Editing David Perry (game developer) (section)

==Biography==
[[File:BAFTA2011 GameDevs.jpg|left|thumb|Perry and other game developers at a [[BAFTA]] event in Los Angeles in July 2011. From left: [[Rod Humble]], [[Louis Castle]], David Perry, [[Brenda Brathwaite]], [[John Romero]], [[Will Wright (game designer)|Will Wright]], [[Tim Schafer]], [[Chris Hecker]].]]
Perry was born in April 1967 in [[Lisburn]], [[Northern Ireland]], growing up in the towns of [[Templepatrick]] and [[Donegore]] in [[County Antrim]], attending Templepatrick Primary School<ref name=BBCsucc/> and then [[Methodist College Belfast]].<ref name="GPro83">{{cite magazine|title=The Game Makers: The Producers|magazine=[[GamePro]]|issue=83|publisher=[[International Data Group|IDG]]|date=August 1995|pages=20–24}}</ref>

He began writing computer game programming books in 1982 at the age of 15, creating his own games for the [[Sinclair ZX81]]. In an interview with the [[BBC]], Perry stated that his first game was a driving game, “a black blob avoiding other black blobs”, which he wrote and sent to a magazine, which printed it. He sent them more games, and they sent him a cheque for £450: a bit of a problem for a teenager who did not yet have a bank account.<ref name=BBCsucc>{{cite web |last=McGreevy |first=Neil |title=Top Developer's Code for Success |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3041572.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030706043930/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3041572.stm |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=25 November 2018 |date=July 4, 2003 |archive-date=6 July 2003}}</ref> His work continued until he was offered a job for £3,500/year as an apprentice to a veteran programmer who taught him more advanced programming.<ref name="GPro83"/>

At the age of 17, he moved to [[London]], where he developed games with [[Mikro-Gen]] and [[Probe Software]] for publishers such as [[Elite Systems]] and [[Mirrorsoft]], working on titles such as the [[ZX Spectrum]] conversion of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES video game)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' (1991) for [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] and the [[Sega Genesis]] version of ''[[The Terminator (Sega video game)|The Terminator]]'' (1992). Perry's work on ''The Terminator'' caught the attention of [[Virgin Mastertronic]], which was expanding into the [[United States]] and had entered a deal with [[McDonald's]] to publish a video game themed around its restaurants within six months. Perry responded to Virgin's generous employment offer into their American development branch in [[Irvine, California]], and was granted an apartment overlooking [[Laguna Beach, California|Laguna Beach]], which he remarked was “like living in ''[[Baywatch]]''”. Although Perry had planned to return to the United Kingdom upon the game's completion, the unexpected critical success of ''[[Global Gladiators]]'' (1992) convinced him to stay in California; as he recalled, “it suddenly made people appreciate me”.<ref name=Magnus>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/grandthievestomb0000ande/page/212/mode/2up |title=Grand Thieves & Tomb Raiders: How British Video Games Conquered the World |last1=Anderson |first1=Magnus |last2=Levene |first2=Rebecca |publisher=Aurum Entertainment |date=2012 |pages=213–214 |isbn=978-1845137045}}</ref>

While at Virgin, Perry led the development duties for several award-winning games for the Genesis, including ''[[Cool Spot]]'' (1993) and ''[[Disney's Aladdin (Sega Genesis video game)|Aladdin]]'' (1993). His work within ''Virgin Games'' also served as a basis for the development of other games such as the [[Sega CD]] version of ''[[The Terminator (Sega CD video game)|The Terminator]]'' (1993) and the Genesis versions of ''[[RoboCop Versus The Terminator]]'' (1994) and ''[[The Jungle Book (video game)|Walt Disney's The Jungle Book]]'' (1994), all of them developed after David Perry had left the studio.

On 1 October 1993, Perry formed his own company in [[Laguna Beach, California]], [[Shiny Entertainment]], naming the company after the song “[[Shiny Happy People]]” by [[R.E.M.]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamespy.com/articles/697/697083p10.html|title=GameSpy Retro: Developer Origins, Page 10 of 19|last=Keefer|first=John|date=2006-03-31|website=GameSpy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609133224/http://www.gamespy.com/articles/697/697083p10.html|archive-date=2007-06-09|access-date=2019-05-07}}</ref> The company's first game ''[[Earthworm Jim (video game)|Earthworm Jim]]'' (1994) was a hit, selling millions of copies on multiple platforms, including Sega Genesis, [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|Super NES]] and PC. The title character, an “average worm” who stumbles upon a space suit which turns him into a superhero, became immensely popular, and spawned a variety of other types of merchandise: [[action figure]]s, [[comic book]]s, and a syndicated television [[cartoon series]].

Listing Perry in their "75 Most Important People in the Games Industry of 1995”, ''[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' argued that his success had as much to do with his exceptional knack for [[public relations]] as his talent as a developer: “Perry often seems to benefit and suffer from a game press who seemingly can't hype him or his products enough. Is all the hype justified? Well, probably not. But that's not the point, the fact is that the press and gamers love him. ''Next Generation''{{'}}s opinion as to Perry's PR secrets? Always return phone calls, don't make promises you can't keep, and show a genuine interest in whomever you're talking to. Sounds easy? So how come hardly any actual PR people (let alone presidents and lead programmers) in the industry do the same?”<ref>{{cite journal |title=75 Power Players|journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=11|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=November 1995|page=52}}</ref>

In 2002, Shiny Entertainment was acquired by [[Atari, Inc.]] for [[United States dollar|US]]$47 million, with Perry signed to a long-term contract to continue on as president. Also in 2002, Perry collaborated with [[The Wachowskis]] on games in coordination with their ''[[The Matrix (franchise)|Matrix]]'' series of movies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/fun.games/05/15/cnna.matrix.game/index.html|title=CNN article about Matrix game|date=May 15, 2003}}</ref>

In 2006, he resigned from Shiny,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=62975|publisher=Eurogamer.net|title=Dave Perry resigns from Shiny|date=2006-02-20|access-date=17 March 2006|archive-date=21 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021111646/http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=62975|url-status=dead}}</ref> and  formed GameConsultants.com, a consultancy firm planning to offer executive level video game industry advice,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12690|title=GameDaily article|access-date=18 May 2006|archive-date=21 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021130534/http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=12690|url-status=dead}}</ref> followed by GameInvestors.com, a business-to-business company to help video game development teams get funded. He recounted, “I was working on a new game design for [[Atari SA|Infogrames]] (Atari) called Plague and was incredibly excited about it. Atari called and told me they had run out of money, and so I offered to find a buyer for my team, they said they’d handle it and I moved on. The first phone call I had after leaving was with The Collective, and they ended up buying Shiny.”<ref name=AAttInt>{{cite web |title=David Perry (Virgin Games) – Interview |url=https://www.arcadeattack.co.uk/david-perry/ |website=Arcade Attack |access-date=25 November 2018 |date=January 10, 2016}}</ref>

Perry is on the advisory board for the [[Game Developers Conference]], and has spoken at industry venues such as [[E3]], [[Consumer Electronics Show|CES]], Hollywood and Games, Digital Hollywood, iHollywood, [[SIGGRAPH]], Entertainment in the Interactive Age, What Teens Want, The Banff Summit, as well as at major universities such as [[University of Southern California|USC]], and [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/cms/games/speakers.html|title=MIT Speakers List|access-date=17 March 2006|archive-date=6 January 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060106190944/http://web.mit.edu/cms/games/speakers.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2006, he co-hosted the annual [[Game Developers Choice Awards]] with [[Tommy Tallarico]].

In November 2008, Perry co-founded [[Gaikai]] in the Netherlands, a company that released game streaming technology in late 2009.<ref>{{cite web |title=OnLive and Gaikai - How to Stop a Gaming Revolution |url=http://ablegamers.com/general-game-news/626-onlive-and-gaikai-how-to-stop-a-gaming-revolution.html |author=Lifshitz, Jesse |date=2009-08-08 |access-date=2009-08-15 |publisher=ablegamers.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090812015404/http://www.ablegamers.com/general-game-news/626-onlive-and-gaikai-how-to-stop-a-gaming-revolution.html |archive-date=2009-08-12}}</ref> In July 2012, Gaikai was sold to [[Sony Computer Entertainment]] for $380 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.edge-online.com/news/sony-acquires-gaikai |title=Sony acquires Gaikai |access-date=2012-02-07 |work=[[edge.com]] |date=2012-02-07 |author=Brown, Nathan |archive-date=5 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805121120/http://www.edge-online.com/news/sony-acquires-gaikai |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In January 2016, Perry confirmed that he and [[Michael Jackson]] had been discussing making a video game together prior to the singer's death.<ref name=AAttInt/>

In July 2017 Perry left [[Gaikai]], joining startup GoVYRL, Inc.<ref name="gamesindustry.biz"/><ref>{{cite web |title=GoVYRL, Inc. aka VYRL Main Website |url=https://vyrl.co/}}</ref> to build new technology for brands to work with influencers;<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chapple |first=Craig |date=2017-07-03 |title=Former Gaikai boss David Perry named CEO of Instagram influencer marketing start-up |url=https://www.pocketgamer.biz/david-perry-heads-up-instagram-influencer-start-up/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=www.pocketgamer.biz |language=en}}</ref> the technology is called Carro. GoVYRL, Inc. has seed investments from entities including The Cove Fund,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cove Fund Invests in VYRL |url=https://www.covefund.com/investments-1/}}</ref> [[Brendan Iribe]] and Alpha Edison.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alpha Edison Invests in VYRL |url=https://www.alphaedison.com/companies/vyrl}}</ref>