Toys for Bob

Credits

Descriptions by
EnormousRat and SubparMario63

Captures by
SubparMario63, Pepsi9072 and EnormousRat

Video captures courtesy of
ENunn and Pepsi9072

Background

Toys for Bob is a game developer founded in Novato, California in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford, best known for the Star Control and Skylanders series, in addition to games such as Pandemonium and Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. The studio worked with Crystal Dynamics until the end of their partnership in 2002. Toys For Bob would end up being acquired by games industry giant Activision on May 3, 2005, and is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary.

1st Logo (2003-November 4, 2008)

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Nicknames: "The Kid Rocket"

Logo: On a purple rotating space background, we see a silver rocket flying around the "Toys For Bob" logo spinning around until it stops.

Variant: A high-definition version exists, which is both brighter and in 16:9.

FX/SFX: The logo and background rotating.

Music/Sounds: A dizzy soundtrack with a beeping synth section and what sounds like a burping noise Scooby-Doo's "Aroo?" sound.

Music/Sounds Trivia: The music actually comes from Star Control 2, a game made by Toys for Bob in 1992. The theme belongs to the alien race known as the Orz. The full version can be heard here.

Availability: Can be seen on the video game version of Madagascar, Disney's Extreme Skating Adventure, Guitar Hero: Van Halen and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (October 16, 2011-March 3, 2017)

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Nickname: "Skylanders for Bob"

Logo: On a white background, we see the "Portal of Power" accessory, then a kid's hand put down a Trigger Happy Skylanders figure on the portal and it becomes alive, points one of his guns at the screen and teleports out of the area, then we see two hands put letters together to form the words "Toys for" on the top and 2 uppercase B's on the bottom (the Portal of Power counting as the giant "O" in the logo), then the one hand fixes the "T" on Toys back into place and then the logo sinks into the portal to a black screen.

FX/SFX: Even though the kid's hand is live action, it is stop motion for when it places Trigger Happy and forms the company name. Trigger Happy is CGI.

Music/Sounds: A kids' laugh in the beginning, Trigger Happy's laugh, the shuffling sound for when the letters are put into place, a zap for when the logo sinks into a black screen.

Availability: Appears on Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure and its sequels, Skylanders Giants, Skylanders: Trap Team and Skylanders Imaginators. This did not appear on Skylanders: Swap Force, or Skylanders: SuperChargers, because those games were developed by Vicarious Visions.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (November 13, 2018, September 3, 2019)

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Nicknames: "Toys for Bob Reignited", "Spyro for Bob"

Logo: On a dark purple cloudy background while we zoom in, we see Spyro flying from the top right turning to the left then flying straight from left to right leaving spark trails with the gold text spinning. After Spyro leaves, a flare flashes when the background and the logo turns black and white with a rocket left in the O.

Variants: A high gamma version also exists.

FX/SFX: CGI effects, which may also be rendered in-game.

Music/Sounds: A woosh sound with magical spark dusts, then a bing is heard.

Availability: Appears on Spyro: Reignited Trilogy.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (October 1, 2020, March 12, 2021)

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Nicknames: "Toys for Bob: It's About Time", "Crash for Bob"

Logo: On a black background, the Toys For Bob logo (without the rocket) zooms out, with a slight reflection. We then see Crash Bandicoot pop out of the 'O' in 'BOB', and holds his hands out to strike a pose, but the 'O' begins to tip over and he hits the ground headfirst, only his legs and shoes visible. Crash is then sucked into the 'O' and jumps back out, lifting the letter back into place. Crash does his trademark spin to the right, and holds his hand out toward the logo in another pose as if he was presenting it.

FX/SFX: CGI effects, which may also be rendered in-game.

Music/Sounds: A whoosh as the logo zooms out, which leads to appropriate cartoony tropical music based on the series' past music and goes along with the action in the logo, including woodwind and percussion instruments.

Availability: Appears on Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time.

Editor's Note: None.