kison, game designer Richard Garfield, and several others founded the company in 1990.CompetitorsAcclaim Entertainment-Major League All-Stars, an Indian warrior, and a bunch of foul-mouthed kids headline Acclaim Entertainment's array of video games. The Glen Cove, New York-based software publisher's titles, which include All-Star Baseball, Turok, and South Park, are available for PCs, Nintendo, SEGA, and Sony game systems. The company, which targets males ages 12-34 with dozens of adventure and sports games, also distributes software by third-party developers, publishes comic books and game strategy guides (Acclaim Comics), and owns a minority stake in the Extreme Championship Wrestling organization. Acclaim also is moving online with interactive games played over the Internet. Founders and co-chairmen Gregory Fischbach and James Scoroposki own about 13% and 12% of Acclaim, respectively.Applause Entertainment-The company designs and markets stuffed toy versions of Sesame Street, Disney, and other licensed characters, as well as Dakin infant toys and stuffed animals. Its products, made by independent manufacturers mostly in China, are sold to department and specialty stores throughout the US. Applause also provides restaurants and other enterprises with its products for use as premiums in sales promotions. Applause Enterprises was formed by the 1995 merger of plush toy maker Dakin and a company founded by Wallace Berrie (the brother of rival novelty maker Russ Berrie). The company's management and Chicago investment firm Frontenac own the company.Electronic Arts-Everything's a game with Electronic Arts (EA). The company is the #1 video game publisher in the US, with about 110 titles, including Madden NFL, Road Rash, and SimCity. It develops games under brand names such as DreamWorks Interactive, EA Sports, Kesmai, and Maxis and distributes more than 1,000 titles internationally for affiliated labels. In 2000 it won the right to develop g...
