Rawson Stovall

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Rawson Stovall
Rawson Stovall (1985).jpg
Stovall in 1985, aged thirteen[1]
Born
Rawson Law Stovall

1972 (age 50–51)
Abilene, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSouthern Methodist University
Occupations
  • Former video game columnist
  • Video game producer and developer
Years active1982–present
Known forBecoming the first nationally syndicated gaming journalist in the U.S.
Notable workThe Vid Kid's Book of Home Video Games (1984)

Rawson Law Stovall (born 1972)[a] is the first nationally syndicated video game journalist in the United States.[4] Stovall's first column appeared in the Abilene Reporter-News, his local newspaper, in 1982, when he was eleven. He began being distributed by the Universal Press Syndicate in April 1983 and by 1984 his column, 'The Vid Kid', appeared in over two dozen newspapers. After being reported on by The New York Times, he was featured on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, was on Discovery Channel's The New Tech Times and helped introduce the Nintendo Entertainment System at its North American launch.

He retired from video game journalism in 1990 to attend college at the Southern Methodist University, and later went on to work various roles at companies such as Sony, Activision, Electronic Arts, MGM Interactive, and currently Concrete Software. At EA, he produced video games from the franchises The Sims.

Biography[edit]

Early life and education[edit]

Rawson Law Stovall[5] was born in 1972[a] to Ronald L. Stovall, a Boy Scouts executive and regional manager for the Texas State Health Department, and Kay Law Stovall.[3][6] He has a younger sister, Jennifer.[2] Stovall lived in Abilene, Texas, where he attended Alta Vista Elementary School and Cooper High School.[5][7] As a child, he had severe asthma and once spent three months at the National Jewish Hospital—he first visited an arcade on one of the hospital field trips.[7][8]

Although Stovall first became interested in arcade video games in 1978,[6] his father saw them as a waste of time and refused to buy him an Atari 2600. After he failed to get an Atari for Christmas in 1980, Stovall prepared and packaged nuts from the pecans in his backyard and sold them door-to-door the next year, earning enough to buy one.[3][5][b] In fourth grade, he and two friends hosted mock TV skits about video games for class.[3][9]

1982: Beginnings as a columnist[edit]

Stovall realized that his local newspaper, the Abilene Reporter-News, was filled with movie reviews that were cheaper to see than buying a video game. However, there were no game reviews. Back then, games did not have screenshots on their packaging, and Stovall said that buying one was akin to a "gamble."[4][8]

At the end of the school year, increased pollen triggered his asthma and he was stuck inside and could not afford more games. His mother suggested he write an article for the local weekly Wiley Journal, but Stovall thought that an article could not hold all information and the weekly too small. His mother then suggested he write a column for the Reporter-News.[3][6][9] He initially wanted to raise enough money to buy an advanced home computer to design games on.[10] He contacted editor Dick Tarpley, presenting him with several sample columns and three letters of recommendation from his teachers and a local video game repairman.[2] In 1982 Stovall's first column appeared in the Reporter-News at age ten, titled 'Video Beat'.[7] He was paid $5 a column.[3]

Stovall was often rejected by newspapers because of his age: the guard at the San Francisco Chronicle would not let him in.[6][10] After being brushed off several times with other papers on the phone, he resolved to enter the offices of the Odessa American with a three-piece business suit, a briefcase, and a business card. Stovall convinced the editor to publish the column, securing his first sale outside of Abilene.[3]

1983–1990: Universal Press Syndicate and 'The Vid Kid'[edit]

By January 1983, Stovall's column appeared in five newspapers,[5] including the El Paso Times and Young Person Magazine.[11] His mother was his secretary and proofread his work. He was the youngest person to receive the Texas Governor's Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service. Stovall was invited to Imagic's headquarters in Silicon Valley and would go on a promotional nationwide tour with their vice president Dennis Koble.[5]

When the San Jose Mercury News picked up the column, they dubbed it 'The Vid Kid.' His column ran in ten papers before Universal Press Syndicate began distributing him in April 1983 at the suggestion of the Mercury News' editor,[6][9] which, aged eleven, made him the first nationally syndicated video game journalist.[4] His mother credited his success to his affinity with adults. Stovall also faced difficulties balancing school, journalism and health issues.[7]

In 1983, Stovall attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago with special permission as a minor. He was able to interview Nolan Bushnell and David Crane, and soon after was reported on in The New York Times.[4][6] This led him to be invited by producers to appear on television shows such as CBS Morning News, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News and That's Incredible!.[7][12] He attended CES the following years, where he was consulted by many industry professionals and companies, such as Activison president James Levy.[2] He was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal.[7]

His family visited Los Angeles for two weeks for his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[7] In 1984 he spoke at Bits & Bytes, the first computer show for children, and wrote The Vid Kid's Book of Home Video Games, a collection of eighty of his game reviews published by Doubleday. Library Journal said that although Stovall's age and writing style made the book unusual, it was average overall.[4][13] He appeared on a regular segment of The New Tech Times airing on the Discovery Channel, which paid him $850 each season,[3][11] reviewing teenage-oriented software and games. Executive producer Jeff Clark said that Stovall had the "business ability and vocabulary of a 40-year-old, but the mind-set of a thirteen-year-old."[14] By 1984 his columns appeared in over two dozen newspapers, and he charged $10 per column.[9][3] In 1985 Stovall helped to introduce the Nintendo Entertainment System at its North American launch.[4][8] His workshop contained over six hundred video games and five computers.[2]

Later career[edit]

Stovall retired from journalism in 1990 to attend college at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas.[8] He graduated with a degree in cinema due to the lack of game-related degrees. After college, he moved to Los Angeles and worked at Sony, Activision, Electronic Arts, and MGM Interactive in various roles.[4][7] He was a game developer at Activision in the 1990s and an industry producer.[7][15] At EA, he produced The Godfather (2006) and video games from franchises Medal of Honor and The Sims.[7] He currently works on mobile games as a senior designer for Concrete Software after being hired in 2014.[4][16]

Personal life[edit]

Stovall lives in the area of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.[17] He previously lived in Redwood City, California.[18] Stovall is married to Jenn, who teaches art history at the University of Minnesota.[7] He has one son.[19]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Stovall, Rawson (1984). The Vid Kid's Book of Home Video Games. Garden City, New York: Doubleday. ISBN 9780385193092.

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Stovall was thirteen in June 1985[2] and fourteen in January 1987,[3] placing his birth in 1972.
  2. ^ As noted by the Abilene Reporter-News, sources disagree on the amount Stovall earned. While estimates range around $175 to $200, Stovall said in 2011 it was around $160.[7] Most recently, PC Gamer said he earned $220 in 2022.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Rawson Stovall —A Success At Only 13". Brøderbund Newsletter. August 1985. p. 4 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b c d e Miller, M.W. (June 18, 1985). "Rawson Stovall, 13, Has a Giant Industry Seeking His Wisdom". The Wall Street Journal. Vol. 205, no. 118. Dow Jones & Company. p. 1. ISSN 0099-9660.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Monroe, Keith (January 1987). "He Turned Computer Games To Gold". Boys' Life. Vol. 77, no. 1. Boy Scouts of America. pp. 14–15. ISSN 0006-8608 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ong, Alexis (August 2, 2022). "The world's first syndicated game journalist was an 11-year-old kid". PC Gamer. Future plc. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Adamo, Sue (January 1983). Bloom, Steve (ed.). "Who'll Stop Rawson Stovall?". Video Games. Vol. 1, no. 4. Pumpkin Press. pp. 14, 19 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Youth's Column Makes Him Popular With the Top Minds in Video Games". The New York Times. June 8, 1983. p. 14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bethel, Brian (October 3, 2009). "The Vid Kid: Stovall was game review trailblazer". Abilene Reporter-News. Gannett Media Corp. p. 1. ISSN 0199-3267. Archived from the original on December 8, 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d Patterson, Patrick Scott (April 17, 2015). "Icons: Rawson Stovall is the original video game critic". Syfy Games. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d Stoler, Peter (1984). The Computer Generation. New York, New York: Facts on File Publications. pp. 111–112. ISBN 9780871968319 – via Internet Archive.
  10. ^ a b Kastor, Elizabeth (August 13, 1983). "Calling the Plays". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Poulos, Cynthia; Hoffer, William (November 1985). "The business whiz kids". Nation's Business. Vol. 73. U.S. Chamber of Commerce. p. 25. ISSN 0028-047X.
  12. ^ Conley, Jim (September 15, 1985). Schoch, Philip (ed.). "At 13, Rawson Stovall is a businessman, author and celebrity". Texas Weekly Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 2. TWM, Inc., Harte-Hanks Magazines. pp. 8, 9.
  13. ^ Oakley, Jack (November 1, 1984). "Stovall, Rawson. The VID Kid's Book of Home Video Games.". Library Journal. Vol. 109, no. 18. p. 2076. ISSN 0363-0277.
  14. ^ "News in Brief". PCMag. Vol. 4, no. 6. Ziff Davis. March 19, 1985. p. 42. ISSN 0888-8507 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ Colker, David (January 10, 1995). "Vintage Video Games: The Latest Blip : Computer Game Producers Look Back to the Past for New Hits at Electronics Show". Los Angeles Times. Vol. 114. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "Concrete Software Hires Veteran Game Designer – Rawson Stovall". Concrete Software. September 5, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Stovall, Rawson. "@rawsonstovall". Twitter. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  18. ^ "94" (PDF). SMU Magazine. Fall/Winter 2008. Southern Methodist University. 2008. p. 44. Rawson Stovall is a producer at Electronic Arts, a video game publisher in California. He lives in Redwood City.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. ^ Hodnett, Cindy (December 30, 2017). "Scene and Heard: New traditions and a longtime classic". Winston-Salem Journal. Lee Enterprises. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023.

External links[edit]

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