We were advised that nobody could stop us from pursuing our craft simply because we had honed, or even developed that craft while working at a company.

I've always had a special relationship with the U.K. fans, because even when I wasn't working they were very supportive.

The letters were universally complimentary, and we designers loved hearing that our games were being enjoyed, but if they weren't sending us a picture of their screens most of those writers would have spent their time playing the game rather than writing letters.

Our co-founder and company president, Jim Levy, came from a record industry background and understood the marketing and promotion of artists as well as products. So the video game business went from absolutely zero designer credit to something approaching rock star promotion.

As a small company our fastest way to market was going to be by working with other retailers that were known for pioneering new technologies and categories.

We didn't have our online service developed. We had never shipped a console game before as a company. So we were developing a lot of new competencies as a company and assembling a new team.