Jump to content

Bernie Stolar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TGPMatt (talk | contribs) at 10:56, 28 June 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Bernard Stolar (October 9, 1946 – June 22, 2022)[1] was an American businessman and a prominent figure in the video game industry for many years. Among several roles in the industry, he was a founding member of Sony Computer Entertainment America essential to the launch of the original PlayStation, and president of Sega of America, where he helped lead the development of the Sega Dreamcast home console.

Early life and education

Stolar graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles where he was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity.[2]

Career

Stolar started by co-founding Pacific Novelty Manufacturing Inc., a coin-op machine company in 1980, before he was hired by Atari into their own arcade game business. Later, Stolar was moved into Atari's home console division, where he led development of the Atari Lynx handheld console in the early 1990's.[3]

Stolar was the first executive vice president and founding member of Sony Computer Entertainment America, where he was integral in both the launch and building of the original PlayStation's game catalog. At Sony, Stolar signed many game franchises including Crash Bandicoot, Ridge Racer, Oddworld Inhabitants, Spyro The Dragon and Battle Arena Toshinden. After leaving Sony, he accepted an offer to become president and chief operating officer at Sega of America, where he led the development and launch of the Dreamcast. One of Stolar's top moves was to acquire Visual Concepts for Sega of America and create 2K Sports.[4]

In December 1999, Stolar joined Mattel as president and helped spawn a multi-million unit selling Barbie video game series.[5] In late 2005, Stolar became an advisor and director at Adscape Media. Stolar would later sell Adscape Media to Google for $23 million USD.[6] Afterwards, Google would hire Stolar as their Games Evangelist.[7] In 2009, Stolar became the chief executive officer of GetFugu.[8] By 2010, Stolar had resigned.[9] In 2014, Stolar became the chairman of ZOOM Platform and the Jordan Freeman Group.[10]

Stolar died on June 22, 2022 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 75.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Gardner, Matt (June 27, 2022). "Atari, Sony, And Sega Legend Bernie Stolar Dies Aged 75". Forbes. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  2. ^ Membership Directory, 2010 Pi Lambda Phi Inc.
  3. ^ Middler, Jordan (June 26, 2022). "Bernie Stolar, former Sega of America president and SCEA founder, has died aged 75". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "Sega of America appoints Shoichiro Irimajiri chairman/chief executive officer". M2PressWIRE. M2 Communications, Ltd. July 16, 1996. Closed access icon (Subscription required.)
  5. ^ Services, Tribune News. "EX-SEGA EXEC TO RUN MATTEL INTERACTIVE". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "Google to Buy Adscape for $23 Million". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  7. ^ Staff, Edit (April 7, 2009). "Industry Moves: Google Game Vet Bernie Stolar Heads To GetFugu". Gigaom. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "GetFugu Names Google Game Evangelist Bernie Stolar as CEO". Retrieved April 7, 2010.
  9. ^ "GetFugu, Inc. (Form: 8-K, Received: 04/02/2010 16:13:07)". Retrieved April 7, 2010.
  10. ^ "Mobile game startup Zoom debuts with the familiar face of Sony, Sega vet Bernie Stolar as its chairman". VentureBeat. April 17, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2018.


Stub icon

This article about a United States businessperson is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bernie_Stolar&oldid=1095439429"