Acclaim Entertainment
From Sega Retro
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Acclaim Entertainment |
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Founded: 1987 |
Defunct: 2004-08 |
T-series code: T-81 |
Headquarters: Glen Cove, New York, United States |
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. (アクレイム) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1987 as a Delaware corporation. Over the next 17 years, the company became a leading worldwide developer, publisher and mass marketer. The company's headquarters were located in Glen Cove, New York, and their common stock publicly traded on the US Stock Exchange (NASDAQ symbol AKLM).
Contents
History
The name of the company was picked because it had to be alphabetically above the co-founder's former place of employment, Activision, and also had to be alphabetically above Accolade (another company formed by ex-Activision employees). This was a common formula for picking names of new companies that were founded by ex-Activision employees (the founders of Activision used this formula when they left Atari).
Many of Acclaim's products were licensed titles: games based on comics, television series (including wrestling shows and cartoons) and movies. They were also responsible for the ports of many of Midway's arcade games in the early-to-mid 1990s, including the Mortal Kombat series. They also published some games from other companies that at the time of publication didn't have an American branch, such as Technos Japan's Double Dragon and Taito's Bust-A-Move series. Several games in the Acclaim catalog are frequently cited as among the worst of all time, a fact that has continued to earn it the derision of gamers and gaming media. Flying Edge was a division of Acclaim that published Acclaim's games for Sega consoles. The Flying Edge name was used from 1991 to 1994. Due to contractual issues with Nintendo during the NES era, this new division was specifically created for publishing games under the Sega brand.
In the 1990s, Acclaim purchased a great number of third-party developers, including Arena Entertainment, Sculptured Software, Iguana Entertainment, Probe Software, and Software Creations. Through their subsidiaries in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Australia, Acclaim distributed their software products directly to retailers and other outlets. They also utilized regional distributors in Japan and the Pacific Rim to distribute software within those geographic areas. In addition, Acclaim was the distributor for other publishers worldwide. A smaller portion of their business included publishing gaming strategy guides and issuing "special edition" comic magazines to support brands they owned.
The demise of Acclaim Entertainment began in 2003 when the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) began an investigation into several video game companies, including Acclaim. Lawsuits were filed in March 2003 against Acclaim in US District Court alleging "violations against the Securities Exchange Act of 1934". In June 2003, CEO Gregory Fischbach stepped down as chief executive and was replaced by President Rodney Cousens. The end of Acclaim came when they filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. All divisions and studios were closed and assets liquidated by the end of 2004. Legal battles were fought in various courts all the way into mid-2007.
However, the name Acclaim did not die immediately. During the liquidation period in Sept. 2004, former Activision CEO Howard Marks purchased the "Acclaim" name and the logo for a reported $100,000. Then in 2006, he and Neil Malhotra created a new company: Acclaim Games, with an entirely new focus on Massive Multiplayer Online Games. This new company was acquired on May 2010 by online game developer Playdom and closed by them three months later, killing the Acclaim name for good.
For a while Acclaim's internal development divisions were named after colours.
Softography
Sega Titan Video
- Batman Forever (1996)
Master System
- Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1994)
- Mortal Kombat II (1994)
Mega Drive
- Stargate (1994)
- Wolverine: Adamantium Rage (1994)
- T2: The Arcade Game (1994)
- WWF Royal Rumble (1994)
- NBA Jam (1994)
- Mortal Kombat (1994)
- Champions World Class Soccer (1994)
- Mortal Kombat II (1994)
- Bloodshot (1994)
- Newman-Haas IndyCar Featuring Nigel Mansell (1994)
- Blockbuster World Video Game Championship II (1995)
- Cutthroat Island (1995)
- Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1995)
- Help! 2 (1995)
- Spider-Man (1995)
- Spot Goes to Hollywood (1995)
- Demolition Man (1995)
- The Death and Return of Superman (1995)
- Rise of the Robots (1995)
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
- NFL Quarterback Club (1995)
- True Lies (1995)
- Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (1995)
- Total Football (1995)
- Scooby-Doo Mystery (1995)
- Warlock (1995)
- Judge Dredd (1995)
- Justice League Task Force (1995)
- Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (1995)
- Mortal Kombat 3 (1995)
- Batman Forever (1995)
- Foreman for Real (1995)
- NFL Quarterback Club '96 (1995)
- Revolution X (1995)
- Venom - Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety (1995)
- WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (1995)
- Virtual Bart (1995)
- WWF Raw (1995)
- College Slam (1996)
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (1996)
- Spot Goes to Hollywood (unreleased)
- The Itchy & Scratchy Game (unreleased)
Game Gear
- Mortal Kombat (1993)
- Monster Truck Wars (1994)
- WWF Raw (1994)
- T2: The Arcade Game (1994)
- NBA Jam (1994)
- Alien 3 (1994)
- RoboCop 3 (1994)
- The Addams Family (1994)
- Smash T.V. (1994)
- The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World (1994)
- Mortal Kombat II (1994)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1994)
- The Incredible Crash Dummies (1994)
- The Itchy & Scratchy Game (1995)
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
- NFL Quarterback Club (1995)
- True Lies (1995)
- Stargate (1995)
- Judge Dredd (1995)
- Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (1995)
- Batman Forever (1995)
- Foreman for Real (1995)
- NFL Quarterback Club '96 (1995)
- Cutthroat Island (1995)
- Mortal Kombat 3 (1996)
- Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1996)
- Iron Man/X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal (1996)
Mega-CD
- Mortal Kombat (1994)
- WWF Rage in the Cage (1994)
- NBA Jam (1994)
- Demolition Man (1995)
- Bloodshot (1995)
32X
- Mortal Kombat II (1995)
- NFL Quarterback Club (1995)
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
- WWF Raw (1995)
- WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (1995)
Saturn
- Myst (1994)
- Robotica: Cybernation Revolt (1995)
- Battle Monsters (1995)
- D (1995)
- Street Fighter: The Movie (1995)
- Galactic Attack (1995)
- Virtual Open Tennis (1995)
- X-Men: Children of the Atom (1995)
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
- Darius Gaiden (1995)
- College Slam (1996)
- Mortal Kombat II (1996)
- NFL Quarterback Club '96 (1996)
- Virtua Photo Studio: Cameraman Simulation (1996)
- Revolution X (1996)
- Rise 2 Resurrection (1996)
- Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition (1996)
- Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball (1996)
- WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (1996)
- Alien Trilogy (1996)
- Striker '96 (1996)
- Yellow Brick Road (1996)
- Bubble Bobble also featuring Rainbow Islands (1996)
- StarFighter 3000 (1996)
- Iron Man/X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal (1996)
- NFL Quarterback Club '97 (1996)
- Dragonheart: Fire & Steel (1996)
- Batman Forever (1997)
- WWF In Your House (1997)
- NBA Jam Extreme (1997)
- Space Jam (1997)
- Bust-A-Move 3 (1997)
- The Crow: City of Angels (1997)
- All-Star Baseball 1997 Featuring Frank Thomas (1997)
- Impact Racing (1997)
- Scorcher (1997)
- Tunnel B1 (1997)
- BattleSport (1997)
- Time Commando (1998)
- Alien Trilogy Taikenban (199x)
- Duel (unreleased)
- Myst (unreleased)
- Mortal Kombat & Mortal Kombat II (unreleased)
- Magic: The Gathering (unreleased)
- Killing Time (unreleased)
- Magic: The Gathering: Battlemage (unreleased)
- Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Iron & Blood - Warriors of Ravenloft (unreleased)
- Batman & Robin (unreleased)
- Fantastic Four (unreleased)
- Rattlesnake Red (unreleased)
- NHL Breakaway 98 (unreleased)
Dreamcast
- Psychic Force 2012 (1999)
- TrickStyle (1999)
- WWF Attitude (1999)
- NFL Quarterback Club 2000 (1999)
- Shadow Man (1999)
- South Park: Chef's Luv Shack (1999)
- Tee Off (1999)
- Fur Fighters: The Exclusive Demo Disc (2000)
- ECW Hardcore Revolution (2000)
- Bust-A-Move 4 (2000)
- South Park Rally (2000)
- Fur Fighters (2000)
- Re-Volt (2000)
- F355 Challenge (2000)
- Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 (2000)
- NFL QB Club 2001 (2000)
- Dead or Alive 2 (2000)
- Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX (2000)
- ECW Anarchy Rulz (2000)
- Ducati World Racing Challenge (2001)
- Vanishing Point (2001)
- Spirit of Speed 1937 (2001)
- Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (unreleased)
PlayStation 2
- Crazy Taxi (2001)
- Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (2002)
- Headhunter (2002)
- Virtua Cop: Elite Edition (2002)
- Sega Bass Fishing Duel (2002)
- Virtua Tennis 2 (2002)
- 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (2002)
GameCube
- Crazy Taxi (2002)
- 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (2002)
The Black Team softography
Master System
- Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six (1993)
- Krusty's Fun House (1993)
- WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge (1993)
Mega Drive
- WWF Super WrestleMania (1992)
- Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge (1993)
- Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage (1995)
- Batman Forever (1995) (as Black Team)
- WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (1995)
- Virtual Bart (1995)
Game Gear
- Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six (1993)
- WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge (1993)
- Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge (1994)
- Batman Forever (1995) (as Black Team)
Mega-CD
- WWF Rage in the Cage (1994)
32X
- WWF Raw (1995)
- WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game (1995)
Saturn
The Grey Team softography
Master System
- Predator 2 (1993)
- Mortal Kombat (1993)
Mega Drive
- Predator 2 (1992)
- Stargate (1994)
- Mortal Kombat (1994)
- Mortal Kombat II (1994) (as The Gray Team)
- Cutthroat Island (1995) (as The Grey Team)
- Justice League Task Force (1995)
- Foreman for Real (1995) (as The Grey Team)
Game Gear
- Predator 2 (1992)
- Mortal Kombat (1993)
- Mortal Kombat II (1994) (as The Gray Team)
- Stargate (1995)
- Cutthroat Island (1995) (as The Grey Team)
Mega-CD
- Mortal Kombat (1994)
32X
- Mortal Kombat II (1995) (as The Gray Team)
The White Team softography
Mega Drive
- George Foreman's KO Boxing (1993)
- Roger Clemens' MVP Baseball (1993)
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
- Warlock (1995)
Game Gear
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
32X
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
Saturn
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition (1995)
- Alien Trilogy (1996)
The Red Team softography
Mega Drive
- Revolution X (1995) (as Red Team)
Saturn
- Mortal Kombat II (1996) (as Red Team)
- Revolution X (1996) (as Red Team)