nVIDIA

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum

nVIDIA is a video processing company that produces graphic processor units (GPU), "system on a chip" units (SoC) and video game capabilities.


1st Logo (August 27, 2002)

Visuals: A flash occurs, and two lights swirl around as a green filling unfolds to cover a square wireframe construction, then the lights come to the rectangle to form the logo, which is a black/green spiral eye. The background turns white and the text "nVIDIA" in a serif font (with the "n" in italics) appears rotating. Then the background turns into a ripple and the logo zooms out. An outer circle appears on which the logo then lands on, with the white text "The way it's" on the top and "meant to be played™" on the bottom. The corporate eye and the text stay inside the circle, as the background turns white again.

Technique: CGI animation.

Audio: An explosion, followed by a morphing synth note with whoosh-like sounds and another explosion.

Availability

Edit Table

Media Title Date of Release Additional Notes
Icewind Dale 2
OSCA
August 27, 2002
Only known appearance.


2nd Logo (September 30, 2002-April 29, 2009)

Unreal Tournament 2004 (2004): Same concept as in Unreal Tournament 2003 but this time the gloss is different and it's now a Skaarj named Dominator who suddenly crashes through the inner part of the shield with Gorge (a supersoldier). Dominator than shoots his minigun several times, while the Spider Mine comes in from the left side of the screen, walking towards Dominator, then jumps and explodes, blowing him out of view.
Painkiller (2004): A dead man comes to the logo, but shooting starts and he barely escapes. This is also seen on it's sequels: Battle out of Hell and Overdose, it's also seen on black edition.
Mabinogi (2004): On a white background, the logo is seen in 3D, a sheep charges from the right and headbutts the logo, a cherry drops from the left.
Ground Control II: Operation Exodus (2004): On a white background the logo flips in and fades out.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (2004): The logo becomes full of blood. A hand appears above the logo then a vampire (Velvet Velour) appears and bites the logo accompanied by a white flash, making the blood come down.
Liquidator 2: Welcome to Hell (2005): A warlock comes and draws a fiery pentagram with the upside-down letter "A" and the number "2" at the top (the game's logo in question) on the wall with his staff with the flaming skull at the tip. The pentagram then pulsates and ripples, extinguishing fire in process, and flips mechanically to reveal the nVIDIA logo on the other side, which flashes green, shattering the warlock into pieces like glass, and releases green waves of energy outwards, then cross-fades to just the logo zooming in slowly. As the logo fades out, a heartbeat is heard.
Starship Troopers (2005): A bunch of soldiers are walking on a black background talking to each other and a giant creature sneaking behind them appears, only to get crushed by the giant logo, the following dialogue is this "Listen up, i want safety's off and extra ammo near the end, this is a combat zone not bootcamp" "I survive zagma, big cake, i dont plan on dying here, not on this rock".

Visuals: In a flash of green light, a black shield and a white circle zoom in, with stripes of various words (like "Powering 3D Graphics", "Personal Cinema", "Geforce FX Ultra", "Geforce Soundstorm", "Workstation Quadro FX", and "3D On every platform") heading from the center like light rays. The circles fold into each other, then the logo flashes timed to the woman’s voice. A stylized eye is depicted inside with "nVIDIA" seen below, while the slogan is seen on an outer circle, with "The way it's" at the top and "meant to be played™" at the bottom.

Variants:

  • Both 4:3 and 16:9 versions exist.
  • In some games, the logo is still on a black or white background.
  • An alternate version of the logo exists. Here, the symbol stripes are heading in a reverse direction, the circle is replaced with a green blurry rectangle flipping in multiple directions, from which the nVIDIA icon is formed, and "nVIDIA" folds in under the icon, letter-by-letter from left to right by a green ball of light. This version was updated in 2006 with the current logo, which shows the entire name completely.
  • In some games, the text "GeForce FX" is seen below the Nvidia logo and it's in different shape.
  • From 2006-2007, a new version was used with the current logo. "The way it’s meant to be played™" is in a different font, and two curved white lines were added in between the words. This version was short-lived as the next logo replaced it quickly.
  • In 2007-2009, an alternate version can be seen where the shield is different, the current logo is seen in the middle and "The way" is at the top, while "it’s meant to be played™" is at the bottom, and the text is in a different font and it's color inverted. It's mostly a still logo.
  • A rare version exists which has the logo be a rectangular shaped instead however its mostly seen in cover arts of some games and only appeared in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A swoosh ("Metal Swirl 2" from Spectrasonics' Distored Reality 1 sample CD) building up to a sweeping synth chord ("Acclaimed" from ILIO's Trance Fusion sample CD), then a woman whispering the company name. Composed by Stephen Arnold Music.

Availability

Edit Table

Media Title Date of Release Additional Notes
Unreal Tournament 2003
OSCA
September 30, 2002
Custom variant. First appearance.
No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way
OSCA
October 1, 2002
Still variant on copyright screen.
RalliSport Challenge
OSCA
November 7, 2002
Still variant.
Big Mutha Truckers
OSCA
March 16, 2003
Still variant.
Chaser
OSCA
June 20, 2003
Custom variant.
Silent Storm
OSCA
August 22, 2003
GeForce variant.
Tron 2.0
OSCA
August 26, 2003
 
Gun Metal
OSCA
September 19, 2003
Custom variant.
Freedom Fighters
OSCA
September 25, 2003
Removed on digital releases.
Bridge It
OSCA
September 25, 2003
Custom variant.
Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance
OSCA
November 4, 2003
Custom variant.
Contract J.A.C.K.
OSCA
November 11, 2003
 
XIII
OSCA
November 18, 2003
Alternate variant.
SpellForce: The Order of Dawn
OSCA
November 28, 2003
 
X2: The Threat
OSCA
December 1, 2003
 
Deus Ex: Invisible War
OSCA
December 2, 2003
 
Sacred
OSCA
February 27, 2004
 
Unreal Tournament 2004
OSCA
March 16, 2004
Custom variant.
Beyond Divinity
OSCA
April 1, 2004
 
Colin McRae Rally 04
OSCA
April 2, 2004
 
Conan
OSCA
April 7, 2004
Still variant.
Knights of the Temple: Infernal Crusade
OSCA
April 8, 2004
 
Painkiller
OSCA
April 12, 2004
Custom variant.
TOCA Race Driver 2
OSCA
April 13, 2004
 
Hitman: Contracts
OSCA
April 20, 2004
 
I-Ninja
OSCA
April 22, 2004
 
Silent Storm: Sentinels
OSCA
April 24, 2004
GeForce variant.
Pac-Man World 2
OSCA
May 25, 2004
 
Thief: Deadly Shadows
OSCA
May 25, 2004
 
Mabinogi
OSCA
June 22, 2004
Custom variant.
Ground Control II: Operation Exodus
OSCA
June 23, 2004
Custom variant.
Spellforce: The Breath of Winter
OSCA
June 25, 2004
 
Silent Storm: Gold Edition
OSCA
September 9, 2004
 
Star Wars: Battlefront
OSCA
September 20, 2004
Still variant.
Full Spectrum Warrior
OSCA
September 21, 2004
Alternate variant.
Colin McRae Rally 2005
OSCA
September 24, 2004
 
Evil Genius
OSCA
September 28, 2004
Removed on digital releases. GeForce variant.
Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
OSCA
October 11, 2004
 
FlatOut
OSCA
November 5, 2004
Still variant.
Spellforce: Shadow of the Phoenix
OSCA
November 12, 2004
 
MTX Mototrax
OSCA
November 15, 2004
 
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines
OSCA
November 16, 2004
Custom variant.
Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell
OSCA
December 1, 2004
Custom variant.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay
OSCA
December 3, 2004
Custom variant.
Star Wars: Republic Commando
OSCA
March 1, 2005
 
Driv3r
OSCA
March 15, 2005
 
Sudeki
OSCA
March 25, 2005
 
LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
OSCA
March 29, 2005
 
SWAT 4
OSCA
April 5, 2005
 
Painkiller: Black Edition
OSCA
April 18, 2005
Custom variant.
Empire Earth II
OSCA
April 26, 2005
 
Boiling Point: Road to Hell
OSCA
May 19, 2005
 
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
OSCA
June 7, 2005
Still logo. Removed on digital releases.
Battlefield 2
OSCA
June 21, 2005
Only seen in the demo version.
Soldiers: Heroes of World War II
OSCA
June 29, 2005
 
Brian Lara International Cricket 2005
OSCA
July 21, 2005
 
Bet On Soldier: Blood Sport
OSCA
August 25, 2005
Custom variant.
Sacred: Gold
OSCA
August 26, 2005
 
Fahrenheit
OSCA
September 16, 2005
Custom variant.
F.E.A.R.
OSCA
October 18, 2005
 
Age of Empires III
OSCA
October 18, 2005
 
Starship Troopers
OSCA
October 27, 2005
Custom variant.
Crime Life: Gang Wars
OSCA
November 11, 2005
Custom variant.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
OSCA
November 14, 2005
 
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
OSCA
November 21, 2005
Removed on digital releases.
Onimusha 3: Demon Siege
OSCA
November 25, 2005
 
Utopia City
OSCA
December 2, 2005
Custom variant.
Liquidator 2: Welcome to Hell
OSCA
December 9, 2005
Custom variant.
Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy
OSCA
February 14, 2006
 
TOCA Race Driver 3
OSCA
February 21, 2006
 
SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate
OSCA
February 28, 2006
 
Commandos: Strike Force
OSCA
March 17, 2006
 
SWAT 4: Gold Edition
OSCA
April 5, 2006
 
Tomb Raider: Legend
OSCA
April 7, 2006
 
SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars
OSCA
April 7, 2006
 
Hitman: Blood Money
OSCA
May 26, 2006
 
Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers
OSCA
May 27, 2006
 
Titan Quest
OSCA
June 26, 2006
 
FlatOut 2
OSCA
June 30, 2006
 
Bet on Soldier: Blood of Sahara
OSCA
July 3, 2006
Custom variant.
El Matador
OSCA
September 8, 2006
 
Company of Heroes
OSCA
September 11, 2006
 
Joint Task Force
OSCA
September 12, 2006
 
Call of Juarez
OSCA
September 15, 2006
Custom variant. This is not seen on the American 2007 release.
Broken Sword: The Angel of Death
OSCA
September 15, 2006
 
Caesar IV
OSCA
September 26, 2006
 
Stronghold: Legends
OSCA
October 13, 2006
 
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade
OSCA
October 9, 2006
 
Sid Meier's Railroads!
OSCA
October 17, 2006
 
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
OSCA
October 24, 2006
 
Neverwinter Nights 2
OSCA
October 31, 2006
 
Bet on Soldier: Black-out Saigon
OSCA
November 9, 2006
Custom variant.
Medieval II: Total War
OSCA
November 10, 2006
 
Warhammer: Mark of Chaos
OSCA
November 14, 2006
 
Supreme Commander
OSCA
February 16, 2007
 
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
OSCA
March 2, 2007
 
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
OSCA
March 20, 2007
Rare variant.
SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm
OSCA
March 23, 2007
 
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
OSCA
June 1, 2007
Still 2007-2009 variant.
Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms
OSCA
August 28, 2007
 
World in Conflict
OSCA
September 18, 2007
 
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
OSCA
September 25, 2007
 
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer
OSCA
September 28, 2007
 
TimeShift
OSCA
October 2, 2007
The 3rd logo below appears on some box arts from behind.
Painkiller: Overdose
OSCA
October 30, 2007
Custom variant.
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm
OSCA
March 14, 2008
 
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
OSCA
October 7, 2008
Still 2007-2009 variant.
Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir
OSCA
November 18, 2008
 
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
OSCA
March 10, 2009
Still 2007-2009 variant.
Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
OSCA
April 9, 2009
 
Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate
OSCA
April 29, 2009
Final appearance.


3rd Logo (June 26, 2007-September 15, 2016)

Borderlands (2009): The logo plays as normal, but fails to light up at the end. A small yellow robot (Claptrap, the de-facto mascot of the Borderlands franchise, voiced by David Eddings) rolls in from the right, and hits the shield multiple times, trying to light it up. Just as he gives up, the shield lights up as intended. Claptrap notices this and presents the logo.
Metro 2033 (2010): The logo appears still as a black powder drops on the floor. The powder then flows away. It then glitches out.

Visuals: Same as the previous logo, but the stripe words are green, the circles are replaced with rounded rectangles (with colors inverted) which appear from a three-dimensional light shape, and the current logo (an all-green stylized eye shape and "nVIDIA" in a different font) is used. "THE WAY IT'S MEANT TO BE PLAYED™" is also in a different font. The logo shines at the end.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Stephen Arnold Music's theme from the previous logo.

Availability

Edit Table

Media Title Date of Release Additional Notes
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
OSCA
June 26, 2007
First appearence.
Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword
OSCA
July 20, 2007
 
BioShock
OSCA
August 21, 2007
 
The Witcher
OSCA
October 25, 2007
Still logo, the previous logo appears on box art.
Empire Earth III
OSCA
November 6, 2007
 
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
OSCA
November 6, 2007
 
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate
OSCA
November 6, 2007
 
Crysis
OSCA
November 13, 2007
 
Unreal Tournament 3
OSCA
November 19, 2007
 
Hellgate: London
OSCA
October 31, 2007
The previous logo appears on box art.
Universe at War: Earth Assault
OSCA
December 10, 2007
 
Conflict: Denied Ops
OSCA
February 8, 2008
 
Frontlines: Fuel of War
OSCA
February 25, 2008
 
WorldShift
OSCA
May 8, 2008
 
Devil May Cry 4
OSCA
July 8, 2008
Still logo.
Space Siege
OSCA
August 12, 2008
 
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
OSCA
September 16, 2008
Still logo, the previous logo appears on box art.
Crysis Warhead
OSCA
September 16, 2008
 
Civilization IV: Colonization
OSCA
September 23, 2008
 
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
OSCA
October 2, 2008
 
MotoGP 08
OSCA
October 24, 2008
 
Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War II
OSCA
February 18, 2009
 
Street Fighter IV
OSCA
July 2, 2009
Still logo.
Bionic Commando (2009)
OSCA
July 28, 2009
 
Darkest of Days
OSCA
September 8, 2009
 
Batman: Arkham Asylum
OSCA
September 15, 2009
 
Resident Evil 5
OSCA
September 17, 2009
Still logo.
Order of War
OSCA
September 17, 2009
 
Sacred 2: Gold Edition
OSCA
November 11, 2009
 
Tropico 3
OSCA
October 20, 2009
 
Tropico 3 Steam Special Edition
OSCA
October 21, 2009
 
Borderlands
OSCA
October 26, 2009
Custom variant.
Disciples III: Renaissance
OSCA
October 11, 2009
 
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition - Platinum Edition
OSCA
January 19, 2010
Still logo, the previous logo appears on box art.
Dark Void
OSCA
January 19, 2010
 
BioShock 2
OSCA
February 9, 2010
 
Metro 2033
OSCA
March 16, 2010
Custom variant.
Just Cause 2
OSCA
March 23, 2010
Custom variant.
Batman: Arkham Asylum - Game of the Year Edition
OSCA
March 26, 2010
 
Tropico 3: Absolute Power
OSCA
May 13, 2010
 
Mafia II
OSCA
August 24, 2010
 
Sid Meier's Civilization V
OSCA
September 21, 2010
 
Dead Rising 2
OSCA
September 28, 2010
Still logo.
Tropico 3: Gold Edition
OSCA
September 28, 2010
 
Lost Planet 2
OSCA
October 12, 2010
Still logo.
Arcania: Gothic 4
OSCA
October 12, 2010
 
Farming Simulator 11
OSCA
October 29, 2010
 
Disciples III: Resurrection
OSCA
December 3, 2010
 
Homefront
OSCA
March 15, 2011
 
Crysis 2
OSCA
March 22, 2011
 
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
OSCA
May 17, 2011
Custom variant.
Duke Nukem Forever (2011)
OSCA
June 10, 2011
Custom variant.
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
OSCA
July 5, 2011
 
Farming Simulator 2011: Platinum Edition
OSCA
September 22, 2011
 
ArcaniA: Fall of Setarrif
OSCA
October 24, 2011
 
Batman: Arkham City
OSCA
November 22, 2011
Custom variant.
Disciples III: Gold Edition
OSCA
April 13, 2012
 
Disciples III: Reincarnation
OSCA
April 18, 2012
 
Street Fighter X Tekken
OSCA
May 11, 2012
 
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
OSCA
September 7, 2012
 
Borderlands 2
OSCA
September 18, 2012
 
Farming Simulator 2013
OSCA
October 25, 2012
 
Aliens: Colonial Marines
OSCA
February 12, 2013
 
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2
OSCA
March 12, 2013
 
Metro: Last Light
OSCA
May 14, 2013
Custom variant.
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
OSCA
August 20, 2013
 
Lost Planet 3
OSCA
August 27, 2013
 
Batman: Arkham Origins
OSCA
October 25, 2013
 
Ultra Street Fighter IV
OSCA
August 8, 2014
 
Metro 2033 Redux
OSCA
August 26, 2014
Custom variant.
Metro Last Light Redux
OSCA
August 26, 2014
Custom variant.
Farming Simulator 2013: Game of the Year Edition
OSCA
October 1, 2014
 
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel
OSCA
October 17, 2014
 
Bioshock Remastered
OSCA
September 15, 2016
 
BioShock 2 Remastered
OSCA
September 15, 2016
Last appearence.


4th Logo (November 19, 2013-)

Visuals: An explosion of green light occurs, sending other green lights which form the nVIDIA icon while the trademark text appears below. The logo zooms in and moves to the left to make space for the stacked words "THE WAY" (1st row) "IT'S MEANT" (2nd row) "TO BE PLAYED" (3rd row), which appear moving from left to right.

Variant: Depending on the game, the icon may appear in a lighter or darker shade of green.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Digital sounds, with some quiet reverse cymbals when the words appear.

Availability

Edit Table

Media Title Date of Release Additional Notes
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
OSCA
November 19, 2013
First appearance.
Farming Simulator 15
OSCA
October 30, 2014
 
Assassin's Creed: Unity
OSCA
November 11, 2014
 
Far Cry 4
OSCA
November 18, 2014
 
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
OSCA
May 19, 2015
 
Batman: Arkham Knight
OSCA
June 23, 2015
 
Farming Simulator 15: Gold Edition
OSCA
October 29, 2015
 
Need for Speed
OSCA
March 15, 2016
 
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition
OSCA
August 30, 2016
 
Mafia III
OSCA
October 7, 2016
 
Farming Simulator 17
OSCA
October 24, 2016
 
Watch Dogs 2
OSCA
November 29, 2016
 
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands
OSCA
March 7, 2017
 
Farming Simulator 19
OSCA
November 19, 2018
 
Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced
OSCA
April 3, 2019
 
Mafia 3: Definitive Edition
OSCA
May 19, 2020
 
Phantasy Star Online 2
OSCA
August 5, 2020
Still logo. International releases only.
Cyberpunk 2077
OSCA
December 10, 2020
 
Baldur's Gate 3
OSCA
August 3, 2023
Still logo.


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