Posts Tagged ‘acclaim games’

Acclaim no longer Acclaim (again), acquired by Playdom

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Please file this under “WHOA!” as Playdom has announced that they’ve successfully acquired Acclaim Games.

The newest iteration of Acclaim (Games) was founded in 2006, building upon the former Acclaim Games’ name, and has focused on both casual and MMORPG games by developing a number of titles, including some free-to-plays (RockFree) that have obviously been on Playdom’s radar for a while. Acclaim states that they have 15 million+ registered users regularly playing their games, with RockFree garnering “tens of thousands of daily active users.” Acclaim is already hard at work on their next Facebook offering, slated for release this summer.

“Joining forces with Playdom is a natural fit,” said Howard Marks, CEO of Acclaim. “Both companies share the vision of connecting people globally through quality social games. Our deep expertise in building multi player online games and Playdom’s vast player community will help us bring out the next generation of social games.”

The Acclaim acquisition just adds another plume in Playdom’s hat, as the company has already acquired Offbeat Creations, Green Patch, and Merscom Games, to name a few. Acclaim CEO Howard Marks, former Activision 2.0 co-founder and Chairman of the Activision Studios will retain his position (of sorts), and will run Acclaim just as before, only now under the Playdom banner. With the acquisition comes new responsibilities, as Marks will now also serve in a senior strategic role in Playdom’s business activities. Likewise, Acclaim’s CTO, Neil Malhorta, will serve as the studio’s senior technical officer.

“Bringing Howard and Neil into Playdom strengthens our leadership and bolsters our position as an innovative games developer for the future,” said John Pleasants, CEO of Playdom. “Howard and Neil have worked together building and operating games for many years, and their pipeline of new games is strong. We are also excited about opening our first Los Angeles based social game development studio which gives us access to all of the game development talent in Southern California. We look forward to big things from this team.”

With Acclaim’s established track record of producing a number of successful titles, this addition to the Playdom family is most probably a very welcome one. However, with Acclaim’s focus also lying in the MMORPG world, this could signal an entirely new line of offerings, not only in the social gaming world, for Playdom. With the Acclaim acquisition, Playdom now officially has some legs to stand on when it comes to gaming outside of Facebook. Could Playdom be making a play for the ‘bigger’ market at hand here? And if so, can they capitalize on their current success in time to reap the rewards?

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Acclaim ditches freemium model – Chronicles of Spellborn goes free-to-play in 2010

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Acclaim dropped the bomb on current Chronicles of Spellborn players yesterday in their forums by announcing that the title is now (more or less) in a state of limbo until sometime in 2010, when the game will ditch the freemium model, and switch to a pure free-to-play, microtransaction supported business model.

Acclaim Games announces the re-development of their recent MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn which was released in February, 2009. The development is planned to carry into 2010 and will include several enhancements and changes to the current game. The enhancements and development of the new model will be carried through a joint venture between Spellborn NV and the development studio of Frogster Asia Co. Ltd. based in Seoul, the Korean studio bringing its expertise in the field of free-to-play and micro-transactions.

After the re-development, the current subscription model will be switched to a free-to-play system supported by micro-transactions. This will open the world of Spellborn to all players and give them a chance to experience the rich lore and game-play in its entirety.

Players who are currently playing the game will be able to continue playing the game in its current form via the subscription service. At the point where the new version is released, any unused subscriptions will be credited to their accounts. Any players who wish to register for a free account can sign up now at http://spellborn.acclaim.com.

spellbornThis announcement arrives just five months after the long awaited public release.  Developed by Dutch based Spellborn International, with the US release handled by Acclaim, the game allowed the opening levels, originally up to 7, then bumped to 9, to be played for free, but then required subscription dues thereafter.  This model will remain in place until the 2010 change, but interesting to note that during this transition phase, no changes will be made to game content.  In other words, not only will there be no new content updates, but any existing bugs, planned fixes, etc. are off the table for now.  The Chronicles of Spellborn is now officially in a state of limbo.

Also important to note: this decision was made by Spellborn International, and not Acclaim.  Even given these circumstances, personally, I can’t think of a better way to destroy your community, as is clearly evidenced by the 4 plus and growing comments pages in reaction to the announcement on the acclaim official forums.  I.e., why would I continue to make subscription payments until the free-to-play switch is flipped?  Yes, any unused subscription amounts will be credited, but really…what’s the point now?

While this is a nice addition to the free-to-play roster, The Chronicles of Spellborn now arrives to the party in tarnished armor, and will most probably now only occupy the corner by the drinks table, licking it’s wounds.  Sad really, as this title had plenty of potential, and what looks like a pretty dedicated fanbase.

Can Spellborn International and Frogster Asia re-invent The Chronicles of Spellborn and make the proverbial phoenix rise from the ashes?  Perhaps, but the question that begs to be asked is; at what cost?

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Sci Fi partners with Acclaim Games and ZooKazoo

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

Launched in parallel with Sci Fi’s recent announcement of the formation of Sci Fi Ventures, a long-term growth project initiative to diversify Sci Fi’s portfolio of offerings to include media and non-media businesses into a global lifestyle brand, the company has announced their partnership with Acclaim Games.

syfyBoth free-to-play based Acclaim and ZooKazoo are slated to develop a new series of online games and entertainment destinations, further leveraging the love that Sci Fi fans have for one of the world’s most lucrative entertainment genres.  Acclaim will create an exclusive label for Sci Fi, and will jointly develop games, with the ultimate goal of spreading these titles out across various platforms, products, and other forms of media.  First out of the gate will be a new game currently titled ‘Tales of Magic’, and is expected to launch on scifi.com this spring.

ZooKazoo, a virtual world focused primarily on the 6-12 year old age group will create the ‘Sci-Fi Club’ that will reside inside ZooKazoo’s world.  Only one year old, ZooKazoo focuses on collaborative games and youth generated content and already has some impressive user statistics including average user sessions lasting over an hour per login.  Given that one of ZooKazoo’s tenets is to provide a safe environment for kids to develop and create their own ideas around imagination, the Sci Fi Club area of the world could very well be a massive hit with users, and naturally draw in an entire new segment of future rocket builders.

This move into the gaming space also heralds the beginning of a strategic move by Sci Fi, or should I say SyFy, as the company will soon be known as, to bring the genre to the masses.  Sparked on by an entire new generation of Science Fiction fans (I’m looking at you Battlestar Galactica), SyFy’s opening of the Sci Fi Club in ZooKazoo is the network’s first strategic move into a youth market.  And as the old saying goes, “There’s proof in the pudding”, Sci Fi has recently acquired big gun Alan Seiffert to fill the role of Senior Vice President at Sci Fi Ventures.  Seiffert is currently in the role of SVP of business development and partnerships for CNBC Asia Pacific in Singapore, and will assume his new position beginning in May with Sci Fi Ventures.

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Acclaim announces new free-to-play – Knight’s Blood

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

Just in time to fill your holiday vacation with enough adventure to keep those visiting relatives at bay, free-to-play giant Acclaim has recently introduced their newest offering: Knight’s Blood.

A new free-to-play browser based MMORPG where player’s battle for honor and coinage, Knight’s Blood is yet another offering in Acclaim commitment to browser based fun for all.  Players swear their oath of knighthood and alla ‘choose your own adventure’ style, these new knights develop their own storylines based upon the choices they make in game.

Character creation starts with an overview page, complete with important information and more interesting – your own personal link.  According to Acclaim, you can convert knaves to knights online by ‘placing the link appropriately’.  The way I’m reading this is ‘recruit your friends and others to Knight’s Blood via viral messaging and/or other media, and win some in game currency’.  Maybe I’m wrong.  Players may also challenge other knights to duels, but no word of an official PvP system.  As with all Acclaim games, Acclaim coins (their native form of in game currency) can be purchased (microtransaction) via the Acclaim site.  This currency may then be spent on in game character upgrades.  Upgrades include hundreds of weapons, suits of armor, shields, amulets and rings, all designed to improve fighting abilities.  Players also have the option to customize their avatar and even create their own coat of arms.

Again along the lines of a ‘choose your own adventure’ theme, Knight’s Blood will allow players to choose the good or evil aspects of missions that they choose to accept; either via the Knight of Light path, or the Horde of Darkness.

While at the time of writing this, www.knightsblood.com appears to be down.  Either a ‘d’oh!’ on Acclaims end, or perhaps an overwhelming response?  From the concept and premise of the game, I’m not sure it’s going to pull me away from the three other MMO’s I’m playing right now, but I certainly could see it as a nice ‘lunch break’ at the office kind of game.  At least until Quake Live arrives.

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Acclaim set to bring free-to-play music based game to the masses

Monday, December 1st, 2008

Teaming up with WaveGroup, Warner Music, Sony, and EMI, Acclaim is set to release a music-based free-to-play on the scale of Guitar Hero/RockBand.  Based on the premise that Rockband and Guitar Hero are immensely successful, but can be a bit expensive, Acclaim set out to lower that barrier of entry.  The result?  FreeRock. (Freebird?)

Will Littlejohn, whose resume includes credits on Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II and III, Karaoke Revolution Volumes 1, 2 and 3, and Blade Runner is leading the charge via WaveGroup.  The free-to-play will feature over 40 new songs being produced for the game, along with already available three licensed songs: Iron Man, Fat Lip, and Woman.  Rockfree’s main focus isn’t that far off from those that it’s taking on: create custom avatars, open a rock club, and battle against other rockers from around the world.  This is the first music based free to play/microtransaction title we’ve seen, and are quite keen to see how Acclaim will be doling out character customizations and Les Pauls.

“Acclaim Games is excited about offering an online rock game that connects people through music and a multiplayer experience. People don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to play ROCKFREE, and because it’s free-to-play the entire world can now enjoy a music based game.” says Howard Marks CEO of Acclaim Games.

“We’ve had a simple vision for this game… Just imagine Rocking out to really GREAT music online, for FREE, on a game that you can play anywhere, anytime, where you don’t need to buy CD’s or install anything, where the music is directed by the company the Guitar Hero team went to, where we DON’T charge for extra songs, that will quickly have over 1,000 amazing songs, as users upload new tracks, that can allow EIGHT people to compete on any stage, and that’s just about hanging out with friends and having fun. That’s our long-term goal here, and here’s a sneak peek to see if were on the right track so far.” says David Perry, Chief Creative Officer.

While Acclaim has done a pretty good job of keeping this one under the radar for quite a while now, it seems like Saturday’s sneak peek was well received, as I tried to get in on 7 different occasions and had no luck.  Details are scant at this point, but I wouldn’t expect that to be the case for very long.

David Perry – where’s my beta key?

Have a view of, and keep tabs on freerock at: www.rockfree.com.

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David Perry’s 33 ways to monetize games

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

David Perry recently laid out an impressive slideshow over at Business Week with 33 examples of how to monetize games.  Perry a 27 year industry veteran has over $1 Bn of retail game sales receipts to his credit, and co-founder and chief creative officer of Acclaim games.

Perry fully admits in the article that the rapid and expansive growth of the gaming industry will and should probably make his 33 ways list obsolete rather quickly.  Perry sees games that fall into the ‘social’ catagory as those with the most explosive growth and potential.  Siting an NPD Group study, Perry notes that 15% of retail game sales go to the adult ‘mature’ audience, and 85% to everyone else.  Social games are asynchonus (meaning, busy players take turns going back and forth at each other, and do not necessarily need to be ‘playing’ at the same time) and fall nicely into the mid-zone between these adult ‘mature’ gamers and all others.  In other words, covering the most amount of the market with the widest net.

Distribution methods are also covered by Perry.  Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony, former kings of brick and mortar distribution methods, have changed their tune and opened online distribution channels.  As soon as ISP penetration reaches the tipping point, Perry sees physical media such as cartridges and DVD’s going the way of the dodo bird.  The players to watch in the digital distribution battleground?  Facebook, MySpace, Google, and Apple.

While Perry’s list covers a wide range of money making gaming ideas, his microtransaction side is of particualr significance, pointing out even staunch anti microtransaction publisher Blizzard’s recent dipping of toes into the ‘let’s measure their reaction’ pool:

Micro-Transactions

These are small, impulse-driven purchases bought for reasons of vanity, saving time, better communications, or even moving up a level more quickly. (Levels are a player’s ranking within a virtual society.) They’re generally paid for using virtual points, either earned in the game (by playing), or bought for real money (which is a massive time-saver). A new trend is offering virtual items in exchange for access to a player’s real-world friends. So for example: “You can have this magic sword, if you invite a friend to play.” Getting that balance right can mean stunning revenue growth, which makes it even more important for you come up with offers the gamers really want. This technique works well on social networks like Facebook as friends are just a click away. If you can get more than a 1 to 1 ratio, the game goes viral, which results in exponential growth. That’s the goal here.

The image that Perry chose?

Pointing out Blizzard’s new ‘recruit a friend’ campaign whereby new comers and those that recruited them can now gain ‘triple xp’ and summon each other to each other, thereby saving a great deal of time.  The recruiter also has the opportunity to receive an exclusive in game mount if the recruitee follows through on certain terms and conditions.  See it any way you want…but it looks like a crack in Blizzard’s armor.

View Perry’s article at Business Week.

View Perry’s slideshow at Business Week.

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Micro Transaction advocate David Perry to give keynote at GC Developers Conference

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

David Perry, CCO and co-founder of Acclaim Games will deliver a keynote address as the Games Convention Developers Conference in Leipzig, Germany this year.

Perry is expected to talk about his vision of the future of games on the second day of the conference.  Perry has been involved in the development of over 100 games on 29 different platforms, including The Terminator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Disney’s Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, and The Matrix.

Today with Acclaim, Perry focuses on the development of MMO, social network, and mass-market casual games.  All of his current titles are free to play, and rely on a potpourri of revenue models including in game advertising and micro transactions.

Considered one of the most influential and respected voices in the gaming community, Perry has been making games for 27 years.  He has spoken around the world, and received the first ever Masters degree in interactive Development.  In addition to this distinction, Perry has also recently been awarded a Doctorate from Queens University along with Nelson Mandela and Tony Blair.

The Games Convention Developers Conference (GCDC) will be Perry’s first German engagement and is scheduled to take place prior to the Games Convention in Leipzig, August 18th-20th.

“David Perry has helped shape the history of video gaming having worked on some of the industry’s best selling titles over the past few decades,” said Frank Sliwka, project director of GCDC. “His keynote is definitely going to be one of the big highlights of this year’s GCDC and we look forward to hearing his perspective on the global games market.”

Further information on David Perry can be found at: http://www.dperry.com.

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