Sumner Joins RedOctane as Chief Executive Officer

J Dogg · Administrator Joined: 16 Jan 2002 Location: Sunnyvale, CA

Music game publisher RedOctaneÂ® has announced the appointment of industry veteran Kelly Sumner to the position of Chief Executive Officer as it seeks to establish a global presence in the games industry. The company announced yesterday that their American smash success game Guitar Heroâ¢ will be published in the United Kingdom starting in April 2006, rolling out across Europe shortly after.

Guitar Hero recently won five awards - including the coveted "Innovation in Gaming" accolade - at the prestigious DICE Summit in Las Vegas, and its critical and commercial success has propelled the publisher into the global limelight.

Now, Sumner's appointment confirms the Sunnyvale-based company as a serious player in the global videogames industry. His previous role was CEO of Take Two Interactive - a position he occupied as the firm grew from medium-sized videogames publisher to the dominant force it is today. Sumner's achievements are long and illustrious, with his crowning glory being the global release of Grand Theft Auto III at Take Two in 2001. A firm industry favorite, he has outstayed many transitional changes, having started his interactive career at Commodore Computers in 1978.

"RedOctane is a dream for me," says Kelly Sumner, CEO of RedOctane. "Following a period where I've been in a non-exec role with this tremendously exciting company, I'm delighted to return to the industry I love in a position many would kill for."

"RedOctane's plans have excited me like no other company around. In fact, I've not felt this kind of buzz and excitement since Grand Theft Auto III. The firm is ambitious, smart and extremely talented and I intend to drive RedOctane to a position of global dominance."

Well-known as a leading creator of video game peripherals, RedOctane published Guitar Hero as well as designing the first US guitar controller for the PlayStationÂ®2. For more information on RedOctane and their line of products please visit www.RedOctane.com.
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The God of Gamblers · Trick Member Joined: 04 Mar 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ

I remember going to RedOctane before it became RedOctane (can't remember the name offhand). I used to rent import games. People were jealous that I was playing Shenmue and Power Stone 2 before them. hehe

I think Guitar Hero is cool so this should be interesting.
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Yeah, it's Vitamin D.

DDR_KiD_1 · Trick Member Joined: 30 Jul 2005

Yea, I'd be excited too. Sumner just got one nice pay raise

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Wait, what's a D.D.R?

I love that question.

Paranoia_Brother · Trick Member Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Location: Clarkston, MI

Congratulations to Summer and Guitar Hero for those five awards

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*Formerly known as That DDR guy at Gr. Lakes*

WG1stDJ · Trick Member Joined: 22 Aug 2005 Location: somewhere

wow 5 awards i might just pick this up

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YEA IM FAT SO WHAT (THINK U CAN BEAT ME) SEE U ON THE DANCE FLOOR.

teamoguy21 · Basic Member Joined: 26 Sep 2005

dude...that game is sick and congrats to Ms.summer person for becoming CEO
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Binky42 · Basic Member Joined: 04 Feb 2006

I just don't understand what the bug fuss over Guitar Hero is about. =P

shadow0290 · Trick Member Joined: 30 Jun 2005

That's great news for RedOctane. It's nice to see they're growing as a company.
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Quad · Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:58 pm Post subject:

Lol is this really front page worthy material?

Uiru · Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 7:53 pm Post subject:

Synaesthesia · Posted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 8:19 pm Post subject:

But it does relate to "other music games" like Guitar Hero, and a lot of people do recognize RedOctane for their home pads. I mean, I didn't think it was *that* news-worthy; I thought it was in RO's Myspace blog like a week ago or something.
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im a lasagna whale

G_G

IHYD.Tiza · Trick Member Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Location: Escondido, CA

Blah blah stupid forum user.

You say "industry veteran..." veteran of what industry?
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You KNOW!

Rob138 · Trick Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA

I agree with Syn, Guitar Hero is under the genre of other music games. Also RedOctane has been in the Bemani scene for such a long time! I definitely think it's front page material because having Sumner as CEO will most likely propel RedOctane further into the music games scene. Prepare to see a lot more from RedOctane in the coming years.

Also anyone that hasn't picked up GH, it's a great game, very addictive, and has a totally different feel from Guitar Freaks. If you're a music game enthusiast, go check it out. I can't wait for the upcoming mixes of GH!
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Myspace | Last.FM | GDAMania.net | DOMO-KUN

NerveBand · Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 7:30 pm Post subject:

I love DDR and all. But with In The Groove and guitar Hero, my aspect of gaming just went up through the roof.

Long live Red Octane and its new CEO!