BMX XXX
| BMX XXX | |
|---|---|
 North American Xbox cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Z-Axis |
| Publisher(s) | AKA Acclaim |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox |
| Release date(s) | Xbox [1] PlayStation 2[2] GameCube[3] |
| Genre(s) | Racing, sports (BMX) |
| Mode(s) | multiplayer |
BMX XXX is a 2002 video game published by Acclaim Entertainment under their AKA Acclaim banner for the Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 and developed by Z-Axis. While primarily a BMX-based action sports title, it earned most of its notoriety for containing nudity, foul language and adult humor. The game allows the player to create female characters that are fully topless and view live-action video clips of real life strippers, also with bare breasts. Consequently, BMX XXX was initially denied classification in Australia. In North America, while the game is available uncensored on the GameCube and Xbox, all naked breasts are covered in the PlayStation 2 version. While the adult content garnered a great deal of publicity for the game, it was almost entirely negative, and it was eventually released to dismal reviews and poor sales.
Production
BMX XXX builds on the earlier work done by Z-Axis on Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, their previous BMX title featuring and endorsed by professional BMX rider Dave Mirra. During development of the new game, publisher Acclaim Entertainment decided to style the game after a raunchy sex comedy movie. It is commonly believed that the origins of this decision came when Acclaim saw what was shaping up to be an extremely subpar game, and so, in an effort to salvage the time and money already invested in it, they decided to add the vulgar humor and naked women in an effort to muster up publicity and hopefully turn that into sales.[4] When Mirra found out about the content in the game, he refused to endorse the product and took legal action against publisher Acclaim in order to prevent any further implication of his involvement in the game.[5] Mirra was successful in getting the courts to block Acclaim from using his name in association with the game, and the title was then shortened to its final name, BMX XXX.[5]
Soundtrack
The official BMX XXX in-game music soundtrack includes:
- Green Day - "Basket Case"
- N.E.R.D - "Lapdance"
- 311 - "Down"
- Saliva - "Click Click Boom"
- Alien Breed - "Crackling"
- Alien Breed - "Evil Twin"
- Taking Back Sunday - "Cute without the E"
- Trust Company - "Downfall"
- Mötley Crüe - "Girls, Girls, Girls"
- Ten Foot Pole - "Plastic"
- Ten Foot Pole - "Giving Gravity a Hand"
- De La Soul - "The Magic Number"
- New Found Glory - "My Friends Over You"
- KRS-One - "Step into a World (Rapture's Delight)"
- Brand New Sin - "SPP"
- Brand New Sin - "Judgement Day"
- Audiovent - "The Energy"
- Eric B. and Rakim - "(Juice) Know the Ledge"
- Large Professor - "Bout that Time"
Reception
The game was met with mixed or average reviews on the launch: Metacritic aggregator has is scored with 54/100[6] and GameRankings has a score of 55.13%.[7]
Controversy
At the time of BMX XXX's release, sexual humor and nudity were not widely explored themes in mainstream video games.[5] As a result, Acclaim's attempt to drum up publicity for the game was a rousing success, although the publicity achieved was not positive. Television news outlets reported that Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and most major IEMA retailers in the United States declined to carry the game in their stores due to the nudity. Then, Sony Computer Entertainment of America refused to allow the game to be published for the PlayStation 2 until the nudity was censored. In the end, sales were abysmal: under 100,000 copies were sold across all three platforms. The game was not greeted with controversy in Europe, but it also was not met with sales success either. In Australia, it was sold with the sexual content removed entirely.[8] BMX XXX, along with several other poorly performing titles, contributed to Acclaim Entertainment filing for bankruptcy in 2004.
See also
- Video game controversy
References
- ↑ "Release information for Xbox from GameFAQs".
- ↑ "Release information for PlayStation 2 from GameFAQs".
- ↑ "Release information for GameCube from GameFAQs".
- ↑ "E3 2002: Dave Mirra BMX XXX". Yahoo Video Game News. 2002-05-22. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Dave Mirra Sues Acclaim". Yahoo Video Game News. 2003-02-14. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
- ↑ "BMX XXX for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
- ↑ "BMX XXX for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. 2002-11-16. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
- ↑ Armstrong, Daniel (2002-11-08). "Acclaim Australia: BMX XXX Interview". Game Power Australia. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-27.
External links
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