Perry Quits Shiny, Attempts to Buy It

Publisher Atari last week announced that it will be selling its internal studios, among which are Dave Perry's Shiny Entertainment. Speaking to the Orange County Register, Perry revealed his recent resignation from the studio he founded. He plans to attempt to find a suitable buyer for the company, after which he will rejoin.

"Atari can go ahead and sell Shiny but I think I can help too because I'm on the board of a lot of things. I can bring a lot of parties to the table and I can do that faster if I hit the streets myself," said Perry, who began hitting his contacts Friday and said there was "a lot of interest out there."

"If I'm an employee of Atari, then I'd be stepping all over them. This way, I'm representing a buyer. I can act swiftly and get buyers on the table. I pitched Shiny last time and got $47 million."

The company is not Perry's to sell or buy directly, but he believes that he will be able to stir up interest (and potential prices) more effectively if working independently. Shiny is currently developing at least three titles, including a new entry in the company's classic Earthworm Jim series, and will not be able to effectively operate without a constant source of funding. Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell stated that Atari's studios "still have important projects to finish for us" and would not be going on sale immediately, but Perry's actions seem to suggest that will not be the case for Shiny. Perry founded Shiny in 1993, and the company developed sidescrollers Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 in its first two years. Interplay purchased the studio in 1995 for approximately $3.6M, and the company went on to create titles such as MDK, Sacrifice, and Messiah. The studio was sold to Atari parent Infogrames in 2002 for $47M, after which Shiny developed Enter the Matrix and The Matrix: Path of Neo, as well as its current unannounced projects.