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This biography of a living person does not cite any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (September 2009) Find sources: (Bernie Stolar – news, books, scholar) |
Bernard "Bernie" Stolar is an American businessman who worked in the video game industry for several important companies. His career started at Atari where he worked initially in the coin-op arcade division and eventually moved over to the home division in charge of platforms like Atari Lynx. He served as President of the company. He also founded Pacific Novelty, an arcade cabinet manufacturer that produced four games: Shark Attack, Thief, NATO Defense, and The Amazing Adventures of Mr. F. Lea.
Before the U.S. release of the PlayStation home console, Sony made Stolar the first president of SCEA and placed him in charge of the PlayStation platform. Stolar implemented several controversial policies on what games would be permitted release in America, most notably banning RPGs and 2D games, which he felt were "too nerdy" to represent the fledgling console's public image, and didn't properly demonstrate the Playstation's processing power. On a related note, Final Fantasy VII, one such RPG, became one of the Playstation's best-selling titles of all time.
The PlayStation sold well during its first holiday season in the U.S., and Bernie, after being fired from Sony, accepted an opportunity to helm Sega of America. Stolar brought with him his policies on 2D games and RPGs. This was arguably a far more dangerous policy for Sega than it was Sony; the Saturn was developed primarily as a 2D console, with 3D as something of a gimmick. After the Saturn's failure in North America, Bernie pressed Sega of Japan for a new console, one which would eventually become the Dreamcast.
Stolar is remembered for remarking at the 1997 E3, two years after the Saturn's release, that "the Saturn is not our future" and that he would not allow Namco to release new Tekken games on the Saturn in North America during a televised interview. Namco had already confirmed support for Sega's console starting with Soul Calibur, prompting confusion regarding what he was trying to say. The Tekken line was likely a stab against Sony and its next generation plans, as Namco later confirmed that the PlayStation 2 would receive Tekken games.
Insider reports suggest that Stolar overruled his Japanese superiors by pricing the Dreamcast for launch at $199. Reportedly, Sega of Japan wanted to set the price at $249 to generate profits immediately. The launch of the Dreamcast was the most successful commercial console launch in the history of gaming selling over US$300mln of hardware and software in its first week of launch. Before the Dreamcast's American launch, Stolar was removed as President from Sega of America, receiving a $5 million severance package.
In late 2005, Stolar became an advisor and director at Adscape Media, an in-game advertising company. His support contributed to securing venture capital in early 2006, establishing key relationships with game producers, and the company's eventual acquisition by Google in early 2007.[1] Stolar has been serving as Google's Game Evangelist since the sale of the company.
On October 5, 2006, Oasys Mobile, Inc. announced that Stolar would assume the role of Lead Director.
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The software launch did not occur on schedule.
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