acclaim posts

One of the better known publishing names in games is no more once again for the second time inside a decade. Acclaim, which restarted as a free-to-play MMO after its first incarnation as a PC-console game publisher went bankrupt, is now also no more. The official Acclaim web site is now a bare-bones affair, stating that the MMO games under its watch are no longer available.

The first version of Acclaim started in 1987 as a PC and console publisher. It grew to become one of the largest US game publishers in the 1990s with a string of successful titles such as the Turok first person shooter series. However the first years of the 2000 decade saw a number of Acclaim games become critical and sales bombs. In 2004 the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and shut down entirely.

In 2006 the Acclaim name was used to launch an all new game publisher, this time with the theme of free-to-play MMO titles. The company managed to get well known game designer Dave Perry as its creative director for a while. In May 2010 the social networking game company Playdom acquired Acclaim and its games. However in July Disney acquired Playdom and apparently decided to shut down support for Acclaim's games. With the exception of the title 9Dragons, which will soon be published in the US by GamesFirst, none of Acclaim's games will apparently stay online.

[Via Massively]

The second coming of Acclaim is now entering a new phase. This week the casual game publisher Playdom announced it has acquired the free-to-play MMO publisher and will now join Playdom's many development studios. Specific financial terms were not disclosed. Howard Marks, the now former CEO of Acclaim, will now run the studio for Playdom.

The new Acclaim was first launched in 2006 following the shut down of the original Acclaim company which published a number of well known PC and console titles before filing for bankrupcy in 2004. The new Acclaim developed and published a number of free-to-play games including 2Moons, 9Dragons and The Chronicles of Spellborn. At one time Acclaim had famed game designer Dave Perry as its chief creative officer. Perry has since left Acclaim to be the CEO of Gaikai, the upcoming PC game streaming service.

Last June it was announced that the fantasy MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn would be relaunched in 2010, turning it from a monthly subscription-based game to a free-to-play MMO with micro transactions. Apparently, next year is now for the game as the official message board have posted up word that the Acclaim published title, as it stands now, is free to play right now.

There will no longer be any updates or patches to this version of the game, according to the message post, saying "It has become in effect, an Action RPG with superior Multiplayer." This doesn't change the plans to re-launch the game; the joint venture between Spellborn International and Frogstar Asia is apparently still in the works to go live next year.

Developer Spellborn International finally released their long-in-development fantasy MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn in February 2009 with Acclaim handling the US launch of the title. The game allowed players to play a portion of the game world for free but then asked them for a monthly subscription fee. This week it was revealed that The Chronicles of Spellborn will be revamped and re-launched with a free-to-play MMO model supported by micro-transactions

The revamped version will be develped in a joint venture between Spellborn International and Frogstar Asia and will include "several enhancements and changes to the current game." Current players can continue to play the game during this process but when the revamp launches (sometime in 2010) any unused subscription money will be credited in some way to player's accounts.

After years of development and delays, today is the day for the official launch of The Chronicles of Spellborn, the fantasy MMO developed by Spellborn International. Acclaim is handling the game's launch in the US and you can download the client at the game's official web site.

The MMO is doing something a little unusual in that it will allow players to enter and play part of the game for free. However after that free period ends it will ask for a $14.99 per month subscription fee. However from now until May 7 registered players will be able to play in the game's normally premium tier free for two weeks.

Download Chronicles of Spellborn Client Part 1 (486 KB)
Download Chronicles of Spellborn Client Part 2 (1.86 GB)
Download Chronicles of Spellborn Client Part 3 (1.13 GB)

Oh boy. Can you say, "Worst decision ever?" Maybe. This week the Sci Fi Channel cable TV network announced that it would be calling itself SyFy beginning on July 7. The rebranding of the network was made in part because the network's owners, Universal, could not trademark the Sci Fi name. Still, SyFy? It sounds the same on the lips but it just looks . . . silly

Variety reports that the new SyFy plans to branch out into more than just its TV network including SyFy Games. The article states that it has a new deal with free-to-play MMO publisher Acclaim to create two games a year for SyFy Games which might be turned into TV series later. There's no word on the status of the previously announced deal with Trion World Networks to collaborate with the network on an MMO-TV series combo.

The fantasy-themed MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn started closed beta in the US yesterday. Although the first batch of beta-testers is limited to 200-500 people, 1,000 new people will be admitted every twelve hours starting today (March 14th). It is unknown at this time whether or not players will retain their characters when the game moves into open beta. The final release of The Chronicles of Spellborn will include free-to-play zones, with areas and content available only to those that purchase premium subscriptions. The actual game client will remain free to download and install. Visit the official website for more information and to sign up for a beta account. System requirements and links to the EU client are shown after the jump.

Client is no longer available.

The DICE Summit keeps rolling along this week and one of the more interesting speeches at the high-powered game conference came from Dave Perry. The founder of Shiny Entertainment (now morphed into the Foundation 9 studio Double Helix) Perry is now working as the creative director for the free-to-play online game publisher Acclaim.

In his speech (covered by IGN) Perry talked about how the games he is currently working on are, in his opinion, becoming the future of the industry. Indeed he is quoted as saying, "I will never make a single player game again. I personally believe that the days of single player games are numbered." Perry feels that the game industry in Asia, which has embraced the free-to-play model, could overtake the Western game industry who has only made small moves to enter the genre. Perry stated, "What would happen if a really good game was released for free? Imagine if Will Wright announced his next game was free to play? That would be really hard to compete with."

Perry used his speech to also promote his new venture, TheFanHub.com. It's a site where game developers can create and launch Flash-based games and get 80 percent of any revenues generated by those titles. The site is currently taking sign-ups from game developers.

This trailer for The Chronicles of Spellborn demonstrates some of the graphics and gameplay players can expect as they enter this fee-to-play MMO. The game releases in parts of Europe tomorrow (November 27), and later in more European countries on December 5. The U.S. launch is currently scheduled for January 2009.

Download HD Chronicles of Spellborn Launch Trailer (106 MB)

Last September Acclaim announced that it would launch the long-in-development fantasy MMO The Chronicles of Spellborn on Nov. 27. Now word comes in that yet another delay has crept into the game's schedule and that instead of launching on that day, an open beta of the game will in fact begin in both the US and Europe.

Acclaim states that the final launch of the MMO will now happen in January 2009, saying, "Extensive testing of the game will ensure players receive the highest quality gaming experience at launch." The game, developed by Spellborn International, is supposed to be a traditional MMO in that players will pay a monthly fee but it will have an intro level that will be free to play.