989 Studios/Summary

Background : Sony Imagesoft (formerly "CSG Imagesoft") was founded in 1989. It was originally a unit of CBS/Sony Group, but in 1991, Sony established its North American arm Sony Electronic Publishing, and made Imagesoft a unit of it. The division published games for 8-bit and 16-bit consoles. Later, it was expanded to PC products. Soon after it was closed due to Sony's attention on the arrival of PlayStation. It was merged with the development branch of Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995 to create "Sony Interactive Studios America", which was later relaunched in 1998 as "989 Studios". In 2000, it was dissolved into Sony Computer Entertainment of America; however, the 989 Sports label continued to be used until 2005.

1st Logo (1989)
Logo : The white Futura text of "CSG IMAGESOFT INC." fades in and out of the blue on the black background.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : None.

Availability : Seen on Super Dodge Ball for NES, only used when completing the game.

Editor's Note : None.

2nd Logo (1990-1991)
Logo : On a black background, 20 small white vertical lines surround the words "CSG IMAGES • FT INC• ". "PRESENTS " fades in below.

Variants :
 * On Dragon's Lair, the white logo is shown on the title screen. Plus the "O" is dotted and "RELEASED BY" is above the logo.
 * On the copyright screen of Dragon's Lair, it's like the one above, except it was shortened to "IMAGESOFT", and we have "AN" and "RELEASE" on the left and right sides of the logo.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : The opening theme of the game.

Availability : Seen on Dragon's Lair for NES and Game Boy, and Solstice for NES.

Editor's Note : None.

1st Logo
(1991-1995)

Nicknames : "The Print Feather", "The Sony Feather"

Logo : On a white background, we see a green box with a white feather, pointing downwards to the right. We see four white abstract rays (which looks more like spotlights), which is shown on the left and right sides of the feather. There's a "TM" symbol standing next to the box. Above the box is the Sony logo, and below it is the word "IMAGESOFT" in a Helvetica font, to fit the length of the box.

Variants : FX/SFX : None.
 * Early appearances featured a "®" symbol next to Sony logo.
 * On Game Boy games, the "TM" symbol is down below "IMAGESOFT", rather than being next to the box. Plus, the box is black.
 * On Hudson Hawk for NES and Game Boy, the logo is encapsulated onto a white box on a black background. Plus the box is also black.
 * On Smart Ball, the background is grey, the "TM" symbol is on the top right of the box, rather than on the bottom right, and the "TM" symbol stands next to "IMAGESOFT".
 * On Skyblazer, the box is colored blue instead of green.
 * On Hook for NES, the background is red, and featured two texts below the Sony Imagesoft logo, "PRESENTS..." and "LICENSED BY NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC."

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

Availability : Seen on early Sony Imagesoft games of the era, like Hudson Hawk for NES and Game Boy (debut), the NES version of Hook, Extra Innings, Smart Ball and Skyblazer. Also seen on various Game Boy games of the era, like Bram Stoker's Dracula and Gear Works.

Editor's Note : None.

2nd Logo
(1992-1994)

Nicknames : "The Red Feather", "The Sony Feather II"

Logo : On a grey background, we see a blue box, containing the same feather as the previous logo, only in a red-orange-yellow gradient color, with a yellow outline, and there's a shadow on the feather. We see a spark on the bottom right of the feather, and four colored rays appear on the left and right sides of the feather, which is colored yellow, purple, pink and green respectively. The Sony logo, and the words "IMAGESOFT" in the same style as the previous logo is shown below. The end result is a full color version of the previous logo, this time looking like the logo that was used on game covers.

Variants :
 * On the Sega Genesis version of Hook, the logo is bitmapped.
 * On NES games, the logo is less detailed and it was more simplified.
 * On Game Boy and Game Gear games, as well as the Sega Master System and NES versions of Bram Stoker's Dracula, the background is white.
 * On Game Boy games, the logo is in black and white.
 * On the Game Boy and Game Gear versions of Last Action Hero, the logo is on the box. On the former platform, the background is white, whereas on the latter platform, the background is black.
 * There's a simple version used on the Game Gear version of Gear Works where the blue rectangular part is gone leaving only the feather and the rays.
 * On the Game Gear version of Cliffhanger and the Game Gear and unfinished Master System versions of Hook, the background is yellow. Plus some of the feather parts were grey for some reason.
 * On the introduction of Equinox for SNES, it is superimposed, the text is in white and "PRESENTS" is shown below. Plus, the box is brighter.

FX/SFX : None.

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

Availability : Seen on various Sony Imagesoft games of the era, like Hook for SNES, Genesis and Game Gear (probable debut), Equinox for SNES, Chuck Rock for SNES and Game Boy, Cliffhanger for Game Boy, NES and Game Gear, Bram Stoker's Dracula for NES, the Game Boy version of Sensible Soccer: European Champions and Game Gear and Last Action Hero for NES, Game Boy and Game Gear.

Editor's Note : None.

3rd Logo
(1992-1995)

Nicknames : "The Red Feather II", "The Sony Feather III"

Logo : Against a dark blue background, the feather from the previous logo (only in white color) falls from the top, swirling and making the place with its point down. It flashes, and we see the rays from the previous logo shining, along with the spark, which emits from the rays, and it shines, and then it moves. The feather turns into a red-orange-yellow gradient color, and then shines. The logo is zoomed out into a box, and the box stops moving, and the logo then slowly zooms in. The Sony logo fades in, followed by "IMAGESOFT" in a bold Helvetica font fades in later, and the "TM" symbol fades in on the bottom right of "IMAGESOFT". The end result looks like the last logo, only the background is white rather than grey.

Variants :
 * On PC games, the logo has improved look and quality.
 * On the Sega CD port of Chuck Rock, the feather animation is on the black background with the feather itself gaining a dark blue outline. Also, it is slower than usual, presented in 2.35:1 ratio and it is pushed to the right.
 * The feather animation is superimposed against the studios of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune on PC versions of those shows' video game adaptations.

FX/SFX : The flying feather, the flash the zooming.

Music/Sounds : A harp theme with chimes and some piano and cymbal notes, ending in a piano melody.

Music/Sounds Variant : The CR version has the music playing late, albeit a high-pitched version.

Availability : More common. Used on several Sega CD games like Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, Sewer Shark (debut), Hook (also debut), Cliffhanger, the Digital Pictures Make My Video games like Kris Kross (third debut), INXS and C+C Music Factory, ESPN Baseball Tonight, Ground Zero Texas, 3 Ninjas Kick Back, Ultraverse: Prime, ESPN Sunday Night NFL, Bug Blasters: The Exterminators, Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong Nu and Johnny Mnemonic for PC. Don't except to see this on the Sega CD versions of Bram Stoker's Dracula, ESPN National Hockey Night, ESPN NBA Hangtime '95, Sensible Soccer, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Mickey Mania, which both used the next logos.

Editor's Note : None.

4th Logo
(1993-1994)

Nicknames : "The Red Feather III", "The Sony Feather IV"

Logo : On a black background, we see the same Sony Imagesoft logo from the previous logos, this time the logo was inside the white rectangular box, and the whole logo was tinted in purple.

Variants :
 * On Last Action Hero, the logo was stretched to screen.
 * On the SNES version of Cliffhanger, the logo is darker.
 * On Sensible Soccer: European Champions (When Released in the U.S. as Championship Soccer '94) and Sensible Soccer: International Edition, the logo is small. Plus, the logo was tinted in red.
 * On the SEGA CD port of Sensible Soccer: European Champions (When Released in the U.S. as Championship Soccer '94) the box is bolder.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : None.

Availability : Seen on Cliffhanger, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Last Action Hero, both for SNES and Genesis, and Sensible Soccer: European Champions (released in the U.S. as Championship Soccer '94, and released for Sega CD as just Sensible Soccer) for SNES, Genesis and Sega CD and its updated version Sensible Soccer: International Edition for SNES and Genesis.

Editor's Note : None.

5th Logo
(1993)

Nicknames : "The Red Feather IV", "The Sony Feather V"

Logo : This is the animated version of the last logo. On a black background, we see the red feather fades in, then the feather drops down, ala the 3rd logo, except more slower. The feather then falls to the right, and then a spark appears, which flashes appears on the right of the feather and shines, bringing forth into the rays and spark from the previous logos, the Sony Imagesoft box from the previous logo appears zooming in, the rays were in red and grey, and the spark is in white, and the box then coasts to the center.

FX/SFX : Similar to the 3rd logo, except the animation was much different.

Music/Sounds : A disorted low pitched version of the 3rd logo's theme, but this time played more on a piano melody.

Availability : Extremely rare. Only seen on Bram Stoker's Dracula for SEGA CD.

Editor's Note : None.

6th Logo
(1994)

Nicknames : "The Red Feather V", "The Sony Feather VI"

Logo : On a white background, we see a black-blue gradient box containg the feather from the previous logos, only in more relief, has a black outline, and it has a black shadow standing on the feather. There's a light blue spark on the bottom right of the feather, with a shadow standing on the spark. We see the rays from the previous logos, only in pink and there's a shadow standing on the rays. We see the Sony logo and "IMAGESOFT" in the same style as the previous logos, only "IMAGESOFT" is more bold, and there's a drop shadow on the box and company name. The end result is similar to the 2nd and 3rd logos, only more graphic and has shadows in it.

Variants :
 * On ESPN Speedworld, the logo is inside the white rectangular box. Plus, the logo is crushed by the game's title logo.
 * An image of the logo serves as the loading screen of several ESPN games of Sega CD.

FX/SFX : None.

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

Availability : Seen on various games for SNES and Sega Genesis released in the year like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Mickey Mania, No Escape, 3 Ninjas Kick Back, ESPN Baseball Tonight, ESPN Sunday Night NFL, ESPN Speedworld and ESPN National Hockey Night. It's also seen on the Sega CD version of Mickey Mania as well.

Editor's Note : None.

7th Logo
(1994)

Nicknames : "The Red Feather VI", "The Sony Feather VII"

Logo : We reveal the 3D version of the Sony Imagesoft logo shown on the game's introduction. The box is in purple gradient, the feather is again red-orange-yellow gradient, the rays are shown as cuts, and the spark is absent. The text is in white, and it was also 3D and it was less bold than on the previous logos.

Variants :
 * ESPN National Hockey Night: As part of the introduction, we zoom in from the hockey puck to reveal the logo on a black background as the title logo shatters.
 * ESPN NBA Hangtime '95: As part of the introduction, the title's text and NBA logo crashes to reveal the logo zooming in on the basketball court, then it rotates.

FX/SFX : CGI animation.

Music/Sounds : The intro of the game.

Availability : Seen on two games ESPN NBA Hangtime '95 and ESPN National Hockey Night for Sega CD.

Editor's Note : None.

8th Logo
(1994)

Nicknames : "The Red Feather VII", "The Sony Feather VIII", "The CGI Feather"

Logo : This is another animated version of the 4th logo and an enhanced version of the 5th logo. On a black background, wee see a red feather dropping down (ala the 3rd and 5th logos), except it drops more slower, which is more metallic, in CGI, and it shines. Once the feather falls to the right, a light flash with rainbow lights appears on the bottom right of the feather, and it shines, with a red spotlight moving towards the logo. The flash and spotlight then dies down to reveal the Sony Imagesoft logo from 4th logo, only the rays and spark are more purple tinted, and the feather is less purple tinted, which then rotates from the center, then the flash and spotlight disappears before slowly fading out.

FX/SFX : Same as the 3rd and 4th logos, only in CGI.

Music/Sounds : A dramatic synth theme.

Availability : Rare. Seen on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for SEGA CD.

Editor's Note : None.

1st Logo
(1993-1995)

Nicknames : "The Print Feather", "The Sony Feather IX"

Logo : This is the enhanced print version of Sony Imagesoft logo ala the 1st logo, only with "IMAGESOFT" replaced with "ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING" with "PUBLISHING" in spaced-out letters underneath "ELECTRONIC".

FX/SFX : None.

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

Availability : Very rare due to the short life span. Seen on Ghosts for PC and Super Morph for SNES. Other games like the European release of Battletoads/Double Dragon only used a text disclaimer.

Editor's Note : None.

2nd Logo
(1995)

Nicknames : "Sony Feather X"

Logo : Same as the 3rd Sony Imagesoft logo, only it starts on a blue background, there is no flash, the rays are simpler, and the logo reads "ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING" in place of "IMAGESOFT."

FX/SFX : The feather falling, the rays spreading out. Basically the same as the 3rd Sony Imagesoft logo, but far simpler.

Music/Sounds : Same as the 3rd Sony Imagesoft logo.

Availability : Extremely rare. So far, this is only known to appear on the 1995 Jeopardy! PC game. It appears to be unused, but the file (SONYLOGO.MOV) can be accessed in the "MOVIES" folder on the disc.

Editor's Note : None.

Sony Interactive Studios America
1st Logo (1995-1998)

Logo : On a black background, we see a text saying either:

Produced by SONY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS (AMERCA) (INC.)

Developed by SONY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS (AMERICA) (INC)

or

A SONY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS AMERICA PRODUCTION

in the game's custom font.

Variant : An in-credit version exists.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : None.

Availability : Seen on US-developed Sony games for the PlayStation from 1995 to 1998, like 2Xtreme, Warhawk, the first two Twisted Metal games, the first two Jet Moto games, the first three NFL GameDay games and Rally Cross.

Editor's Note : None.

2nd Logo (1995)

Logo : On a black background, we see the Sony logo in white. Above the logo is the word "a production of", and below is the word "INTERACTIVE STUDIOS", in a white Times New Roman font.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : None.

Availability : Seen only on ESPN Extreme Games for PlayStation and PC.

Editor's Note : None.

989 Studios
(1998-2000)

Logo : On a black background, the numbers "9", "8" and "9" along with two half-circle lines and the word "STUDIOS" comes down, then the "TM" symbol comes up fast from the right to finish the logo and make it shine.

FX/SFX : The logo forming together and the "TM" symbol moving fast to right to finish the logo.

Music/Sounds : A dark backbeat is heard with a male announcer saying "989 Studios", ending in a loud bang. On some games, if you listen very closely, you can hear the last note from the PlayStation boot screen's music as well.

Availability : Seen on PlayStation video games, such as Rally Cross 2, Syphon Filter 1 & 2, Twisted Metal III, Cool Boarders 3, and other 989 Studios games. It also appeared on the demo of Xena: Warrior Princess (found on Jampack Summer '99 demo disc before the publishing rights went to Electronic Arts).

Editor's Note : None.