Acclaim Sports

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

Acclaim Sports was the sports brand of Acclaim Entertainment that was launched in June 1997. It was known for sports titles starting with the '98 versions like the All-Star Baseball series, the NFL Quarterback Club series, the NBA Jam series (which was originally an arcade game made by Midway before Acclaim got the rights to it), and the NHL Breakaway series. In 2003, Acclaim discontinued the brand, along with an extreme sports sub-brand labeled AKA Acclaim.



1st Logo (September 30, 1997-May 1, 1999)

Visuals: There is the arrow line seen on the Acclaim logo, but it's completely white. On it is "SPORTS" in an Impact font in place of "Acclaim" with an outline around it and the word "ACCLAIM" in a Helvetica font is on the top-right of "SPORTS".

Trivia:

  • The logo sometimes appears on the game's copyright screens, as well as on the game's title screen. This happens on Nintendo 64 games.
  • For Game Boy Color games and Jeremy McGrath Supercross 98, the logo is on the cover, but the games themselves use the regular Acclaim logo.

Variants: Depending on the game:

  • On the PS1 version of NHL Breakaway '98, the logo zooms in against the black background during the game's opening intro with "PRESENTS" underneath. Plus, the logo's outline along with the "ACCLAIM" text are in a blue color. On the Nintendo 64 version, the logo is orange and on the title screen.
  • On WWF War Zone during the game's intro, the word "SPORTS" along with the arrow line are black with its outline color being white and is on a steel plate. Plus, the logo appears from a gold glow effect. On the N64 version, the logo is in a gold color and doesn't have a glow effect when it appears.
  • On NFL Quarterback Club 99, the arrow line slides in from the white and the word "SPORTS" slides in letter-by-letter. When it forms, the word "ACCLAIM" appears on the top-left of it flashing in forming the logo. After a few seconds, the screen zooms in through the "O" in "SPORTS", bringing in the Iguana Entertainment logo.
  • On All-Star Baseball 2000, the logo is superimposed on the game's opening intro. Plus, "ACCLAIM" is very big and fits the width of "SPORTS".

Technique: Depending on the variant. CGI for the NFL QBC 99 variant.

Audio: Usually the game's opening theme. On NFL Quarterback Club 99, it's the sound of the whooshes.

Availability:

  • Appears on all Acclaim Sports branded titles from the era, beginning with NHL Breakaway 98, and later showed up on All-Star Baseball, NBA Jam and NFL Quarterback Club titles from the period, alongside WWF War Zone.
  • Games that don't feature this logo are Jeremy McGrath Supercross 98 (which has the 1995 Acclaim Entertainment logo), NHL Breakaway 99 (which has no logo at all), and Game Boy/Game Boy Color versions of some games (which also just use the regular Acclaim logo).

2nd Logo (August 5, 1999-May 23, 2001)


Visuals: A transparent red "Acclaim" in its own corporate font, and "SPORTS" in a stretched Eurostile font rotate on the screen. They blast into their normal position, "Acclaim" above the red arrow line, and "SPORTS" inside it. There is the slogan "Feel it." under the logo on the right. The blue light continues to move behind.

Variants:

  • There is a still version of the logo with the slogan either intact or missing.
  • On WWF Attitude (excluding the Dreamcast version, which has the standard logo), the logo is still without the slogan and has a white-blur effect behind it.
  • On NBA Jam 2001, the still logo is on a blue background.
  • On All-Star Baseball 2001 for Game Boy Color, the logo is in a bronze-white gradient color and "SPORTS" is black.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Sounds of the tribunes, and the announcer saying "Acclaim Sports. Feel It.". None on the still versions.

Audio Variant: On All-Star Baseball 2001, it's the sound of a crack and the glass shattering with the announcer intact.

Availability:

  • The standard animated version appears on Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 for PlayStation and Dreamcast, HBO Boxing for PlayStation and WWF Attitude for Dreamcast.
  • The still version with "Feel it." intact can be seen on All-Star Baseball 2001, Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000, NBA Jam 2000 for Nintendo 64, and NFL Quarterback Club 2000 and 2001 for Dreamcast.
  • The still version can be seen on other sports games like WWF Attitude for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation.

3rd Logo (March 17, 2001-July 4, 2003)


Visuals: There is many projectors flashing in, then a blue surface passing by, and the new Acclaim Sports logo zooms in, emerging rays. "Acclaim" (in its corporate font minus the arrow line) and "SPORTS" (in the same font as before) are written on a red and blue rectangle. A star made of five arcs is placed to the left. The logo shines, then the background clears to black as the slogan "WHERE THE STARS PLAY" appears under the logo.

Trivia: NBA Jam has the logo seen on posters and walls during the game, although the game is released under the normal Acclaim label.

Variant: There is a still version without the slogan.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The sound of projectors and proud horn music. None or the opening theme of the game for the still version.

Availability:

  • First appeared on All-Star Baseball 2002 (PlayStation 2/GameCube), and later appeared on Blast Lacroose (PlayStation), NFL QB Club 2002 (PlayStation 2/GameCube), Kevin Sheedy AFL Coach 2002 (Windows), All-Star Baseball 2003 (PlayStation 2/Xbox/GameCube) and AFL Live 2003 (PlayStation 2/Xbox/Windows).
  • Still version appears on Game Boy Advance titles - NBA Jam 2002 and All-Star Baseball 2003, all versions of All-Star Baseball 2004, and AFL Live 2004 (PlayStation 2/Xbox/Windows).
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