Gamecube loses another 3rd Party Publisher

[neotokeo2001]

Acclaim CEO Rod Cousens mentioned that they will not develop further software titles for Nintendo GameCube, they will focus on PS2 and Xbox development, but no support to GameCube in the foreseeable future. Acclaim will still release the 3 remaining GameCube titles on hand: XGRA (August 2003), Legend of Wrestling III (Spring 2004) and Urban Freestyle Soccer (November 2003).

Not a big loss, but a bad sign for Gamecube.

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't think the loss of Acclaim is anything to worry about. They're not even treading water at this point, and I think they're trying to consolidate their resources instead of going under.

[zmeston]

I don't think the loss of Acclaim is anything to worry about. They're not even treading water at this point, and I think they're trying to consolidate their resources instead of going under.

Third-party GameCube titles aren't selling at all, so it's hardly a shock that the struggling Acclaim would focus on platforms where it has a chance of survival. It's interesting from a historical perspective, of course, since Acclaim was born as a Nintendo licensee, and its initial titles were Japanese Famicom titles localized for the American NES.

-- Z.

[Ed Oscuro]

It is strange. Sure, if they were going back to the GameCube I'd say they had gone full circle...well, it's like the song mentioned in the GameSpot article about the fall of Trilobyte (not a terribly similar situation, but the downfall of a company nonetheless):

And when you got money,
You got a lots of friends
Crowdin 'round your door
When the money's gone
And all you're spendin' ends
They won't be 'round any more
No, no, no more
-- God Bless The Child (Arthur Herzog Jr., Billie Holiday)

I'm not concerned about Acclaim at all, since they've "grown" from a company that made ehmm special NES games (Aliens the best of them?) to a company that's come to symbolize all that's dirty and not nice about the videogame industry (if it is true or not).

The interesting point, though, is that Acclaim also represents one of the "friends" from this song...lecherous bums that think a pair of shiny shoes and a winning smile while they grab the coattails of the popular crooner grants them success. Sure, the same may be said of any other 3rd party GameCube developer, but unlike your average Today-We-Support-X sycophantic developer-licensor relationship, Acclaim doesn't really have anything to cling to but the gutter.

[portnoyd]

Has Acclaim released anything decent in the past 5 years? I haven't been paying attention at all.

dave

[Ed Oscuro]

Maybe the third Extreme G title was good, which makes the possibility of Acclaim's downfall all the more distateful.

They SHOULD have had everything.

Booth babes, that Turok Lizard-thing, the nice shiny logo...right there, not inferior to a Ritual or 3D Realms in any way...Money...but the games? Too much (same-old) sports stuff, and...well, I honestly don't know. This doesn't seem to be an issue of pissing away money since they do have competent money people, but I think it's that they pissed away the goodwill of gamers (didn't zmeston say that a month or so ago?)

[Rogmeister]

The one Acclaim series for GameCube I've liked is the All-Star Baseball series. With the loss of that series, will there be any good baseball game for the GC? Will I have to settle for ((shudder)) High Heat? >:(

[zmeston]

I'm not concerned about Acclaim at all, since they've "grown" from a company that made ehmm special NES games (Aliens the best of them?) to a company that's come to symbolize all that's dirty and not nice about the videogame industry (if it is true or not).

The folks at Acclaim have always been kind to my freelance-weasel arse, but yeah, the company has run on fumes for a decade. BMX XXX -- which I actually kind of liked, but in retrospect, 'twas the boobs (in the Xbox/GCN versions) that swayed me -- might have been the death blow, what with the damage it caused to Acclaim's relationship with Sony.

-- Z.

[mikeetler]

The one Acclaim series for GameCube I've liked is the All-Star Baseball series. With the loss of that series, will there be any good baseball game for the GC? Will I have to settle for ((shudder)) High Heat? >:(

From the looks of the statements made, Acclaim will continue existing franchises and possilbly porting over succesfull franchises from otehr systems, so the All Star games will most likely continue. And unless someone buys the High Heat franchise from 3DO through the bankrupcy court, don't expect another one of them anytime soon.

[calthaer]

Man, whatever happened to Wizards & Warriors? Those games were generally fun although I think Ironsword was exceptionally poor. W&W3 was one of the great late NES games.

[Tritoch]

I think they did one of those on the PSX ("Iron and Blood" something?), and it was a very ho-hum fighting game.

[PDorr3]

good, i own ps2 and xbox so why would it make a difference for me? ;)
yeah bad sign for gamecube though... they had better get some quality titles out there fast!

[maxlords]

I think they did one of those on the PSX ("Iron and Blood" something?), and it was a very ho-hum fighting game.

Iron and Blood is a AD&D game and it's awful...has nothing to do with Wizards and Warriors, which hasn't seen a sequel since the NES days.