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-   -   Top 3 Retailers Shun Acclaim's 'XXX' (http://www.gametavern.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3577)

BlueFire 10-15-2002 01:27 PM
Top 3 Retailers Shun Acclaim's 'XXX'
 
Quote:
Retailers Shun New Acclaim 'XXX' Game
Mon Oct 14, 7:20 PM ET
By Ben Berkowitz

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three of the nation's top retailers, including Wal Mart, on Monday said they had refused to carry a new video game billed as the first major release to feature full-action nudity and with prostitutes and pimps as major characters.



Using the tagline "Keep it Dirty," video game publisher Acclaim Entertainment Inc. is gearing up for the Nov. 19 launch of "BMX XXX," a game that also features copulating pink poodles and a variety of racing bike stunts.

But major retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Toys R Us Inc. and KB Toys all said they would not carry the game, a potential blow for the game's exposure.

"We're not going to carry any software with any vulgarity or nudity -- we're just not going to do it," Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams told Reuters.

However, Best Buy Co. Inc. said it intended to sell a censored version of the game for Sony's PlayStation 2 (news - web sites).

Acclaim Chief Executive Gregory Fischbach told Reuters the critics were being unfair and missing the point of the game, which he said was intended as a kind of spoof along the lines of movie comedies such as "Austin Powers" and "Airplane."

A promotional video clip first bills "BMX XXX" as a "game of cultural sophistication and artistic aspiration" then launches into a hard-rocking montage of clips, including bike tricks and shots of strippers in action. The video ends with the admonition: "We're going to hell for this and you're all coming with us."

"I still believe that we'll get substantially full distribution in the United States," Fischbach said. "I don't really think it goes much further than some other video games on the marketplace."

He added, "I think the game stands on its own and I think that ... we have no intent to change the content of the game."

Glen Cove, New York-based Acclaim wants the title to be a hit and reverse its sliding fortunes the way that "Grand Theft Auto 3" did for Take-Two Interactive (news - external web site) Software Inc. .

"GTA 3," which like "BMX" carries a "Mature" rating from the Entertainment Software Review Board, featured controversial scenes of violence but went on to become the top-selling video game of 2001.

While "GTA 3" was exclusive to Sony Corp (news - web sites).'s PlayStation 2, Acclaim has a broader strategy for "BMX," with releases planned for the PS2, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox (news - web sites) and Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. Ltd.'s GameCube.

Fischbach said there has been no decision yet on changes to the Sony version, though he said if Sony asked for changes Acclaim would make them. He added that any changes would not affect the game's release date.

A Nintendo spokeswoman said the company had not asked for any changes for the GameCube version. A Microsoft spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

ATTENTION HELPING ACCLAIM

Since Oct. 1, shares in Acclaim have gained nearly 12 percent, the best performance among the listed U.S. video game publishers. Even so, the stock, which rose 13-fold in 2001, is off nearly 77 percent this year and down 41 percent since a Sept. 19 profit warning.

That warning jarred investors at a time when most video game companies expect to post record profits and sales. Acclaim warned of a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of up to 13 cents, compared with the 13-cent profit analysts polled by Thomson First Call had on average had expected. As a result, many analysts cut their ratings and estimates on the stock.

Besides "BMX," Acclaim had bet its holiday season on the games "Turok: Evolution," "Aggressive Inline" and "Vexx." But both "Turok" and "Inline" were major sales disappointments, and Vexx has been postponed into 2003.

"BMX XXX" will also compete with "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," the follow-on to "GTA 3" and an expected top seller in its own right. The marketing for "Vice City" has also relied heavily on images of near-naked women and thuggish men.

"What we're doing here is funny," Fischbach said. "The people that we're selling to are the people who bought 'Grand Theft Auto."'
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...claim_xxx_dc_2

I put this here because this goes for all three systems...or something :hmm:


Heh..

DarkMaster 10-15-2002 02:19 PM
Acclaim is gay, and so are their games. this game is just like that DOA volleyball crap, people will only buy it because of wut it looks like. chances are the actual gameplay will suck because of their main emphasis on nudity and other crap. and who seriously is gonna buy DOA volleyball because it has good volleyball gameplay?

TheGame 10-15-2002 02:49 PM
I think DOA's gameplay sounds a bazzillion times better than Beach Spikers (Sega).. the addition of the "stunning" graphics is just an extra perk to me.

I mean, they seriously put work in as far as gameplay (check the xbox.ign.com previews)... Sega just slopped Beach spikers together and STILL expected it to sell off of it's sexuality.

I hate to say it, because it's just a prediction, but DOAXBV from a gameplay stand point will most likely be the best volleyball game of all time.... light years ahead of Beach Spikers.... The nice graphics will just add to the already great engine it will use.

As far as BMXXX I think the gameplay will suck, I'll stick to THPS4

Jason1 10-15-2002 03:45 PM
It should be interesting as to how this game sells on Gamecube compared to the other consoles. Because we know it wont sell nearly as good.

bobcat 10-15-2002 06:14 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by TheGame
I think DOA's gameplay sounds a bazzillion times better than Beach Spikers (Sega).. the addition of the "stunning" graphics is just an extra perk to me.

I mean, they seriously put work in as far as gameplay (check the xbox.ign.com previews)... Sega just slopped Beach spikers together and STILL expected it to sell off of it's sexuality.

I hate to say it, because it's just a prediction, but DOAXBV from a gameplay stand point will most likely be the best volleyball game of all time.... light years ahead of Beach Spikers.... The nice graphics will just add to the already great engine it will use.

As far as BMXXX I think the gameplay will suck, I'll stick to THPS4
I used to have that Volleyball game on Amiga. I forget wot it was called, but it was a 2d volleyball game. Nice visuals. And heaps of fun.

*looks at DOA Volleyball pics*

*remembers Amiga Volleyball game*

:unsure: ok maybe this might be the best volleyball game of all time.

We'll c

Crono 10-15-2002 06:24 PM
BMX XXX is the stupidest game I've ever seen. It's a disgrace to video games, Acclaim can rot in hell. Seriously, what kind of pervert do you have to be to make (or buy) a game for the sole purpose of nude girls riding bikes and stuff like that? Becuase I'm sure most people will be like "OMFG NUDITY I GOTTA BUY THIS OMG" It's sad, really...I'm glad these 3 retailers won't accept this poor excuse for a game, I would do the exact same thing.

Perfect Stu 10-15-2002 09:43 PM
I don't see the big deal with DOA: XBV...there isn't any nudity...it's just scantily clad women (which is better than men or women in shirts and shorts IMO) playing volleyball.

Comparing it to the cheap gimmik that is BMX XXX isn't fair AT ALL.

I feel sorry for anyone who wants to buy BMX XXX. It'll be a crappy bike game with crappy graphics and upshirt shots, exposed polygonal breasts, cheap toilet humour from the writers of ACCLAIM, and any other crap they wanna throw to sell their game to the unintelligent, half-witted, bottom-of-the-barrel couch potatoes.

/rant

To be honest, I wouldn't mind nudity in videogames if it had relevance to the story, and if it was tasteful. Like maybe a realistic story-based action game for mature gamers that included a love affair that was a crucial part of the story. If that had some nudity, I wouldn't mind, because in that case it wouldn't be the game's 'selling point'. Acclaim is just retarded...I mean they're basically advertising this game to be some extreme sports game >>>WITH NUDITY!!!!!!111<<<

GameKinG 10-16-2002 12:15 AM
So they admit they wanted to overshadow GTA:VC, with something totaly outrageous, and with a slogan like that.

What were they thinking. I guess sony benefits, because they will have the only censored version, unless lack of sales causes release it on all systems.


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