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[Buffy4ever]

I wounder what going to happen to Red Star. Akklaim didn't own Red Star. Red Star was a comic by CHRISTIAN GOSSETT and published by Archangel-Studios. so does a new company have to reliscence the game or does the original creator get the programing?

 

[MassiveAttack]

I think Atari needs you now.

Agreed. Atari is the new Acclaim. Same story, different name.

 

[FitzOfRage]

I have to say, the company's name is actually Acclaim. Despite the stylized logo, it's always been Acclaim without any k's. Just like Electronic Arts was never "EOA" despite their old logo.

 

[Coen]

R.I.P.

 

[JJConrad]

I was looking over Acclaim's lst of games at IGN and just about everything was licensed, crap, or licensed-crap. With the exception of X-G and All-Star Baseball, they didn't have anything interesting.

Does Acclaim currently hold the game rights to any popluar franchises (like The Simpson's, X-men, etc...)?

 

[explodet]

Does Acclaim currently hold the game rights to any popluar franchises (like The Simpson's, X-men, etc...)?

Seeing how they just closed down, I would say no.

But seriously, they had a few personalities and licenses, then they pissed off Dave Mirra and released a lousy Turok game and things went downhill from there.

 

[etiolate]

They should sell their daughter's virginity on the internet.

 

[DDayton]

Just like Electronic Arts was never "EOA" despite their old logo.

Weren't they Electronic Artists, originally? Back when their gimmick was to heavily promote the names of all their designers?

 

[Rocket Punch]

Are they still blaming this on the decline of the N64 platform? But seriously, even though their games have been rather meh for the most part there were some diamonds in the rough in there:

Extreme G series
Turok (the first 2)
Forsaken 64
Shadowman 64

I really loved Shadowman, man what a creepy game, just stellar. And Forsaken... well, one word... TITAN. Great multplayer game.

 

[Anyanka]

MK II on SNES was their shining moment to me. It's the best home version ever released. On Oct. 11th that legacy will come to an end when MAT 2 comes out. What a shame or something.

 

[Sho Nuff]

lol @ fate of acclaim - that's what you get for

a) releasing SHIT

b) not supporting the BIG N

c) releasing SHIT

So you're saying you will succeed if you release SHIT on Nintendo consoles?

 

[TekunoRobby]

Weren't they Electronic Artists, originally? Back when their gimmick was to heavily promote the names of all their designers?

LET ME CONSULT MY MAGICAL BOOK OF VIDEOGAME KNOWLEDGE*:

October 8th, 1992: The original business plan for Soft-Art was finished.

Bing Gordon: "We were going to go with Soft-Art, but it was taken, so we had a meeting at Pajaro Dunes to determine a name. Trip said we had to have a name before the night was over, and anyone who went to sleep lost their vote. That was typical of Trip. Trip could always wear people out. He could go and go. If you leave the room, you lose your vote. The other part is, if you're in the room, you get a vote. Anyways, I liked Electronic Artists because it reminded me of Mary Pickford and the original United Artists' anti-studios' in Hollywood. However Steve Hayes pointed out that we weren't the artists... that we worked with them. We didn't develop our own in-house project until five years later with Skate or Die. Tim Mott suggested Electronic Arts. It was after midnight by then, and that's the name we adopted."

*High Score: the illustrated history of games
Check pgs. 165 - 166 for those two bits of information.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

No, but they were going down anyway, so they might as well have gone down supporting Nintendo with something. For no ones sake, but the few who would've bought their crap .

 

[Alcibiades]

No, but they were going down anyway, so they might as well have gone down supporting Nintendo with something. For no ones sake, but the few who would've bought their crap .

Turok literally saved the company from bankruptcy back on the 64, and now they make it multiplatform (thereby dividing resources and working with the PS2-graphics as a base) and decide to make it for all 3 systems.

Acclaim might not be in this situation if Turok Evolution had been GCN exlusive:

-easily stands out as a mature title on GCN so publicity would be great (like with RE and Killery 7)

-more focus on ONE great version than 3 mediocre ones

This would have easily helped sales, and probably the $50-type sales, not at $10 bargain prices.

Acclaim messed up, when they were a prime publisher on 64, they were doing excellent financially, same thing with Midway, which is also pretty much a one hit wonder (Mortal Kombat).

Supporting Nintendo in the US can be very beneficial to companies, as can be seen with how these two companies owned in terms of marketshare back when they strongly supported Nintendo.

Basing graphics on PS2 and then porting to GCN (Spy Hunter, Turok, etc..) is not what I consider good support. Neither is late arrivals (MK: Deception). You'd think these companies would learn (like EA, Activision, and UbiSoft), but hey, sometimes you learn the hard way (like Acclaim just did)

that said, I don't feel sorry for them, as I've been pissed off at Acclaim ever since I heard Turok: Evolution would be not Nintendo-only. I ranted a whole bunch a times as to how I would boycott their games and encourage(d) other Nintendo fans to do the same (back on the Gamecube IGN boards before they became pay-only, then on the Vestibule IGN board).

I kinda saw this situation happening long before Turok: Evolution's release. In a way it's too bad, but then again, Nintendo's 64 audience saved the company from bankruptcy back on the 64, and now they treat Nintendo fans like sh*t. I wish could access some of those rants, but I think IGN deleted old messages.

I'd be SO validated in retrospect after having gotten poked at by other posters.

 

[SolidSnakex]

So you're saying Nintendo fans would've saved Acclaim by buying all the crappy games they released this generation? Acclaim didn't fail because they didn't support Nintendo exclusively or even gave them good multiplatform support, they've failed because their games suck and no one wants them.

 

[JackFrost2012]

efralope, you are so daft. don't ever change.

 

[Che]

Acclaim had nothing to offer anymore but crap. I won't miss them.

 

[Funky Papa]

same thing with Midway, which is also pretty much a one hit wonder (Mortal Kombat)

...

 

[Scalemail Ted]

Its ashame that after nearly 20 years in the business, Acclaim was unable to create their own killer IPs.

 

[TheGreenGiant]

i just wanted to say... how long before SEGA goes under. ...

so similar... right now

 

[MoccaJava]

Acclaim might not be in this situation if Turok Evolution had been GCN exlusive:

*snicker*

 

[SolidSnakex]

They aren't that similar. Sega's still got series that actually sell, Acclaim has none.

 

[hirokazu]

i just wanted to say... how long before SEGA goes under. ...

so similar... right now

even if their games business doesn't work out too well (though Sega arn't doing that bad ATM, right?), Sega Sammy still have their pachinko and other businesses to rake in profits anyhow.

 

[Laurent]

They aren't that similar. Sega's still got series that actually sell, Acclaim has none.

And Sega as done A LOT of original franchises and an important amount of great game when compared to Acclaim...

 

[radcliff]

One of my old Nintendo Power issues says Iron Sword was made by Rare for Acclaim. So at least they (Rare) are still around.

 

[Optimistic]

so similar... right now

Hardly. Shit, Sega release a few shitty games and suddenly they're the new acclaim? Sega used to release more good games in a single month than Acclaim released in all their years of business. Aside from this, they are still releasing AAA games, they just aren't as consistent anymore. Hopefully that'll change next gen...

 

[hiryu]

Does this mean Red Star isn't coming out in a few weeks?

 

[dark10x]

i just wanted to say... how long before SEGA goes under. ...

so similar... right now

Bullshit.

Where are you getting this? Even the shitty Sega games (like Astroboy) tend to score higher than the best Acclaim titles. Sega releases more GOOD games than they do bad ones, which is quite unlike Acclaim...

 

[MadOdorMachine]

So you're saying Nintendo fans would've saved Acclaim by buying all the crappy games they released this generation? Acclaim didn't fail because they didn't support Nintendo exclusively or even gave them good multiplatform support, they've failed because their games suck and no one wants them.

Not all of their games sucked. Turok Evolution and Extreme G3 were both good. They could have been better if they were tailored to one system. Since PS2 and XBOX already had quite a few racers and fps, and the fact that the series started on N64, I think it would have done better just on GCN as well. Imagine if they would have pulled all those development and marketing resources to one system. The games would have been better.

 

[SA-X]

Good, less crappy games will be taking up space on store shelves now.

 

[SolidSnakex]

"Not all of their games sucked. Turok Evolution and Extreme G3 were both good."

The highest Turok Evolution averaged at GR was a 70.5 on the Xbox. I really doubt with it being developed for 1 system that you'd got a significantly better game than that. Didn't alot of the Turok people actually leave after the N64 days, some of them ending up at Retro?

As for Extreme G3. Nintendo fans didn't even buy F Zero GX, you really think they'd bought Extreme G3 if it were exclusive?

 

[Izzy]

Ehhh, I kind of fell sorry for the buggers. They were one of the few decent N64 publishers, and they did release Galactic Attack and Darius Gaiden for the US Saturn.

Rust in peace, Acklame.

 

[B E N K E]

Comparing Sega to Acclaim is really stupid. Deserves a banning IMO.

 

[Duckhuntdog]

Next in line: Midway

 

[BlackClouds]

Yep, I have to agree with that, comparing Sega to Acclaim should be a bannable offense (for the extreme stupidity). So let's not get stupid alright? Acclaim, won't be missed by me, or anybody else (outside of a few ASB fans, probably Acclaims only legit game which I feel was probably unfairly dissed in favor of MVP). Good Riddence.

Their best employees will find other jobs, I'm sure EA is hiring. Midway I don't think is next in line, they seemed to have turned it around a bit. Somehow reviving the MK brand should keep them in business. That's all Acclaim needed was one, ONE hit, and couldn't do it.

 

[Deleted member 284]

So you're saying Nintendo fans would've saved Acclaim by buying all the crappy games they released this generation? Acclaim didn't fail because they didn't support Nintendo exclusively or even gave them good multiplatform support, they've failed because their games suck and no one wants them.

Not calling out SSX (cause I don't remember him saying anything), but I DISTINCTLY remember a shitload of gaffers predicting certain doom for Nintendo when Acclaim stopped making games for the platforms.

"It's never a good sign when a major (roofles @ major) publisher pulls support." Oddly enough, the results were correct but not in the direction that many soothsayers predicted.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

The highest Turok Evolution averaged at GR was a 70.5 on the Xbox. I really doubt with it being developed for 1 system that you'd got a significantly better game than that. Didn't alot of the Turok people actually leave after the N64 days, some of them ending up at Retro?

As for Extreme G3. Nintendo fans didn't even buy F Zero GX, you really think they'd bought Extreme G3 if it were exclusive?

I think Turok would have been much better if were developed on one system. Look at Splinter Cell, the game is great on all three systems, but there's no denying that the XBOX version is the best. Ubisoft concentrated on XBOX first then ported it to GCN and PS2 6 months later. Many of the complaints about Turok were the bugs. If they would have got the game right on one system first and then ported it, then a lot of those bugs probably could have been fixed. I've got both Turok Evolution and Extreme G3 on GCN and they both run good, but they could have been better. Turok has always had some flaws, which I'm able to over look because I've been a fan since N64. I think they should have developed on GCN first though, because that's where most of their fans are and also because it's in the middle in terms of power, so they could have added some things to the XBOX port and taken away some in the PS2 port. Also GCN is lacking in the FPS and racing department. With less selection on that system, it might have stood out and done better. It doesn't help sales either when you're trying to get new users and the game gets bad reviews because of it's bugs. Turok is different and stands out from games like Halo or TimeSplitters though. It's actually more like Metroid in that it's a first person adventure. If it would have had Halo, TimeSplitters or Metroids polish, I'm sure things would have been different. Turok has always been a single player focused game, and I think it outshines Halo and TimeSplitters in that department. It just lacked the quality of it's competition.

 

[Drinky Crow]

Turok was never good. Especially Turok 2, which got completely crapped on by reviewers as a PC release despite vastly better graphics, frame rate, and controls.

 

[AbeFroman]

'twas the beginning of the end...

 

[SolidSnakex]

"I think Turok would have been much better if were developed on one system. Look at Splinter Cell, the game is great on all three systems, but there's no denying that the XBOX version is the best."

From a graphics standpoint, yes the Xbox version is definetly the best out of the 3. But from a gameplay standpoint, they're all the same. That's my point, even if they'd focused on 1 system, would the gameplay had been that much different?

As far as polish goes, how often has Acclaim even made a polished game?

 

[MadOdorMachine]

Comparing Sega to Acclaim is really stupid. Deserves a banning IMO.

With all do respect, they do have their simularities. There has been a lot of financial problems with publishers this gen. Sega went third party, then they merged with Sammy because they were having financial problems. Square and Enix merged. Nintendo sold Rare because they were'nt making them enough money anymore. 3D0 and Acclaim both went out of business. Midway was close to going out. There were even rumors of Capcom and Eidos going up for sale or merging. Nintendo had their first loss in revenue in like in like 60 years or something too. It just shows how volitile this industry is.

 

[dark10x]

Turok was never good. Especially Turok 2, which got completely crapped on by reviewers as a PC release despite vastly better graphics, frame rate, and controls.

Heh, ignoring the game itself, though...Turok 1 and 2 both animate better than most PC FPS titles even today. Doom 3 has them beat, of course...but that's among the few (speaking strictly in terms of animation quality).

 

[MadOdorMachine]

From a graphics standpoint, yes the Xbox version is definetly the best out of the 3. But from a gameplay standpoint, they're all the same. That's my point, even if they'd focused on 1 system, would the gameplay had been that much different?

As far as polish goes, how often has Acclaim even made a polished game?

It depends on what you mean by gameplay. The controls in Turok are fine. The problem was with things like AI and invisible walls, which could have been ironed out easier if they would have focused on one system. The point I'm trying to make is that the developers weren't familiar with any of the systems at the time. They tried to make the game on all three systems at once, which proved to be too much. A lot of companies of companies focused their game on one system, then ported them later once the game was succesful. Some examples are Splinter Cell, Viewtiful Joe, MGS:SoL, NFS:HP2 and Spy Hunter. Yeah, the ports were'nt as good as the original system, but they had momentum built up from the hype and reviews of the other system. The result was more sales and at least one console had a strong establishment built to continue the series on. I think this was the case with Turok, and the game would have been much better if they had done this.

 

[Alcibiades]

Turok 2 is a f*cking classic. Difficult and hardcore, yes. But that doesn't make it a bad game.

That said, instead of doing three Evolution versions at the same time, Acclaim could have put some concentration on game design from the very beginning and not worry about "taking advantage of each system's positives". That's the last thing that should have been on their minds. The first thing should have been getting a good plan down for making a good game. I know Play magazine gave a good review.

There was a lot of potential that was not realized. Also, Extreme G was a N64 franchise basically, should have probably, like MadOdorMachine said, been focused just on GCN. Both games would have really stood out in the Nintendo lineup, especially in 2002 when PS2 had Vice City and XBox had Splinter Cell as 3rd party exclusives. This might have been hailed as a GCN-exlusive next-gen Turok game taking the franchise foward.

Instead, it was called mediocre and had to compete with the hype that was San Andreas and Splinter Cell that holiday (even though it was released before). It would have stood out on GCN.

I can't fault Midway too much if they are at least giving Cube the Arcade Treasures and Mortal Kombat, but I'm definitely dismissing MK immediately based on the fact that I don't want to support a company that's just doing late ports of only big games. I'll probably still buy Arcade Treasures Vol. 2, since it's probably going to be a better game than MK: Deception anyway due to all the retro games you'll be getting (can't wait for Primal Rage), and at $20 you can't beat that price. It's going to be a great party game, something the Cube does best...

 

[Shiggy]

Acclaim Deutschland: Betrieb läuft vorerst weiter

Nach einer Prüfung der Finanzsituation setzt die deutsche Acclaim Entertainment ihren Geschäftsbetrieb derzeit fort, obwohl die US-Mutter gestern Antrag auf ein "Chapter 7"-Insolvenzverfahren gestellt hat. Nach einer ersten in Augenscheinnahme ist das Unternehmen momentan weder überschuldet noch zahlungsunfähig, heißt es von der deutschen Acclaim. Unklar ist jedoch die Situation bei den Produkten. Hier müssen die Verwertungsrechte und deren Werthaltigkeit erst noch analysiert werden, um eine abschließende Beurteilung vorzunehmen. Sollte die US-Mutter jedoch den Bankrott erklären und somit als Produktzulieferer entfallen, würden in der deutschen Niederlassung drastische Kostenreduzierungsmaßnahmen unumgänglich. Mittelfristig will die deutsche Acclaim-Niederlassung das Unternehmen durch die Distribution von Titeln Dritter absichern. Nach eigenen Angaben führt man bereits Verhandlungen mit Interessenten.

---------------------------------

Acclaim won't die!

 

[MadOdorMachine]

I can't fault Midway too much if they are at least giving Cube the Arcade Treasures and Mortal Kombat, but I'm definitely dismissing MK immediately based on the fact that I don't want to support a company that's just doing late ports of only big games. I'll probably still buy Arcade Treasures Vol. 2, since it's probably going to be a better game than MK: Deception anyway due to all the retro games you'll be getting (can't wait for Primal Rage), and at $20 you can't beat that price. It's going to be a great party game, something the Cube does best...

Well, as far as MK is concerned, it's better to get it late than not at all. The GCN delay might not be as bad as it seems though. There are so many games coming out this year that it would probably be overlooked. I hope these games are the beginning of Midway supporting GCN fully again. It would be nice if that rumored Hydro-Rush game comes comes out on GCN whether it's delayed or not.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

Acclaim Deutschland: Betrieb läuft vorerst weiter

Nach einer Prüfung der Finanzsituation setzt die deutsche Acclaim Entertainment ihren Geschäftsbetrieb derzeit fort, obwohl die US-Mutter gestern Antrag auf ein "Chapter 7"-Insolvenzverfahren gestellt hat. Nach einer ersten in Augenscheinnahme ist das Unternehmen momentan weder überschuldet noch zahlungsunfähig, heißt es von der deutschen Acclaim. Unklar ist jedoch die Situation bei den Produkten. Hier müssen die Verwertungsrechte und deren Werthaltigkeit erst noch analysiert werden, um eine abschließende Beurteilung vorzunehmen. Sollte die US-Mutter jedoch den Bankrott erklären und somit als Produktzulieferer entfallen, würden in der deutschen Niederlassung drastische Kostenreduzierungsmaßnahmen unumgänglich. Mittelfristig will die deutsche Acclaim-Niederlassung das Unternehmen durch die Distribution von Titeln Dritter absichern. Nach eigenen Angaben führt man bereits Verhandlungen mit Interessenten.

---------------------------------

Acclaim won't die!

Translated from Bablefish -

Acclaim Germany: Enterprise runs for the time being far after an examination of the financial situation continues the German Acclaim Entertainment their business concern at present, although the US nut/mother yesterday request for a "Chapter 7" - insolvency procedure placed. After first in is momentary neither insolvent nor insolvent the enterprise, is called it of the German Acclaim. Unclear however the situation is with the products. Here the rights of exploitation and their Werthaltigkeit must be only still analyzed, in order to make a locking evaluation. If the US nut/mother should however the bankruptcy explain and thus as product suppliers be void, drastic cost reduction measures became inevitable in the German address. Medium-term the German Acclaim address wants to secure the enterprise by the distribution of titles third. According to own data one already leads negotiations with prospective customers.

So they are still operating in Germany for the time being? It sounds like they may still be a third party distributor over there.

 

[explodet]

nut/mother?

 

[SolidSnakex]

"I think this was the case with Turok, and the game would have been much better if they had done this"

We'll never know though. What we do know is that hte new Turok wasn't good, it bombed, and basically every Acclaim game released this gen is buggy. Looking at this, i'd say there's little chance that much would've changed if they'd made it exclusive. What it seems to come down to is that they just didn't have what it took to make games anymore.

From all that Acclaims shown so far, if they'd put all their games exclusive on the GC they'd either bombed, or Nintendo fans would've been buying alot of bad/mediocre games.

 

[Diomedeskun]

I believe that the spelling for Acclaim came from former Accolade staff who wanted to come earlier in the alphabet than their previous company. If I recall, this went back to Atari staff who left to form Activision and then Activision staff left to form Accolade.

alphabetically:

Acclaim->Accolade->Activision->Atari

All I really care about is still getting the Bard's Tale and The Red Star.