Stewart Kosoy
Stewart Kosoy | |
---|---|
Born |
Stewart Eugene Kosoy March 29, 1950 Chicago, Illinois, USA |
Died | October 4, 2015 (aged 65) |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Entrepreneur, game financier, & publisher |
Years active | 1985–2015 |
Notable work | Unreal, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past, Duke Nukem 3D |
Stewart Kosoy (March 29, 1950 – October 4, 2015) was a pioneer in the video game business who worked in almost every capacity from making animation to being a designer, producer, developer, agent, and most recently, publisher and financier. After holding a number of high-profile positions for some of the biggest game makers in the industry, he retired as an agent and Senior Partner of the Interactive Studio Management (ISM) Agency to co-found Digital Capital Corporation.[1] He died[2] in October, 2015.
Career
Kosoy got a job doing design consulting for NovaLogic on the game Wolfpack. He was employed by Taito Corporation as a producer. He joined Sega of America where he became Manager of Developer Relations.[3] In 1991, while working for Sega, Kosoy produced Clutch Hitter, followed in 1992 by Disney's Ariel the Little Mermaid, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, and Toxic Crusaders. In 1993 he produced Dinosaurs for Hire and The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin. The 1994 production of Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past completed his tenure at Sega.
Kosoy held the position of Executive Producer at Novalogic and established the company's UK office. Kosoy returned to California and became Director of Development for Warner Music Group. As Vice President of Product Development at GT Interactive Software, during the time classic titles such as Doom II, Duke Nukem, Quake, and Unreal[4] were published.
He left GT to become and Executive Producer for MGM Interactive, where he was the Executive Producer on Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal.
In 2002, Kosoy became an agent, where he began to find and represent talented development studios, eventually becoming a Senior Partner at ISM. One of his most noteworthy projects was putting together the Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment (DICE) - Electronic Arts (EA) deal for Battlefield 1942,[5] which eventually led to the acquisition of DICE by EA for $24.5 million.[6] At ISM he represented clients working on such titles as Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare until he retired in December 2011, relinquishing his senior partnership.
In 2012, Kosoy and Todd Tribell co-founded Digital Capital Corporation (DCC).[7] The company raises financing for game developers [8] by acting as a matchmaker between investors and developers. At DCC, Kosoy takes a primary role in choosing projects to receive private equity placement.[5]
Selected games
Year | Game | Role | Developer | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Wolfpack | Designer | NovaLogic | Brøderbund |
1991 | Clutch Hitter | Producer | Sega of America | Sega of America |
1992 | Toxic Crusaders | Producer | Sega of America | Sega of America |
Ariel the Little Mermaid | Producer | Sega of America | Sega of America | |
Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Producer | Sega of America | Sega of America | |
1993 | Dinosaurs for Hire | Producer | Sega of America | Sega of America |
The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin | Producer | Sega of America | Sega of America | |
1994 | Streets of Rage 3 | Business Developer | Sega of America | Sega of America |
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Echoes from the Past | Producer | Sega of America | Sega of America | |
1995 | Comanche 2 | Designer | NovaLogic | NovaLogic |
1996 | 9: The Last Resort | VP of Product Development | Tribeca Interactive | GT Interactive Software |
1997 | Duke Nukem 3D | VP of Product Development | 3D Realms | GT Interactive Software |
1999 | Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal | Executive Producer | Appaloosa Interactive | Sony Computer Entertainment |
2000 | Bass Masters 2000 | Agent | Mass Media | THQ |
Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness | Agent | Mass Media | Namco | |
Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas | Agent | Mass Media | Fox Interactive | |
2001 | Pac-Man Collection | Agent | Mass Media | Namco |
Namco Museum | Agent | Mass Media | Namco | |
2003 | Will Rock | Agent | Saber Interactive | Ubisoft |
Muppets Party Cruise | Agent | Mass Media | TDK Mediactive | |
2005 | Full Spectrum Warrior | Agent | Mass Media | THQ |
2006 | Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers | Agent | Mass Media | THQ |
2007 | Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare | Agent | n-Space | Activision |
2008 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | Agent | n-Space | LucasArts |
2009 | Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 | Agent | n-Space | Activision |
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized | Agent | n-Space | Activision | |
Further reading
- Staff, Edge (August 3, 2012). "Stewart Kosoy on the business of videogames". Edge Online. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
- Martin, Matt (April 30, 2012). "Digital Capital: Mind on the Money". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
External links
- Stewart Kosoy at the Internet Movie Database
- Stewart Kosoy profile on MobyGames
References
- ↑ "Digital Capital: Leadership". Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ↑ "Stewart Kosoy passes away after a long career making and financing games". Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- ↑ Cow, Peter (February 27, 1994). "Games People Play Over Phone Lines". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
- ↑ Martin, Matt (April 30, 2012). "Digital Capital: Mind on the Money". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- 1 2 Tipps, Seth (February 8, 2012). "Stewart Kosoy to head Digital Capital product dev". Develop. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ↑ Graft, Kris (2006-10-02). "EA Officially Picks Up DICE". Next-Gen.biz. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ↑ Takahashi, Dean (February 1, 2012). "Digital Capital wants to play matchmaker for investors and digital entertainment startups". VentureBeat. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ↑ Andrew, Keith. "Swiss investor Digital Capital unveils plan to finance smartphone studios". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved May 21, 2012.