BMX XXX

BMX XXX is a sports video game developed by Z-Axis and published by Acclaim Entertainment under their AKA Acclaim label for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube. 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 mediocre reviews and poor sales.

BMX XXX
Developer(s)Z-Axis
Full Fat (GBA)
Publisher(s)AKA Acclaim
SeriesDave Mirra Freestyle BMX
Platform(s)Xbox, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, GameCube
ReleaseXbox
  • NA: November 12, 2002[1]
  • EU: December 6, 2002
PlayStation 2
  • NA: November 19, 2002[2]
  • EU: December 5, 2003
Game Boy Advance
  • NA: November 25, 2002[3]
  • EU: December 6, 2002
GameCube
  • NA: November 26, 2002[4]
  • EU: February 7, 2003
Genre(s)Sports
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

A Game Boy Advance version was also released under the name Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3, but without the nudity, language and adult humor.

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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[6]

Reception

The game received "mixed or average" reviews on all platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[7][8][9][10]

Dave Mirra's Freestyle BMX 3 was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Sound on Game Boy Advance" award, which went to Aggressive Inline.[41]

Controversy

At the time of BMX XXX's release, sexual humor and nudity were not widely explored themes in mainstream video games.[6] 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 160,000 copies were sold across all three platforms.[42] The game was not greeted with controversy in Europe, but it was not met with sales success either. In Australia, it was sold with the sexual content removed entirely.[43] BMX XXX, along with several other poorly performing titles, contributed to Acclaim Entertainment filing for bankruptcy in 2004.

References
  1. Cove, Glen (November 6, 2002). "BMX XXX Xbox Goes Gold". Archived from the original on August 3, 2004.
  2. Cove, Glen (November 4, 2002). "BMX XXX to Ship on Nov 15". Archived from the original on August 3, 2004.
  3. Cove, Glen (November 25, 2002). "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3 Ships". Archived from the original on August 17, 2004.
  4. Cove, Glen (November 7, 2002). "BMX XXX GameCube Goes Gold". Archived from the original on August 3, 2004.
  5. IGN staff (May 22, 2002). "E3 2002: Dave Mirra BMX XXX". IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-03-25. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  6. IGN staff (February 14, 2003). "Dave Mirra Sues Acclaim". Yahoo! Games (IGN). Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
  7. "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3 for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  8. "BMX XXX for GameCube Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-17. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  9. "BMX XXX for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  10. "BMX XXX for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  11. Scott Alan Mariott. "BMX XXX (Xbox) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  12. EGM staff (February 2003). "BMX XXX (Xbox)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 163. p. 152. Archived from the original on January 31, 2004. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. Tom Bramwell (November 29, 2002). "BMX XXX (Xbox)". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on March 11, 2003. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  14. Helgeson, Matt (March 2003). "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3". Game Informer (119): 92. Archived from the original on September 24, 2004. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  15. Matt Helgeson (February 2003). "BMX XXX (GC)". Game Informer. No. 118. p. 101. Archived from the original on November 13, 2004. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  16. Matt Helgeson (January 2003). "BMX XXX (PS2)". Game Informer. No. 117. p. 92. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  17. Justin Leeper (January 2003). "BMX XXX (Xbox)". Game Informer. No. 117. p. 106. Archived from the original on November 24, 2003. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  18. Dan Elektro (December 11, 2002). "BMX XXX Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  19. Tokyo Drifter (December 11, 2002). "BMX XXX Review for Xbox on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  20. "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3". GamesMaster. 2003.
  21. Provo, Frank (December 20, 2002). "Dave Mirra Freestyle Advance 3 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  22. Jeff Gerstmann (November 26, 2002). "BMX XXX Review (GC)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2017-09-05. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  23. Jeff Gerstmann (November 11, 2002). "BMX XXX Review (PS2, Xbox)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2016-06-05. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  24. Steinberg, Steve (January 2, 2003). "GameSpy: Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3". GameSpy. Archived from the original on February 2, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  25. Bryn Williams (December 11, 2002). "GameSpy: BMX XXX (GCN)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 1, 2005. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  26. Steve Steinberg (December 11, 2002). "GameSpy: BMX XXX (Xbox)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on January 8, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  27. Bedigian, Louis (December 30, 2002). "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3 - GBA - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on November 11, 2009. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  28. Nick Valentino (December 4, 2002). "BMX XXX - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  29. Harris, Craig (December 10, 2002). "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3". IGN. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  30. Matt Casamassina (December 2, 2002). "BMX XXX (GCN)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  31. Aaron Boulding (November 13, 2002). "BMX XXX (PS2)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-03-26. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  32. Aaron Boulding (November 12, 2002). "BMX XXX Review (Xbox)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  33. "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3". Nintendo Power. 166: 137. March 2003.
  34. "BMX XXX". Nintendo Power. Vol. 165. February 2003. p. 155.
  35. Shughart, Ty (January 14, 2003). "Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  36. Todd Zuniga (February 2003). "BMX XXX". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. p. 101. Archived from the original on May 25, 2004. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  37. "BMX XXX". Official Xbox Magazine. February 2003. p. 64.
  38. Hudak, Chris (March 12, 2003). "'Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3' (GBA) Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on March 15, 2003. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  39. Dalton Ross (November 29, 2002). "Sleazy Rider (BMX XXX Review)". Entertainment Weekly. No. 684. p. 113. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  40. Scott Steinberg (November 15, 2002). "BMX XXX". Playboy. Archived from the original on December 16, 2002. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  41. GameSpot Staff (December 30, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.
  42. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ne75xw/bmx-xxx-history-dave-mirra-acclaim
  43. Game Power Australia Team (November 8, 2002). "Acclaim Australia: BMX XXX Interview". Game Power Australia. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
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