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If you’re a gamer of a certain age, the name Acclaim will ring some pretty loud bells. It was a big-time videogame publisher through the late 1980s and ’90s, with a number of major sports and entertainment partnerships to its name. Flagging sales forced the company to declare bankruptcy in 2004 but now it’s back, in name at least, and aiming to “support indie developers and reignite classic franchises.”
“Acclaim will provide much-needed resources such as funding, marketing and PR support, giving independent studios the opportunity to bring their creative visions to a broad audience,” Acclaim said in its rejuvenation announcement.
“One of the key goals for the relaunched Acclaim is to resurrect and revitalize its beloved portfolio of classic IP enjoyed for years by millions of players. To ensure this vision comes to life, Acclaim has assembled an advisory board comprised of esteemed industry leaders, including Russell Binder at Striker Entertainment, Mark Caplan at Ridge Partners, and Jeff Jarrett at Global Force Entertainment.”
This is the part of the otherwise entirely boilerplate announcement that caught my attention. Surely, I thought to myself, they’re not talking about Double-J Jeff Jarrett, the veteran pro wrestler known for smashing guitars over the heads of pretty much anyone who catches his attention?
Yup, that is exactly who they’re talking about.
“For more than three decades, I’ve had the privilege to have been a part of both the wrestling and gaming universes, and I’m thrilled to now be a partner in the revival of Acclaim, an iconic publisher known for releasing some of the most legendary games of the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Jarrett said.
“From my early involvement with the publisher’s hit 16-bit WWF titles to my experience helping shape the TNA Wrestling series, which spawned the first video game wrestler to become a full-time roster member in the Squared Circle, I’ve seen firsthand the type of impact great games can have on players and fans. Resurrecting Acclaim is an opportunity to impart the same degree of passion and love to a new generation, and I’m excited to be involved.”
Another interesting bit of trivia: One of the financial backers of the revived Acclaim is VaynerFund partner Phil Toronto, who is not actually from Toronto. That is his real name, though.
The new Acclaim will be headed up by CEO Alex Josef, who has a number of credits to his name as CEO of publisher Graffiti Games. “It’s an absolute honor and pleasure to be leading the charge in bringing Acclaim back to the forefront of the games industry,” Josef said. “We’re fortunate that we have an extremely talented team and that we’ve already signed some incredible indie titles, which we’ll be revealing soon.”
To be blunt, I’m a little doubtful about how much weight the Acclaim name carries these days. But if the resurrected company is able to follow through on its new mission statement and offer meaningful support for indie developers, then I’m all for it.
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Kurt Indovina
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