Bruce Davis (video game industry)
Encyclopedia
Bruce L. Davis is an American businessman, currently CEO and chairman of Digimarc
. Formerly the head of both Imagic
and Activision
, he is known for his role in the development of the video game industry.
A native of New York
, Davis earned a B.S. in accounting and psychology and an M.A. in criminal justice from University at Albany, SUNY
, and a law degree from Columbia University
. He began his professional career by establishing the intellectual property
practice at the firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
in San Francisco, California
. He assumed leadership of Imagic as it was going out of business in the North American video game crash of 1983.
From 1987 to 1991, Davis was first chief operating officer
, then chairman and CEO of Activision. The board of directors
promoted him from senior vice president to replace Jim Levy
shortly after the acquisition of Infocom
, in the hopes of stemming the continuing financial damage from the crash. He had opposed the merger, and many Infocom employees believed he was deliberately working against them, changing processes that had made the game business successful. Activision co-founder and programmer David Crane
was also critical of Davis: "Bruce Davis’ biggest mistake was treating video games as commodities, rather than creative products." Nevertheless, Davis's leadership of Activision began well. He led the company to a profit in his first year at the helm on strong sales growth, following sixteen consecutive quarters of multimillion-dollar losses. The turnaround effort was stymied after a huge damages award for infringement of Magnavox
's original home video game patents was upheld on appeal in 1988. That year Activision changed its name to Mediagenic, as Davis sought to expand the company's product lines to non-gaming software. In February 1991, Robert Kotick
, backed by Steve Wynn
of Mirage Resorts
, staged a successful hostile takeover. Kotick and his team then filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in cooperation with Magnavox parent company Philips
in a leveraged recapitalization
of Activision, as it was renamed in 1992. Kotick replaced Davis in this restructuring.
Starting in 1992, Davis founded and served as president of TV Guide on Screen
, a joint venture
of News Corporation
and TCI
that supplied electronic guides and navigational software for the cable television market. The company later merged with Prevue Networks, then with TV Guide. TV Guide later merged with Gemstar International. The resulting Gemstar-TV Guide International
was acquired in 2008 by Macrovision
.
Davis is chairman and CEO of Digimarc. He led Digimarc from start up in 1997 to a more than US$100 million public company supplying digital watermarking
technologies to national and state governments and to the media industry. Digimarc sold its ID Systems business unit to L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc
in 2008 for $310 million in cash and now focuses on intuitive computing and media management.
A prolific inventor, Davis has been awarded more than 50 patents on television user interface improvements and other innovations in media management and security. In 2003, Mr. Davis was named Ernst & Young
's Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur Of The Year for the technology category.
Digimarc
Digimarc is a digital watermarking technology provider enabling the invisible embedding of information into many forms of content, including audio, video, imagery, and certain objects...
. Formerly the head of both Imagic
Imagic
Imagic was a short-lived American video game developer and publisher that developed games for the Atari 2600, Intellivision and other video game consoles in the early 1980s...
and Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
, he is known for his role in the development of the video game industry.
A native of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Davis earned a B.S. in accounting and psychology and an M.A. in criminal justice from University at Albany, SUNY
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
, and a law degree from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He began his professional career by establishing the intellectual property
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
practice at the firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is an international law firm founded in San Francisco. Orrick traces its roots back to 1863, making it the oldest continuously-operating law firm in San Francisco, and the second-oldest privately-held company in San Francisco after Levi Strauss & Co....
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He assumed leadership of Imagic as it was going out of business in the North American video game crash of 1983.
From 1987 to 1991, Davis was first chief operating officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
, then chairman and CEO of Activision. The board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
promoted him from senior vice president to replace Jim Levy
Jim Levy
Jim Levy was initially a music industry executive, but he is known better for his efforts as the founding Chief Executive Officer for Activision.. , Gamasutra. , Billboard ...
shortly after the acquisition of Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
, in the hopes of stemming the continuing financial damage from the crash. He had opposed the merger, and many Infocom employees believed he was deliberately working against them, changing processes that had made the game business successful. Activision co-founder and programmer David Crane
David Crane (programmer)
David Crane is a video game designer and programmer.Crane started his programming career at Atari, making games for the Atari 2600. After meeting co-worker Alan Miller in a tennis game, Miller told Crane about a plan he had to leave Atari and found a company that would give game designers more...
was also critical of Davis: "Bruce Davis’ biggest mistake was treating video games as commodities, rather than creative products." Nevertheless, Davis's leadership of Activision began well. He led the company to a profit in his first year at the helm on strong sales growth, following sixteen consecutive quarters of multimillion-dollar losses. The turnaround effort was stymied after a huge damages award for infringement of Magnavox
Magnavox
Magnavox is a US electronics company founded by Edwin Pridham and Peter L. Jensen, who invented the moving-coil loudspeaker in 1915 at their lab in Napa, California. They formed Magnavox in 1917 in order to market their inventions....
's original home video game patents was upheld on appeal in 1988. That year Activision changed its name to Mediagenic, as Davis sought to expand the company's product lines to non-gaming software. In February 1991, Robert Kotick
Robert Kotick
Robert A. Kotick , also known as Bobby Kotick, is the CEO, president, and a director of Activision Blizzard.- Early career :...
, backed by Steve Wynn
Steve Wynn (developer)
Stephen Alan "Steve" Wynn is an American business magnate who played a pivotal role in the 1990s resurgence and expansion of the Las Vegas Strip...
of Mirage Resorts
Mirage Resorts
Mirage Resorts was an American corporation that owned and operated hotel-casinos. It was created in 1989, having previously been called Golden Nugget Companies...
, staged a successful hostile takeover. Kotick and his team then filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in cooperation with Magnavox parent company Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
in a leveraged recapitalization
Leveraged recapitalization
In corporate finance, a leveraged recapitalization is a change of the capital structure of a company, a substitution of equity for debt —e.g. by issuing bonds to raise money, and using that money to buy the company's stock or to pay dividends...
of Activision, as it was renamed in 1992. Kotick replaced Davis in this restructuring.
Starting in 1992, Davis founded and served as president of TV Guide on Screen
TV Guide Channel
TV Guide Network is an American cable network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation....
, a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
of News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
and TCI
Tele-Communications Inc.
Tele-Communications, Inc. or TCI was a cable television provider in the United States, for much of its history controlled by Bob Magness and John Malone....
that supplied electronic guides and navigational software for the cable television market. The company later merged with Prevue Networks, then with TV Guide. TV Guide later merged with Gemstar International. The resulting Gemstar-TV Guide International
Gemstar-TV Guide International
Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. was a media company that licensed interactive program guide technology to multichannel operators, such as cable and satellite television providers, and consumer electronics manufacturers, video recorder scheduling code under brands such as VCR Plus, published TV...
was acquired in 2008 by Macrovision
Macrovision
Rovi Corporation is a globally operating, US-based company that provides guidance technology, entertainment data, copy protection, industry standard networking and media management technology for digital entertainment devices and services...
.
Davis is chairman and CEO of Digimarc. He led Digimarc from start up in 1997 to a more than US$100 million public company supplying digital watermarking
Digital watermarking
Digital watermarking is the process of embedding information into a digital signal which may be used to verify its authenticity or the identity of its owners, in the same manner as paper bearing a watermark for visible identification. In digital watermarking, the signal may be audio, pictures, or...
technologies to national and state governments and to the media industry. Digimarc sold its ID Systems business unit to L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc
L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc
L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. is a large American defense contractor in Connecticut. It was formed on August 29, 2006, from a merger of Viisage Technology, Inc. and Identix Incorporated. It specializes in selling face recognition systems, electronic passports such as Fly Clear, and other biometric...
in 2008 for $310 million in cash and now focuses on intuitive computing and media management.
A prolific inventor, Davis has been awarded more than 50 patents on television user interface improvements and other innovations in media management and security. In 2003, Mr. Davis was named Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
's Pacific Northwest Entrepreneur Of The Year for the technology category.