Acclaim's CEO Resigns, Cousens Named Successor

Fischbach co-founded the company and has been its CEO for 16 years, and more recently was a staunch defender of the company's foray into "mature" games via the commercial and critical flop, BMX XXX. Rodney Cousens, Acclaim's global president and COO, has been named as Fischbach' successor. Cousens took over the role of global president and COO on an interim basis following resignation of Edmond Sanctis in January. Cousens was formerly the the President and COO of Acclaim's International division. In January, Acclaim announced that it would cut operating expenses by 35% and would set its product development costs at 21% of the company's annual net revenue in an effort to achieve a positive cash flow and reach profitability targets. This Spring, a series of class-action lawsuits were filed against Acclaim, claiming that the company engaged in channel-stuffing practices in 2002, and alleging that the company executives mislead investors about "the development, content, cost, distribution and sales of products and that the declining demand for Acclaim's products."