Social video game company Yoostar announced the appointment of former Acclaim Entertainment co-founder Gregory Fischbach as its new president and CEO. The New York City-based startup's founder and previous president/CEO Bousquet Chavanne will now serve as co-chairman and jointly assume day-to-day executive functions with Fischbach.
Gregory Fischbach headed console/PC game developer and publisher Acclaim as co-chairman and CEO from its inception to 1987 all the way up to its bankruptcy in 2004 -- two years later, Acclaim Games, now a subsidiary of Playdom, purchase the brand but focused on free-to-play, browser-based MMOs.
The Acclaim veteran also served as president of Activision International and a member of its Management Committee from 1983 to 1986. He was chairman and one of he co-founders of the ESA (Entertainment Software Association) and ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) in the mid-1990s, too.
Established in 2007, Yoostar specializes in blending aspects of online video creation and sharing, social gaming, and social networking. It has worked with motion picture studios incorporate movie content, such as iconic scenes from feature films, in its social video game platform.
"By combining the forces of top movie content, Yoostar's proprietary special effects technology and the power of console computing, we can bring the magic and fun of Hollywood to every living room," says Fischbach. The firm is currently working with a "leading video game developer" to port its user experience to consoles, and will show off the project at E3 next month.
"We're creating the next evolution of Yoostar to incorporate a true social structure in the play mechanic of the game, allowing the user to post and share the video they create and to participate in a vibrant community with other players," adds Fischbach. "This will be the first 'Social Video Game' that bridges the worlds of social gaming, consoles and user-generated video content."
