Acclaim Sports

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. It also had an extreme sports brand named Acclaim Max Sports, which was later renamed to AKA Acclaim in 2002, known for extreme sports titles like the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX series. In 2003, Acclaim discontinued the brands.

Contents

1st Logo (September 30, 1997-May 1, 1999)	2nd Logo (August 5, 1999-May 23, 2001)	3rd Logo (March 17, 2001-July 4, 2003)	(September 14, 2000-June 7, 2002)	(May 29, 2002-June 30, 2003)

Acclaim Sports

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

Nickname: "The Acclaim Sports Arrow"

Logo: We see 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 yellow 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, we zoom 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".

FX/SFX: Depending on the variant. CGI for the NFL QBC 99 variant.

Music/Sounds: 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 apart from 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)

Nicknames: "Feel It!", "The Acclaim Sports Arrow II", "The Red Acclaim Arrow"

Logo: 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. We see 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 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.

FX/SFX: The rotating words and light. Sometimes, none.

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

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

Availability: Common. 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)

Nicknames: "Where The Stars Play", "The Acclaim Star", "Acclaim Sports Star"

Logo: We see 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.

FX/SFX: The animation of the logo.

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

Availability: Uncommon. Can be seen on Acclaim Sports games through the era like All-Star Baseball 2002 and 2003, and NFL Quarterback Club 2002 on GameCube and PlayStation 2.

Acclaim Max Sports

(September 14, 2000-June 7, 2002)

Logo: On a black background, we see a rectangle with an arrow on in a red background rotate down from the top. The white text "max sports" slides in and bounces at the bottom of the arrow and at the same time, "Acclaim" slams into the rectangle letter-by-letter.

Variant: On the PlayStation and Dreamcast versions of Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, we see the in-game Dave Mirra cycling down a ramp decorated with the game's logo. The camera cuts to a side view as Mirra does various tricks on the ramp. As the fourth trick has him fly off the ramp, the camera pans up to reveal the base of the Acclaim Max Sports logo. The normal animation then proceeds.

FX/SFX: The letters shooting and "max sports" sliding in.

Music/Sounds: TBA.

Availability: Seen on the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX games and Jeremy McGrath Supercross World.

AKA Acclaim

(May 29, 2002-June 30, 2003)

Logo: On a black background, we hear the sound of a spraycan, and then a street light turns itself on and flickers, which reveals the setting to be a dark alleyway with a trash can rolling around and the empty spray can next to it. The spray can has painted graffiti that says "AKA", with the "Acclaim" (without the arrow) typeface next to it (both in white) on the bottom right. The graffiti then drips.

Variants:

On Aggressive Inline and BMX XXX, the logo is still and is inverted.
On Aggressive Inline for GBA, there is a massive red line and "AKA" and "Acclaim" are white instead of black.
On Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3, the logo is red, and is set behind a background with a biker and a wall in orange.

FX/SFX: The light flickering, the trash can rolling and the "AKA" paint dripping.

Music/Sounds: A spray can, a trash can and street sounds.

Availability: The animated version appears on ATV Quad Power Racing 2 and SX Superstar. The still version appears on Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3, ATV Quad Power Racing for GBA, Aggressive Inline and BMX XXX.