Trip Hawkins facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Trip Hawkins
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Hawkins outside his Santa Barbara office in 2019
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William Murray Hawkins III
December 28, 1953 Pasadena, California, U.S.
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| Education | Harvard University (BA) Stanford University (MBA) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founding Electronic Arts Founding 3DO |
| Board member of | Global Worldwide; DMarket; Break Away Data; Big Wolf Games; Sandsoft Games |
| Spouse(s) | Lisa Proctor Hawkins |
| Children | 4 |
| Awards | AIAS Hall of Fame Award (2005) |
William Murray "Trip" Hawkins III (born December 28, 1953) is a famous American entrepreneur. He is known for starting big video game companies. These include Electronic Arts (EA), The 3DO Company, and Digital Chocolate.
Contents
Trip Hawkins' Early Life and Ideas
When Trip Hawkins was a teenager, he loved a pen-and-paper football game. He tried to create his own version of it. He even borrowed money from his dad to start this business. But his first business idea did not work out.
Later, he got his first computer. He became very interested in making a digital football game. This would let players enjoy the game without doing all the difficult math. The computer could handle all the calculations.
Trip went to Harvard University. There, he created his own special major. He studied Strategy and Game Theory. This helped him learn how to plan and understand games.
Starting Electronic Arts (EA)
Around 1975, Hawkins thought about the future of computers. He believed it would take about seven years for home computers to become popular enough. This would make it possible to have a career in game design.
In 1982, he was working at Apple Computer. He was in charge of strategy and marketing. But he left Apple to start his own company. This company was called Electronic Arts (EA).
EA became very successful under his leadership. Trip Hawkins is known for changing the game industry. He helped it grow from simple games made by one person. He pushed for games to become complex projects made by large teams.
One of his first big successes was signing John Madden. John Madden was a famous football coach. He became a spokesperson and advisor for EA's football game. This led to the very popular Madden NFL video game series.
EA and Sega: A Smart Move
At first, Electronic Arts was a computer software company. They did not want to follow Nintendo's strict rules for making games. Trip Hawkins saw a chance when Sega released their Genesis console.
He did not want to pay Sega for a license to make games. So, he hired a team to figure out how the Genesis system worked. This is called reverse engineering. His team learned how to make games for the Genesis without Sega's official permission.
Hawkins then told Sega what he had done. He offered them a partnership against Nintendo. He told them, "You can sue us, but we figured out the technology fairly. We also have great lawyers." He then offered, "So, make us an official partner. And give us a lower fee." Sega agreed to this deal. They knew Hawkins might share his research with other companies.
The 3DO Company: A New Challenge
In 1991, Trip Hawkins moved on from EA. He remained the chairman of EA's board for a while. But he started a new company called 3DO. This company focused on making a video game console. He left the EA board completely in July 1994.
3DO was created with help from other companies, including EA. When the 3DO console came out in 1993, it was very powerful. It was the most advanced video game console at that time.
However, the 3DO console was very expensive. It cost about $599 when it launched. Other major game systems cost less than $200. Because of its high price, sales were not good. Also, many of its games used too many full-motion video clips. These videos were new and exciting then. But they often made the games less fun to play.
In 1994, the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn came out. These consoles were also expensive. But they had newer technology and better games from their own companies. This made it even harder for 3DO to succeed. Even though 3DO did not sell well, Next Generation magazine still called Hawkins "one of the game market's visionaries" in 1995.
3DO's Shift and End
In 1996, 3DO stopped making consoles. Instead, they became a video game developer. They started making games for the PlayStation, PC, and other consoles. Trip Hawkins was still the chairman and CEO. He also became the creative director.
Hawkins focused on making games quickly, in 6 to 9 months. This meant the quality of the games often suffered. Sales continued to be poor. Trip Hawkins had used his own money to help the company before. But he decided not to do it again.
Because of low sales, 3DO went bankrupt in May 2003. The company sold most of its games and ideas. This included the Might and Magic game series, which went to Ubisoft. Trip Hawkins kept the rights to the 3DO console hardware and software.
Digital Chocolate and Beyond
In late 2003, Trip Hawkins started another new video game company. It was called Digital Chocolate. This company focused on making games for handheld devices. He stepped down as the CEO of Digital Chocolate in May 2012.
After that, Hawkins joined the board of directors for Extreme Reality in 2012. This Israeli company works on motion control software. Their software can understand a person's movement in 3D. But it only needs a regular 2D camera.
In 2013, Trip Hawkins became a senior advisor for Nativex. This company helps with mobile advertising for games. In 2014, he also joined the advisory board for Skillz. Skillz is a platform for mobile eSports.
His most recent startup is called If You Can Company. This company aims to help children grow socially and emotionally. They teach lessons about being kind and stopping bullying. Their first game, "IF...", is free to play. It is designed for teachers and students in schools.
Trip Hawkins lives in Santa Barbara, California. From 2016 to 2019, he was a professor there. He taught about entrepreneurship and leadership at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Honors and Awards
In 2005, Trip Hawkins received a special honor. He became the eighth person to be added to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. This award recognizes people who have made a huge impact on the video game industry.
See also
In Spanish: Trip Hawkins para niños
