How Acclaim Failed Its Own Failure With Bad Advertising

A game company forgotten by many people today. Acclaim Entertainment, was one of the first names that came to mind when it came to the gaming industry in the past. He wrote many successful and popular plays.

However, this successful process did not last long. In the future, he used many controversial and controversial games to promote his new plays. scandal He resorted to creative advertising method.

Some of them caused legal problems and some caused social reactions. Come see what Acclaim is like. gaming giant Let’s tell the story of how he came to be and how he prepared his end with his own hands:

It all started with Atari’s bankruptcy.

Acclaim Entertainment was founded in 1987 by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki. The founders are all in the gaming industry experienced They were people.

Fischbach, former vice president of Activision; Holmes, former president of LJN Toys; Scoroposki was the former chief financial officer of LJN Toys.

At the time it was founded, the gaming industry was experiencing a major crisis. Atari went bankrupt in 1983caused the gaming market to collapse.

Therefore, instead of initially developing its own games, Acclaim It focused on licensing games produced in Japan and bringing them to America. This strategy enabled Acclaim to gain recognition and growth in a short time.

By the 1990s, it had become one of the largest companies in the gaming industry.

He began developing and publishing his own games in the 90s. In this period Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, Turok, Crazy Taxi He took part as the producer and distributor of many well-known games such as.

These games are praised by both critics and loved by players It also had a large share in the console and computer markets.

It also invested in areas outside the gaming industry. Comics, movies, television, music and sports It also operated in sectors such as.

Marvel Comics, Valiant Comics, Miramax Films, HBO, MTV, VH1 and ESPN It became one of the most important names in both the gaming and entertainment industry by collaborating with companies such as.

The company was on the verge of bankruptcy due to its wrong decisions, bad advertising campaigns and poor quality games.

By the end of the 90s, it fell into a difficult situation as competition in the gaming industry increased. It could not adapt to the new generation consoles.

It fell behind in terms of technique and creativity. The games it released received negative reviews from both critics and players. Acclaim, both sales and lost prestige.

To promote his games with advertising campaigns It also drew reaction. She organized advertising campaigns that were both ethically and legally problematic.

Here are the worst advertising campaigns made by Acclaim:

He added nudity to the game to increase its sales and became the subject of ridicule.

Released in 2002 BMX XXX, It was a cycling game. The graphics and gameplay of the game were quite bad, but Acclaim was trying to compensate for this with advertising campaigns.

In the hope that the game will increase sales, nudity added. But like his recent games, it did not sell well.

Additionally BMX team player Dave Mirra, He personally rejected this game and sued Acclaim. In addition, the public found this campaign ugly and immoral. Thus, Acclaim is both sued and killed with this ridiculous advertising campaign. ridicule happened.

He offered money to parents to give birth to their child, naming him “Turok”.

Turok: Evolution was an action game about the adventures of Turok, a dinosaur hunter. In the advertising campaign of this game, parents and their children who gave birth on September 1, 2002, the game’s release date, “Turok” if they name $10,000 He was offering payment.

Acclaim wanted to popularize the name and character of the game with this advertisement. But as you can imagine, this campaign also attracted a great reaction. Company, from child rights advocatesgarnered a great reaction from the public and the media.

Using children and buying their names to advertise a game in this way is ethically and morally unacceptable. unacceptable found. Acclaim had to step back from this ad as well.

“Violate traffic rules, we will pay your traffic fine”.

Acclaim released a car racing game called Burnout 2: Point of Impact in 2003. The game is while driving at high speed It included collision and explosion effects.

Predictably, the company organized a strange advertising campaign again. The campaign was aimed at drivers who exceeded the speed limit and received traffic fines on April 11, 2003, the game’s release date. to pay their fines He was offering.

The company said that the purpose of this ad was to highlight the exciting and fun aspect of the game. However, this advertisement was harshly criticized by the public and the government. condemned.

Violating traffic rules and jeopardize security, It was seen as irresponsible and disrespectful behavior. Acclaim had to give up this advertisement as well.

While they were thinking about how they could do something more absurd, this time they came up with the idea of ​​”using the dead as a commercial appetizer”.

Acclaim company, Shadow Man 2: Deadside for the horror game called “If you put the name of the game on the tombstones of your deceased relatives, we will contribute to their funeral expenses.” launched an advertising campaign in the style of

So what do you think happened this time? In this campaign to a big scandal Why did it happen, what else could happen? The clergy, the press, and the public were all shocked and found the proposal repugnant and disrespectful.

Then Acclaim, this campaign just a joke He said it was and that he withdrew the campaign. But of course, this explanation was not convincing to anyone.

Even if you do it as a joke after making so many ridiculous advertisements, Who would believe you?

Acclaim’s end:

These illogical advertising campaigns by Acclaim seriously damaged the image and reputation of the company. Also the company The quality of the games was already low.

It was disliked by critics and players alike. As you can imagine, this negatively affected sales. in 2003 financial crisis and found himself unable to pay his debts.

The company was founded in 2004 $100 million debt He explained that because he could not pay his debts bankrupt. After its bankruptcy, Acclaim’s games and brands were sold to other companies.

It victimized both its employees and partners and was eliminated from the gaming and entertainment industry. Thus, Acclaim, once among the giants of the video game industry, became a self-destructive company. advertising campaigns Because of this, it became history.

Well, now let’s come to our real question: Would you name your child “Turok” or have Shadow Man 2: Deadside written on your tombstone and Al Fatiha on His Soul underneath? We are sure that most of you will answer “yes” to this question.

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