Acclaim Entertainment

Background

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). In later years, Acclaim had a reputation for bad-quality games, save for some exceptions such as the NBA Jam series (which was originally an arcade game developed by Midway before Acclaim bought the series), the NFL Quarterback Club series, and the Turok series.

In September 2004, Acclaim has filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, which caused it to be closed. All of its divisions and studios were closed and its assets were liquidated by the end of 2004. These assets were then auctioned off to several companies in the coming years; most of the game library was acquired by Canadian publisher Throwback Entertainment in 2006, while the Acclaim brand itself was purchased by independent publisher Collectorvision in May 2016.

Contents

1st Logo (December 1988-December 5, 2003)	2nd Logo (January 1989-December 1992)	3rd Logo (February 1992-1998)	4th Logo (September 4, 1995-August 7, 1998)	5th Logo (February 29, 1996-November 9, 2000)


6th Logo (April 14, 1999-October 3, 2002)	7th Logo (December 1, 2000-October 4, 2001)	8th Logo (May 5, 2002-March 11, 2004)	9th Logo (September 23-November 7, 2003)	10th Logo (April 29-August 2004)

1st Logo (December 1988-December 5, 2003)

Visuals: On a black background, there is the word "Acclaim" in a white color, on top of a rainbow gradient arrow-like line facing the left with the C's made of "less than" signs or left arrows [<]. Under the logo is "entertainment, Inc." or "entertainment", which is sometimes spaced to fit the width of the logo.

Trivia:

In Frank Thomas' Big Hurt Baseball, NBA Jam, and NBA Jam: Tournament Edition, the Acclaim logo can be seen on some posters and walls.
In the intro for The Simpsons: Bartman Meets the Radioactive Man, you can find a comic book in the game with the Acclaim logo on it.

Variants:

On Othello, the arrow line is red.
On some games, like the Game Boy games of Kwirk and Fortress of Fear: Wizards and Warriors X and the NES games of Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Total Recall, Swords and Serpents and Trog!, the logo is shown within the game's title screen.
On some games, like the NES and Game Boy games of Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge and the Game Boy game of Double Dragon 3: The Arcade Game, the logo is within a copyright notice.
On Destination Earthstar, the whole thing takes place on a space background.
On the NES game of Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones, the entire logo is red.
Sometimes, the text is thinner.
Sometimes, the word "PRESENTS" is shown below the logo.
On the ending of IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II, a part of the arrow line is absent, and the Nintendo logo is shown below the logo.
On some titles since 1998, "entertainment, inc." is absent. Sometimes, the website URL "www.acclaim.com" in 1999, is under the logo.
Sometimes, the word "Acclaim" is black and the background is white.
On Realtime Associates-developed games like WWF Raw for Game Gear, the background and letters are white. The background is black on Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball, while Iron Man/X-O Manowar in Heavy Metal has the text in gray.
On Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance, the "entertainment inc." text is bold, and in italics.

Technique: Depends on the variant.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on various Acclaim games at the time, starting with the NES version of Othello and continuing until 2003. It is also seen on the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS versions of The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants, The Simpsons: Bart vs. the World and Smash T.V., the Super Famicom game Oomono Black Bass Fishing: Jinzouko-Hen, and the PC version of Trog!, as well as a prototype NES version of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (the retail version was published by subsidiary LJN, and lacks the logo thereof).

2nd Logo (January 1989-December 1992)

Visuals: On a black background, an arrow line slides in, with the Acclaim text from the last logo, now in outlines and has "entertainment inc." below the logo. The line flashes, and then the logo shines. The text "PRESENTS" fades in below the logo.

Later Variant: The arrow line is already there, the company name wipes in and the "PRESENTS" text is there, and the logo shines.

Variant: On Airwolf, the logo is on the top right of the game's title screen, and the logo is already formed.

Technique: 2D sprite animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: The logo first appeared as a custom variant on the NES game of WWF WrestleMania, and Airwolf, and the standard logo later appears on Bigfoot for the NES. The later version appears on the NES games Smash T.V. and George Foreman's K.O. Boxing.

3rd Logo (February 1992-1998)

Visuals: On a black background, there is the "Acclaim" text from before, in a gray-gradient color, on top of a rainbow gradient arrow-like line facing the left, which slides in from the right, with the C's made of "less than" signs or left arrows [<]. Under the logo is "entertainment, Inc.", which is sometimes spaced to fit the width of the logo.

Variants:

Sometimes, the animated version has the arrow-line is gray before the rainbow gradient arrow-line slides into the logo.
A more common still version exists.
Sometimes, the "Acclaim" text is white.
On Warlock for Sega Genesis, the logo falls into view themed on an avalanche.
On the SNES and Sega Genesis versions of Revolution X, the logo is in a 3D style.
On Jupiter Strike, the logo is smaller than the original version and the rainbow-colored line shines.
On Super Smash T.V., and George Foreman's KO Boxing for SNES, the blue-gradient lines appear above and below the screen respectively. Later versions of the latter game have the blue-gradient lines removed.
On some games like the Game Boy version of Cutthroat Island, "entertainment, inc." is absent.
An 8-bit version appears on the NES game of The Simpsons: Bartman Meets Radioactive Man.
On the NES and Game Boy versions of Krusty's Fun House, the arrow line is gray.

Technique: 2D sprite animation.

Audio: None, or the opening theme of the game.

Audio Variant: On the SNES versions of Super Smash T.V. and George Foreman's K-O Boxing, a mystical chime sound is heard, which was later reused for the LJN logo on NBA All-Star Challengefor the SNES.

Availability: Seen on Acclaim games from the time, including Mortal Kombat 1 and 2.

The logo made its debut on the SNES version of Super Smash T.V..
This is also seen on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn games Street Fighter: The Movie, WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game, Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition and Psychic Force.
It even appeared on the UK releases of Mortal Kombat 3 for Game Boy and Game Gear and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 for SNES and Genesis, since Acclaim distributed the titles outside of the USA.
It also appears on Numbers Paradise on the Super Famicom.
The logo appears on the SNES game of Alien 3, despite that the game was published under the LJN label, instead of the company's own logo.

4th Logo (September 4, 1995-August 7, 1998)

Visuals: There is the Acclaim logo, but is at a slight downward-facing angle, the "Acclaim" typeface is in a 3D style, and "entertainment, inc", is in dark blue. A light blink appears behind, shining on the logo.

Variants:

On Genesis games, there is no light blink and the logo is more blue.
On Batman and Robin, the logo is set behind the game's opening.
On Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball for Genesis, the colored arrow-line slides in from the right like in the animated variant of the first logo.

Technique: A still digital graphic with fading transitions.

Audio: None or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on Acclaim titles from this time period, in tandem with the previous and next logos.

Games that have this variant include NBA Jam: Tournament Edition (Sega 32X, PlayStation, Saturn, PC and Atari Jaguar versions), NFL Quarterback Club (Sega 32X Version), Rise 2: Resurrection, D, Revolution X (PlayStation, Saturn and PC versions), Batman Forever: The Arcade Game, the SNES and Sega Genesis versions of Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball, NFL Quarterback Club 96 and College Slam, X-Men: Children of the ATOM (PlayStation and Saturn versions), and Batman and Robin for PlayStation.
It also appears on several Japan-only titles published by the Acclaim Japan subsidiary, including the Saturn and PlayStation games of Yellow Brick Road.

5th Logo (February 29, 1996-November 9, 2000)

Visuals: On a black background, each letter in the word "Acclaim" flies in and hits the screen, leaving blue fire traces. Every time a letter hits the screen, the portion of the arrow-line flashes in blue. When all the other letters come along including "entertainment, inc.", the blue arrow-line becomes rainbow colored as usual, and the logo shines with rainbow colors, becoming 3D and gray. After the logo forms, the logo shines while the light starts to shine from beyond the logo.

Variants:

On the PS1 port of Alien Trilogy, the logo runs at 30 fps.
On Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball, NFL Quarterback Club '97, and All-Star Baseball '97 Featuring Frank Thomas for Sega Saturn, the logo is cropped to widescreen.
On Bubble Bobble: Featuring Rainbow Islands and Fantastic Four for PlayStation, the standard logo is sped up a little, except for the PAL versions which are in standard speed.
On Constructor, the logo is still.

Technique: CGI effects.

Audio: Whooshes when for the letters fly, and deep pounding sounds when they hit the screen. A synthesised descending tune is heard when the logo is formed.

Audio Variant: On Constructor and the PAL release of Bust-A-Move 3 on the Sega Saturn, the logo is silent.

Availability: It was first used on Alien Trilogy, and has appeared on many PlayStation, Saturn and PC games released by the company.

Such examples include V-Tennis, Jeremy McGrath Supercross 98, Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball, NFL Quarterback Club '96 and '97 (the former title was never released for PlayStation), College Slam, NBA Jam Extreme, Space Jam, WWF In Your House and The Crow: City of Angels among others.
By 1998, this logo was rarely used (instead using the 1st logo), being reduced to appearing on trailers, and the last game to feature this was RC de Go! on the PlayStation.

6th Logo (April 14, 1999-October 3, 2002)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a 3D version of the Acclaim logo from the previous logos, only this time the logo is high-quality, and and the word "Acclaim" is a bit green and has a metallic shine on it.

Variants:

On Shadow Man, the logo is superimposed on a dark background with stitches.
On games developed by NEON Studios for the Game Boy Color, the logo is in 8-bit.

Technique: A still CGI graphic. For Game Boy Color games, a still 8-bit graphic.

Audio: None, or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Seen on several games, like Machines, Trickstyle, the Xbox version of Burnout, Burnout 2: Point of Impact and Shadow Man, as well as most NEON-developed Game Boy Color games, like Armonies: Project S.W.A.R.M., Pumuckls Abenteur bei den Piraten, Pumuckls Abenteur im Geisterschloss and Maya the Bee 2.

7th Logo (December 1, 2000-October 4, 2001)

Visuals: The Acclaim logo turns and zooms in with the spotlight rays traveling through the word "Acclaim". Then as the lights reach the "cc" part of the logo, the colors on the arrow-like appear via the glow-light color, forming the logo. Then the logo zooms back, while the lights slowly dim out a few seconds later.

Technique: CGI animation.

Audio: An ascending synth sounder with a ding at the end.

Availability: It only appears on RC Revenge Pro and Paris Dakar Rally for the PlayStation 2.

8th Logo (May 5, 2002-March 11, 2004)

Visuals: The word "Acclaim" is being shot letter-by-letter by lightning sparks. Every letter shines a second after being formed. The two c's are created by the shots from downside, then followed the dot of the "i" and the arrow-line. The word "entertainment" appears, and the arrow-line shines.

Technique: CGI animation.

Audio: Loud thunderclap-like sounds when the letters shoot in, and electricity crackling when the logo is formed.

Availability: It only appears on four games: ZooCube for GameCube, Speed Kings, Freestyle Street Soccer and the North American version of Worms 3D for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and PC (the Xbox and European versions were published by Sega.

9th Logo (September 23-November 7, 2003)

Visuals: On a white background, there is various blue circles and lines moving to the left with a translucent 3D Acclaim logo rotating in the background. Then cubes appear through it as the logo turns clear, gains its colors and centers itself.

Technique: CGI animation.

Audio: Synthesised whirring sounds, ending with swooshes.

Availability: Only seen on NBA Jam for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

10th Logo (April 29-August 2004)

Visuals: On a black background, several blue laser lines draw the Acclaim logo. After it's completed, it flashes and glows blue.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Laser carving sounds ending with an orchestral hit mixed with the synth bass note.

Availability:

On publicly released games, this logo only appeared on three games: AFL Live Premiership Edition, Showdown: Legends of Wrestling and WCR: World Championship Rugby.
On un-released games, it was seen on the Xbox version of The Red Star (when it was released in 2007, it was published by XS Games and only the PlayStation 2 version was publicly released) and the Acclaim version of Juiced (the final game was published by THQ after Acclaim went bankrupt).