Black Pearl Software

 Background : Black Pearl Software was one of the publishing brands for THQ. It was founded in 1992 by Larry Siegel, and THQ acquired it nearly a year later. In late 1996/early 1997, it was discontinued and folded into THQ.

1st Logo
(1993)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl", "The Black Pearl", "The Crescent Moon"

 Logo : On a black background, a blue gradient image of a pearl can be seen (which looks more like a crescent moon). On the right it is "BLACK PEARL" in a funky crystallized font with "SOFTWARE, INC." in a sans-serif font below it. Underneath everything is the word "PRESENTS".

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Only seen on Total Carnage for SNES.

2nd Logo
(1993-1996)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl II", "The Black Pearl II", "The Crescent Moon II"

 Logo : On a black background, we see the same pearl image from the 1st logo is shown, but only having relief outlines. On the right it is "BLACK PEARL" in the same font as before, only more relief with "SOFTWARE", being in a weird white font below it, which is spaced out to fit the width of the word "BLACK PEARL". Below it is the byline "a subsidiary of HQ, Inc.".

 FX/SFX : None.

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

 Availability : Seen on Time Killers for Genesis and the unreleased Genesis version of Time Trax.

 Editor's Note : None.

3rd Logo
(1994)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl III", "The Black Pearl III", "The Crescent Moon III"

 Logo : We see the same logo from the previous logo, only there's a space between "BLACK PEARL" and the word "SOFTWARE". Instead of the regular pearl, there's a 3D version of the pearl from the previous logo, only in solid purple, rotates from the left to right.

 FX/SFX : The rotating.

 Music/Sounds : A weird droning sound.

 Availability : Seen on the unreleased Genesis version of Akira.

 Editor's Note : None.

4th Logo
(1995-1996)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl IV", "The Black Pearl IV", "The Crescent Moon IV"

 Logo : On a black background, we see the same gradient image of the pearl from the previous logos, only going back to a purple gradient scheme, but less detailed than the 2nd logo. Below it is "BLACK PEARL" in the same font as the previous logos, with "SOFTWARE" in a sans-serif font below it.

 Variant : On the Genesis version of SeaQuest DSV, "SOFTWARE" is absent.

 FX/SFX : None.

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

 Availability : Rare. Seen on the Game Boy and Game Gear versions of Urban Strike, the Game Gear version of Jungle Strike and the Genesis version of SeaQuest DSV. May be shown on the Genesis prototypes of The Mask.

5th Logo
(1995)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl V", "The Black Pearl V", "The Crescent Moon V"

 Logo : On a sea background with a sand, we see a wooden sign. The wooden sign holds the pearl from the previous logo, and the company name from the previous logo, shown on the right. Below it is the word "PRESENTS" in a purple font, shown on the wooden sign. The copyright notice is shown below the logo.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : The opening theme of the game.

 Availability : Seen on the Genesis version of Bass Masters Classic.

 Editor's Note : None.

6th Logo
(1995-1996)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl VI", "The Black Pearl VI"

 Logo : On a watery blue background, we see a dark turquoise pearl with "BLACK PEARL" in a same font as before, but larger, sharper, and in a white-light blue gradient color. Under it is "SOFTWARE" in the same font and style as before.

 Variants :
 * Sometimes, the background is plain black.
 * On Mohawk and Headphone Jack, the logo is on a swirly rainbow background. Next to it is the Solid Software logo.
 * On Arcade Classics: Super Breakout/Battlezone for Game Boy, it is the same as the previous variant, except the background is black.
 * On the Game Boy and Game Gear versions of FIFA Soccer '96, the logo is completely purple.
 * On the Game Boy version of NHL '96, "SOFTWARE" is absent. Plus, the logo is smaller. When playing the game on Super Game Boy, the logo is sepia-toned.
 * On the Game Boy versions of PGA Tour '96 and Shaq Fu, the byline reading "A DIVISION OF T•HQ, INC." is shown below the logo.
 * On the Game Boy version of Madden '96 when emulated on Super Game Boy, the logo is completely blue.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None or the opening theme. On Mohawk and Headphone Jack, a suspenseful note is heard.

 Availability : Once again, appears on Black Pearl games through the era, including The Mask for Super NES.

7th Logo
(1995-1996)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl VII", "The Black Pearl VII"

 Logo : Same as the 4th logo, except the abstract pearl is replaced by the stylized purple pearl from the previous logo.

 FX/SFX : None.

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

 Availability : Seen on all Tiertex-developed games for Game Boy and Game Gear, like Madden '96 for Game Gear, Madden '97 for Game Boy, Toy Story for Game Boy, FIFA Soccer '97 for Game Boy, Pocahontas for Game Boy, Olympic Summer Games: Atlanta 1996 for Game Boy and NBA Live '96 for Game Boy.

8th Logo
(1996)

 Nicknames : "The Pearl VIII", "The Black Pearl VIII", "CGI Pearl"

 Logo : Just the same logo as before but in 3D, but with some differences. The pearl ispurple, "BLACK PEARL" is all light blue and looks clearer to read, and "SOFTWARE" is in a different font in spaced-out letters.

 FX/SFX : None.

 Music/Sounds : None.

 Availability : Appears on Bass Masters Classic Pro Edition for Genesis and SNES, and the SNES versions of College Football USA '97, NHL '97 and SimCity 2000.