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Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.

Moby ID: 75

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Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was 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).

Through their subsidiaries in North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Australia, the company 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, the company 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, including Turok and Shadow Man.

The demise of the company 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 the company 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, Title 11 (United States Bankruptcy Code). 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 has not died. During the liquidation period in September 2004, former Activision CEO Howard Marks purchased the Acclaim name and the logo for a reported US$ 100,000. Then in 2006, he and Neil Malhotra created a new company naming it Acclaim Games with an entirely different focus: Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games. The company was acquired by Playdom on 18 May 2010, but was closed on 27 August 2010.

The Acclaim publishing label was acquired by CollectorVision Games in May 2016.

Known divisions/subsidiaries

Credited on 310 Games from 1987 to 2019

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Showdown: Legends of Wrestling (2004 on PlayStation 2, Xbox)
WCR: World Championship Rugby (2004 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Alias (2004 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
All-Star Baseball 2005 (2004 on PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Freestyle Street Soccer (2003 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox...)
Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance (2003 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox...)
Worms 3D (2003 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox...)
Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo (2003 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox...)
NBA Jam (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox)
XGRA: Extreme G Racing Association (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
AFL Live 2004 (2003 on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox)
Summer Heat Beach Volleyball (2003 on PlayStation 2)
SX Superstar (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
Speed Kings (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
All-Star Baseball 2004 (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
Vexx (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
ATV: Quad Power Racing 2 (2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube)
All-Star Baseball 2004 (2003 on Game Boy Advance)
Legends of Wrestling II (2002 on Game Boy Advance)

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History +

August 30, 2004

Closes down - filed bankruptcy.

December 22, 2003

Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. announces that it has entered into a global publishing agreement with Reno-based developer BattleBorne Entertainment, Inc.

June 23, 2003

Acclaim announces their intention to stop developing for the GameCube (taken from GameSpydaily.com):

"Acclaim Cuts in GameCube Support

Publisher Acclaim said to limit support for the GameCube to games already in progress and older brands, ruling out new games in new franchises for the platform. 'We don't foresee launching any new brands on GameCube,' Acclaim spokesman Alan Lewis told news agency Reuters. Lewis said games already in progress for the GameCube would come out as planned, and the company would continue to consider new games for the console based on older properties."

June 2, 2003

Gregory Fischbach resigns the CEO position that he held since the Company's inception in 1987. Fischbach will continue with the organization as Co-Chairman and member of its Board of Directors.

Acclaim appoints Rodney Cousens as its new Chief Executive Officer.

December 4, 2002

Acclaim Entertainment shuts the doors on its Salt Lake City Studio, announces layoffs throughout the company.

Dow Jones reported that Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. said it closed its Salt Lake City development studio. According to Dow Jones, the closing is part of Acclaim's plan to consolidate its domestic internal product development into its primary development studio in Austin, Texas. Overall, the Company said it has lowered its headcount to about 600 employees from 708 employees as of August 31, representing a 15% reduction.

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Trivia +

According to Wikipedia, Acclaim's founders used the same naming convention that their former employers at Activision had used when jumping ship from Atari (as with their compatriots who started Accolade): choosing a name occurring slightly earlier when sorted alphabetically. This one-upmanship was trumped by the fellows at Absolute Entertainment.

The web site used to be at http://www.acclaim.com/

Address:

Acclaim Entertainment

One Acclaim Plaza

Glen Cove, NY 11542

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