Simon Jeffery
Encyclopedia
Simon Jeffery is the chief publishing officer of ngmoco
's Plus+ Publishing group.
Similar to EA Publishing Partners group, Plus+ Publishing is a combined technology, App Store publishing and custom support play for iPhone and iPod touch developers. It will launch its first products with the rollout of the 3.0 operating system
for those devices. Prior to this, Jeffery was the president of Sega
of America from 2004 to 2009. He was president of LucasArts
between 2000 and 2003, and a director at the company for three years beforehand. Prior to joining LucasArts, Jeffery worked in a number of marketing, business and development roles for Virgin Interactive
and Electronic Arts
.
At Sega, Jeffery plans to recruit Western development houses to work with Japanese Sega IP and strengthening Sega's game production in the West in general. At E3 2008 Jeffery told Sega
fans there is not going to be a new console from Sega
, and no current plans to develop a Shenmue
3. This kills off hope of a Dreamcast 2 and downheartens many Sega
fans who still believed it would happen.
Jeffery's main accomplishment during his tenure at LucasArts was forging new relations with external developers to fully develop the Star Wars gaming IP, such as Pandemic Studios, Planet Moon Studios
, The Collective
, Raven Software
and BioWare
. Several of LucasArts' most revered and successful Star Wars games were launched during this period, including Rogue Squadron
, Jedi Knight II
, Star Wars: Battlefront
, and Knights of the Old Republic
.
However, his goal of turning around a creative original IP slump at the company was never fully realized. According to Jeffery, LucasArts had too heavily relied on its Star Wars
license, but successful new IP failed to materialize. Games such as Gladius
and RTX Red Rock
did not achieve critical acclaim or great sales; follow-ups to classic LucasArts adventure games, Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels and Sam & Max: Freelance Police were cancelled, to much dismay of the fans. (An online petition to save Freelance Police got over 31000 signatures.)
Simon Jeffery later became the subject of several fan animations in the LucasArts fan community, often depicted as a Jesus-like figure. Jeffery is a big Star Wars fan and once claimed to have seen A New Hope
93 times.
Ngmoco
ngmoco, Inc. is an American-based publisher of video games for the iOS and Android platforms, and a subsidiary of DeNA. The company was founded by former Electronic Arts executive Neil Young in July 2008. Since its founding, ngmoco has had more than seven million combined game installs...
's Plus+ Publishing group.
Similar to EA Publishing Partners group, Plus+ Publishing is a combined technology, App Store publishing and custom support play for iPhone and iPod touch developers. It will launch its first products with the rollout of the 3.0 operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
for those devices. Prior to this, Jeffery was the president of Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
of America from 2004 to 2009. He was president of LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
between 2000 and 2003, and a director at the company for three years beforehand. Prior to joining LucasArts, Jeffery worked in a number of marketing, business and development roles for Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive
Virgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
and Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
.
At Sega, Jeffery plans to recruit Western development houses to work with Japanese Sega IP and strengthening Sega's game production in the West in general. At E3 2008 Jeffery told Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
fans there is not going to be a new console from Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, and no current plans to develop a Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
3. This kills off hope of a Dreamcast 2 and downheartens many Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
fans who still believed it would happen.
Jeffery's main accomplishment during his tenure at LucasArts was forging new relations with external developers to fully develop the Star Wars gaming IP, such as Pandemic Studios, Planet Moon Studios
Planet Moon Studios
Planet Moon Studios is a game development studio based in San Francisco, California founded by ex-Shiny Entertainment developers Nick Bruty and Bob Stevenson in 1997...
, The Collective
The Collective, Inc.
The Collective, Inc. was an American video game development company located in Newport Beach, California. The company has created several games based on movies and television shows since its founding in 1997.-History:...
, Raven Software
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
and BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...
. Several of LucasArts' most revered and successful Star Wars games were launched during this period, including Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron is an arcade-style action game co-developed by Factor 5 and LucasArts. The first of three games in the Rogue Squadron series, it was published by LucasArts and Nintendo and released for Windows and the Nintendo 64 in December 1998...
, Jedi Knight II
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, often abbreviated JK2 or JO, is a first- and third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision. The PC version was released in March and the Mac OS X, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released in November...
, Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront is a first and third-person video game based on battles in the Star Wars film series. It was developed by Pandemic Studios and LucasArts and released on September 20, 2004 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, the same day as the release of the Star Wars...
, and Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. It was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and on September 7, 2004 for Mac OS X. The Xbox version is playable on Xbox 360 with its...
.
However, his goal of turning around a creative original IP slump at the company was never fully realized. According to Jeffery, LucasArts had too heavily relied on its Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
license, but successful new IP failed to materialize. Games such as Gladius
Gladius (video game)
The game was rated as one of the "best Xbox games most people never played" by Official Xbox Magazine.-External links:*...
and RTX Red Rock
RTX Red Rock
RTX Red Rock is an action-adventure game developed and published by LucasArts for the PlayStation 2. It was announced and later canceled for the Nintendo GameCube.- Plot :...
did not achieve critical acclaim or great sales; follow-ups to classic LucasArts adventure games, Full Throttle: Hell on Wheels and Sam & Max: Freelance Police were cancelled, to much dismay of the fans. (An online petition to save Freelance Police got over 31000 signatures.)
Simon Jeffery later became the subject of several fan animations in the LucasArts fan community, often depicted as a Jesus-like figure. Jeffery is a big Star Wars fan and once claimed to have seen A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
93 times.