In other news in no way related to a certain game that shall remain nameless, William Gordon, the co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Electronic Arts, is leaving his full time position with the company to join the venture capital firm KPCB as a Partner. Kleiner Perkins Caufiled & Byers is a storied firm that most recently partnered with Apple to provide a $100 million iFund to support third-party development on the iPhone and iPod.
In addition to the recent venture with Apple, KPCB has been an early investor in many technology firms including Amazon, AOL, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Google, Macromedia, Netscape, and Sun Microsystems.
Gordon will continue to work with EA in as Chief Creative Officer Emeritus and will run occasional workshops with studio heads. Gordon has had considerable interaction with KPCB over the years, so his enthusiasm for the next step of his career is unsurprising:
Said Gordon on the move, "There is a new generation who have grown up 'always on, always digital.' Driven by their creativity and new usage habits, entertainment and communications are on the verge of previously unimaginable changes. Ever since KPCB funded Electronic Arts' initial business plan in 1982, I have watched the KPCB team find and support brilliant company-makers to harness disruptive digital technologies that benefit people. I cannot wait to join the firm, and work directly with an all-new generation of entrepreneurs."
Gordon will be a Partner at KPCB, but it is not yet clear whether his experience in the video game industry will dictate his focus in his new role. Hopefully Gordon's experience in the industry, and in the creative side specifically, will lead him to encourage investment in small to medium sized development studios who are focused on innovation.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I find the timing of Bing leaving EA very interesting. Was he one of The Sims Online supports? Maybe EA tried to squash him like they have tried to squash the thousands of subscribers in THE SIMS ONLINE