen and spin and place together in the middle. The cyan name "ELECTRONIC ARTS" then zooms down with a white outline and places below the shapes. The name then glows in white.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An ominous synth crescendo that ends with an orchestral hit.

Availability: This was Electronic Arts' first 3D-animated logo, so it only appears on DOS and 3DO games. It can be seen on Space Hulk (including the PS1/Saturn versions, the only titles on those systems to use this logo) and US Navy Fighters.

6th Logo (May 6-August 16, 1994)

Visuals: On a black background is a steel-colored version of the Electronic Arts logo from the previous logos. Then the camera pans over to the square, as a game clip plays over the logo. It then segues into the EA Sports logo from the period.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A rock theme that continues into the EA Sports logo.

Availability: Seen on the 3DO game of John Madden Football and the PC game PGA Tour 486.

7th Logo (August 31, 1997-November 8, 2000)

Visuals: There are many mixed-up flying letters, which quickly zoom to their usual places, forming "ELECTRONIC ARTS". There's a glow around the words, and the domain name www.ea.com fades in below.

Variants:

There also exists a variant without the URL; this was seen on Auto Destruct.
A still version exists on Nintendo 64 games.
The wordmark would later be used as part of the company's corporate logo until 2020.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An explosion, followed by a male announcer (in a synthesized voice) saying the company's name.

Audio Variants:

The audio is lower pitched in Auto Destruct.
In the PlayStation version of Diablo, a computerized screech is heard.

Availability: It can be seen on almost every Electronic Arts branded title released during this time.

The animated variant appeared on PlayStation and some PC and Nintendo 64 titles like Freedom Force, Sled Storm, Hot Wheels: Turbo Racing, Future Cop: L.A.P.D, Need for Speed titles until Porsche Unleashed, WCW Mayhem, WCW Backstage Assault, Beetle Adventure Racing, ReBoot: Countdown to Chaos and Medal of Honor.
- Also used on titles by EA's third-party publishing division Electronic Arts Distribution.
- Also appears on trailers for games. It appears as late as the trailer for The Sims: House Party, from early 2001.
The still version was seen on N64 games from the period.

8th Logo (EA Games 1st logo) (August 3, 2000-October 24, 2003)

Standard variant.
Variant without URL or byline.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone (Windows)
Road Rash (Game Boy Color)
CyberTiger (Game Boy Color)
007 - The World Is Not Enough (Game Boy Color)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone (Game Boy Color)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone (Game Boy Advance)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Game Boy Advance)

Visuals: On a white background is the current EA wordmark (an altered version of the "EA" part of the 1992-2000 EA Sports logo) in dark blue stacked on top of the word GAMES in light blue capital Bank Gothic Condensed letters, encased in a circle. The circle rotates for a few seconds before placing itself into place. "EAGAMES.COM" fades in below along with the byline reading "EA GAMES is an Electronic Arts brand."

Variants:

Game Boy games have the logo in monochrome.
On Quake 3 Revolution for PlayStation 2, the URL and byline are aligned more to the left.
- On the PC version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, this variant is still.
On Need for Speed (GT) for the arcade, the logo is still, and the URL and byline are left out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: 'Whirling' effects for the rotation and when the circle stops there is a mild ding sound along with a thud sound.

Audio Variant:

On Quake 3 Revolution, shotgun sounds are heard.
On The Sims, the sounds vary depending on the expansion pack installed:
- On House Party and Unleashed, the sound of a crowd cheering is heard, which continues into the Maxis logo.
- On Hot Date and Deluxe Edition, a more jazzy version of the standard tune plays.
A version with the sounds at half-speed exists. It can be seen on the "EALogo.HoQ" file under the video folder of the files of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
On Need for Speed (GT) for the arcade, the audio from the next logo is heard.

Availability: Appears on a majority of titles released under the EA Games banner.

The animated variant first appeared on Medal of Honor: Underground and went onto appear on several titles, such as the PlayStation version of 007: The World is Not Enough, 007 Racing, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Cel Damage, Allied Assault and Frontline (with exception of the PS3 version, since it uses a custom variant of the 2006 logo), 007: Agent Under Fire, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, and on The Sims from the House Party to the Unleashed expansion packs.
The still version appears on the North American/European version of the Japanese PlayStation 2 launch title X-Squad (the Japanese version uses the variant without the circle), the Windows version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, the PlayStation 2 port of Theme Park World, and on Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color/Advance titles. It also appeared on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for GBA. It was also used on the Global VR Need for Speed (GT) arcade game.

9th Logo (EA Games 2nd logo) (September 10, 2002-July 15, 2005)

Visuals: An updated version of the early 2000s EA Games logo with a slicker circle and "GAMES" in a more futuristic font, zooms out from the bottom of the screen, and presses itself causing it to flash and the slogan "Challenge Everything" appears through the light ray effect below the logo along with the byline "EA GAMES is an ELECTRONIC ARTS brand". The text remains there for a few seconds before the logo flashes and disappears as the bylines cut away.

Variants:

A still version of this logo, used on GBA, had the byline in different font with the blue aura still in place.
A still version on a black background and more accurate print was used on NDS even a year later, on GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. The reason for this is because this game was released on all other platforms in 2004.
Another version with a white background was used on 007: Nightfire for GBA.
An early variant of this logo (seen on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for PSX) had the logo moving much slower and more choppily. The "Challenge Everything" voiceover is omitted, and the "EA Games" voiceover is not reverberated.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Multiple voices say "EA Games" simultaneously, then a boy whispers "Challenge Everything". In the background a synth note plays (complete with a thud) as the logo presses itself, ending in a shut-off sound.

Audio Variant: On TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, the music and voiceovers are higher pitched.

Availability: Seen on games of the era, such as Freedom Fighters, Batman Begins, Catwoman, Need for Speed: Underground and its sequel, SimCity 4, Burnout 3: Takedown, The Urbz: Sims In The City, most 007 games of the era (such as Everything or Nothing) and most Harry Potter games of the era (such as the GameCube, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 versions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as well as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). It also appears on The Sims from the Superstar expansion onward (except on The Complete Collection, where the next logo appears instead), as well as the console versions and The Sims: Bustin' Out, and on The Sims 2 from the base game to the University expansion pack.

10th Logo (September 13, 2005-August 17, 2007)

Visuals: On a black background, two white lines whoosh in. They later descend and turn right, forming the EA logo. The logo then makes a sudden boom, and it zooms out. The byline "EA IS AN ELECTRONIC ARTS BRAND" appears under the logo.

Variants:

Depending on what language you selected on the console, game boot-up or if you purchased a alternate language version of the game, the byline would be displayed in its specific language. So far, versions in English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish are known to exist.
On the GBA game of Need for Speed - Most Wanted, the logo is still.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A synthesised pounding sound, and then a sword drawing sound.

Availability: Seen on games from the era, including Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, Burnout Revenge, Black & White 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and 007: From Russia With Love. It appears on The Sims 2 from the Nightlife expansion pack (although the last logo appeared on the packaging) to the Open for Business expansion pack as well as the console versions and on The Sims Complete Collection. This also appears on the trailer for the 2009 game Need for Speed: Nitro.

11th Logo (October 31, 2006-)

Visuals: On a black background, a black coin with the current EA logo on it rapidly zooms back and emits a red circle around it, then continues to zoom out slowly until fading out. Until 2007, the byline "EA IS AN ELECTRONIC ARTS BRAND" appears under the logo.

Variants: Due to EA's vast catalog, there are a large number of variants.

For example, on games from The Sims series until 2013, the logo is green with a blue outline, and at the end the famous "Plumbob" from The Sims appears at the top of the logo.
Sometimes, the logo doesn't zoom out when it's finished.
On the Game Boy Advance version of Need for Speed Carbon - Own the City, the logo is still.
On the Nintendo DS version of The Simpsons Game, the logo doesn't fade out.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The same synth pound heard on the last logo.

Availability: The original variant was only used on The Simpsons Game, Def Jam: Icon, Darkspore, Burnout: Paradise, and Lord of the Rings: Conquest. The still version was only used on two games, Need for Speed: Carbon and the Nintendo DS version of G.I. Joe. Also seen on some earlier trailers (before the new ones with a custom logo).

12th Logo (2021-)

Visuals: Essentially just the text reading "Electronic Arts" in a new font called Electronic Arts Display.

Trivia: While the previous logo remained as a secondary logo, the same geometry shapes that were used prior to 1997 were used not only as the inspiration of the company's wordmark, but also as 3D shapes. This was designed by Skyline Collective, while the wordmark was done in collaboration with the company's brand team and Jeremy Mickel of MCKL Type Foundry & Design Studio.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: It was first appeared on trailers, as well as games from 2021 onward.