Posted on 11/04/2002 7:29:13 PM PST by Darkshadow
By Ben Berkowitz
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Acclaim Entertainment Inc. AKLM.O on Monday said its controversial video game "BMX XXX" will not contain topless nudity in the version to be released for Sony Corp.'s 6758.T PlayStation 2 console later this month.
Some of the nation's leading retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT.N and Toys R Us Inc. TOY.N , have said they will not carry the game because of subject matter that also includes strippers, pimps and coarse language and features the tagline "Keep It Dirty."
In the edited version of the game, players will be unable to create topless female characters for stunt-bike sequences, Acclaim spokesman Alan Lewis told Reuters.
Versions of the game for Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT.O Xbox and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s 7974.OS GameCube will not be edited, Glen Cove, New York-based Acclaim said.
"BMX XXX" for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox are launching Nov. 15 and for GameCube closer to the end of the month. All three versions had been scheduled for a Nov. 19 launch.
"I would say that the distribution continues to expand," Acclaim Chief Executive Gregory Fischbach told Reuters. "The distribution on it is pretty good."
Fischbach said the game will still have distribution through major specialty game retailers and music and video retail chains.
So far major retailers have not indicated they would roll back on their initial decision not to carry the game, he said. Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY.N said last month, however, it would consider selling an edited PS2 version.
In reporting its fiscal fourth-quarter results in October, Acclaim said its results for the current quarter might be hurt by limited distribution for the game.
Changes to the game for the edited Sony version were "done with good taste and in humor," like the decision to place the title "BMX XXX" in black lettering over the tops of the previously nude women, Fischbach said.
Fischbach said the game was no more extreme in its use of language, violence or any other adult behavior than Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s TTWO.O smash hit "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," which launched last week and is expected to be the best-selling game of 2002.
Both titles carry "Mature" ratings from the Entertainment Software Rating Board, meaning they are not intended for children under the age of 17.
"The success of 'Vice City' made everybody kind of pay attention," Fischbach said. "When you kind of look at the two games, there's a great deal of similarities between them."
Acclaim shares closed up 4.84 percent at $1.30 on the Nasdaq. The shares are off 35 percent since a Sept. 19 profit warning and are off 75 percent for the year.
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