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TS2 placed videogame business development veteran Bill Anker with D3 Publisher of America as their new Vice President of Business Development and Licensing. TS2 recently spoke to Yoji Takenaka, D3’s COO and EVP, and Bill about why they decided to take the opportunity to work together.
Yoji-san, why did you decide to bring Bill onboard with D3 Publisher?
"I think from the first day, the first interview, I think I pretty much decided on Bill. I had spoken to people in the industry, and a few people who dealt with Bill not only said good things about him, but also, all of them recommended Bill highly to me. Also I remember that he was always a nice guy at Activision. This position, to me, is very critical because Bill will be our face; he will represent D3 to everybody in the world so that’s the main reason. My instinct was telling me “hire him” from day one. Also the reference Yoshimi gave me helped. It just enhanced my opinion and enhanced what I heard about him. That’s why I hired Bill."
Bill, why did you decide to take the opportunity with D3?
“When I came to D3 and talked to Alison and Yoji I got a feeling of a company that was smart, aggressive, determined, and more importantly had a heart. They were doing things in a way that was respectful of people and it reminded me a lot of how I felt when I first started at Activision. The best jobs that I’ve had in my life have been the ones where I had some instinct. When I started in the industry in 1985 at a company called SoftKat, a tiny little company, I just had a feeling and it just felt like there was a future. If you just look at D3 right now, we’re pretty small and there are no guarantees that we’ll succeed. It’s tough to be a publisher in this day and age. But people said the same thing about Activision when I started there: “it’s so hard to be a publisher,” and “they’ll never make it.” I got a good feeling when I came to D3 so I decided to go for it. Given everything else that I knew about them; the kind of strategy, the kinds of products that they were going for, the funding that the company had, and the commitment to quality, I thought it made sense. I can feel a future at D3.”
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