Bernard “Bernie” Stolar, a video game executive who oversaw the founding of Sony Computer Entertainment America, as well as serving as president of Sega of America, has died at the age of 75.
As reported by GamesBeat and verified in messages sent to the publication by Stolar’s friends, the businessman died in his home state of California.
With an acting career spanning from the early 1980s to 1999, Stolar’s career spanned one of the most pivotal eras in the history of the medium, when he served as the top executive for nearly every major players in space.
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He began his career in 1980 when he co-founded Pacific Novelty Manufacturing Inc, a coin-op company that served arcades in the state of California. Thereafter, he would work for Atari in its coin-op division, before being transferred to the company’s home console division.
He would oversee the Atari Lynx before being recruited by Sony as one of the founding members and first president of Sony Computer Entertainment America.
Stolar was instrumental in signing Crash Bandicoot, Ridge Racer and Spyro the Dragon to the platform, however, controversially, he reportedly enforced a ‘no RPG’ policy during his time at SCEA as the genre was mostly 2D at the time, and therefore not showing off the power of the PlayStation.
After the PlayStation’s successful first year, Stolar moved to Sega of America where he oversaw the launch of Sega Saturn. Stolar then became Sega of America COO in March 1997 and president the following year.
Stolar’s most famous moment came when he announced that the Sega Dreamcast would be priced at US$199 to a standing ovation during a speech in 1999. However, it later emerged that this furious Japan Sega , which insisted that the console be priced at US$249 to maximize profits.
Prior to the console’s launch in North America, Stolar was fired from Sega and given a $5 million severance package.
“I took the Sega job based on conversations with Hayao Nakayama, who was then president of the company,” Stolar said in a 2015 interview.
“We would institute and bring in a new hardware system that would do online multiplayer games. It became Dreamcast. I directed this.
“Unfortunately, Nakayama was kicked out of the company by Mr. Okawa at the end of 1999, and when he was kicked out, I also had a fight with Japan. I was kicked out too.”
Is Sega owned by Microsoft?
Sega and Microsoft join forces You can read the full press release in English here, but to recap, Sega and its parent group Sega Sammy have revealed that they are in agreement "in principle" a partnership that will see Sega build its next generation of online games using Azure technology.
Who owns the rights to Sega? Read also : 6 Ways to Save on Video Games.
Is Sega owned by anyone?
Sega’s Japanese assets were purchased for $38 million by a group of investors led by Rosen and Nakayama. Isao Okawa, chairman of CSK, became chairman of Sega, while Nakayama was named CEO of Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Is Sega still owned by Nintendo?
Although Sega is not owned by Nintendo, they own the rights to many Sega games. That’s why there are Sega games on the Nintendo Switch as well as other Nintendo devices. Read also : The 8 saddest games I’ve played during my gaming career. Sega and Nintendo have a great relationship, but Nintendo doesn’t own Sega.
Did Microsoft buy out Sega?
This, however, is not an acquisition. Sega has formed a long-term partnership with Microsoft to further leverage the latter’s Azure cloud platform. See the article : 10 Video Games On The First Kind Of Their Genre. It’s quite difficult for a Western company like Microsoft to acquire a Japanese studio, so don’t expect a Sega acquisition in the immediate future.
Did Wii fail?
Over 100 million Wii units were sold during its lifetime, entering a previously untapped market of casual mainstream gamers. Yet despite the Wii’s success, it was only a temporary boost for Nintendo, and Wii sales peaked in 2008.
Has the Wii gone out of business? The Wii was officially discontinued in October 2013, although Nintendo continued to produce and market the Wii Mini until 2017, and offered a subset of the Wii’s online services until 2019.
Why did the Wii decline?
Some consoles, like the PlayStation 2, have enough momentum to carry on even when their successor arrives, but the Wii has been so weakened by years of third-party neglect and shovelware that the momentum is gone. Nintendo turned its back on what was once a money-making golden child and walked away.
Was the Wii successful?
The console even surpassed the combined sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in several regions during its launch period, and by the end of 2006, 3.2 million units had been sold worldwide – the Wii even surpassed Xbox 360 in sales in September. 2007.
Does Nintendo Own Sonic?
Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created and owned by Sega.
Why is Sonic on Nintendo? “It’s very sad that Sega’s hardware business was canceled, but it allowed Sonic to run on a variety of different platforms,” said series creator Yuji Naka. “It’s allowed more people to play and enjoy Sonic games than ever before.”
Does Nintendo own Sega?
Although Sega is not owned by Nintendo, they own the rights to many Sega games. That’s why there are Sega games on the Nintendo Switch as well as other Nintendo devices. Sega and Nintendo have a great relationship, but Nintendo doesn’t own Sega.
Does Nintendo have the rights to Sonic?
Sonic: Lost World and Mario and Sonic are two of the Nintendo exclusives. Nintendo has exclusive rights to the next three Sonic the Hedgehog games, it has been revealed. Nintendo announced an exclusive deal with Sega and the Sonic series during the last Direct presentation.
