"I am thrilled that Don has accepted a role on our Strategic Advisory Board," said Philip Rosedale, CEO and founder of Linden Lab. "His success and deep experience in interactive entertainment will help pave the way for Second Life's ongoing success."
"Linden Lab is truly bringing innovation and creative inspiration to online entertainment," said Don Traeger. "I believe that their vision of an online society in a 3D world will redefine social interaction, fun and exploration in online gaming. I am excited to join the Strategic Advisory Board to help shape Second Life's future."
Best known for having started the EA Sports brand for Electronic Arts, Traeger started his career at Atari Games in the early 80's and came to Electronic Arts in 1984. He remained at EA for over 10 years, distinguishing himself by producing EA's first internally-developed hit, Skate or Die, and going on to serve as Producer and Executive Producer for a long line of top-selling action and sports products. While at EA, he negotiated and signed early sports licensing deals with Michael Jordan and the NBA and PGA Tour and conceptualized and developed the brand look and feel for EA Sports, the best-selling and most well-known brand name in the history of the medium.
Traeger left EA in 1995 to set up a new technology start-up for entertainment giant BMG. He launched his own independent game development studio, DT Productions, in the Fall of 1997, creating console hits like Jet Moto 3 for Sony and MX 2003 for THQ. DT Productions became Pacific Coast Power and Light, which was purchased and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of THQ, Inc in 1999.
About Linden Lab
Linden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D entertainment. The former CTO of RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today's streaming media technologies, including RealVideo. In April 2003, noted software pioneer Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation, was named Chairman.
Second Life launched in June 2003 after being named a Time magazine "Coolest Invention of 2002" during its beta test. Currently available to all PC users via a download at www.SecondLife.com, the world of Second Life, which grows with the size of the community, is now more than 1,000 virtual acres and by the end of 2003 should be as large as Manhattan.
Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior development team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking. Team members have previously worked for market leading companies such as Electronic Arts, Maxis, Disney, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel and RealNetworks