Gazillionaire

Gazillionaire is a trading game involving trading exotic goods on different planets. The player controls a company and interacts with six other trade companies controlled by the computer, as they compete to build an empire by investing in larger ships, buying warehouses, outmaneuvering each other and transporting essential commodities such as Kryptoons, cantaloupes, hair tonic, polyester, frog legs, umbrellas and Oggle Sand between a choice of seven planets within the Kukubian empire led by Emperor Dred Nicholson.

Gazillionaire was created by venture capitalist husband and wife team Steven S. Hoffman and Naomi Kokubo at their independent company LavaMind. Kokubo has a background in international finance and filmmaking while Hoffman has a background in interactive software development, electrical computer engineering, and information technology consulting. The pair met as college students and were pursuing their respective careers in Japan in 1992: Kokubo in film and finance and Hoffman working at Sega headquarters in Tokyo. After moving to San Francisco in early 1994, the couple founded LavaMind to focus on designing non-violent, intelligent video games.{{cite web | author1=Hoffman, Steven | author2=Kokubo, Naomi | date=1997 | title=An Introduction to LavaMind | url=http://www.lavamind.com/intro.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970709060029/http://www.lavamind.com/intro.html | archive-date=July 9, 1997 | publisher=LavaMind | accessdate=November 25, 2024}}{{cite web | author=Nguyen, Kendrick | date=May 2014 | title=Steve & Naomi’s Founders Space | url=https://www.somamagazine.com/steve-naomis-founders-space/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524191339/https://www.somamagazine.com/steve-naomis-founders-space/ | archive-date=May 24, 2024 | website=SOMA Magazine | publisher=Ali Ghanbarian | accessdate=November 30, 2024}} Gazillionaire was completely self-funded by the couple who did nearly all of the project's work themselves.{{cite web | author=Goldin, Kara | date=December 13, 2021 | title=Episode 208: Steven Hoffman – Founder & CEO of Founders Space | url=https://karagoldin.com/podcasts/steven-hoffman/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240715151959/https://karagoldin.com/podcasts/steven-hoffman/ | archive-date=July 15, 2024 | website=The Kara Goldin Show | accessdate=November 29, 2024}}{{cite web | author=Lukas, Dave | date=September 2021 | title=267: Principles, Success Lessons, and Why Ideas Don’t Matter with Steven Hoffman | url=https://www.misfitentrepreneur.com/misfit-entrepreneur-september-2021---267-principles-success-lessons-and-why-ideas-donrsquot-matter-with-steven-hoffman.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424030658/https://www.misfitentrepreneur.com/misfit-entrepreneur-september-2021---267-principles-success-lessons-and-why-ideas-donrsquot-matter-with-steven-hoffman.html | archive-date=April 24, 2024 | website=Misfit Entrepreneur | accessdate=November 28, 2024}}{{cite web | title=Interviews | url=https://secure.okcollegestart.org/Career_Planning/Career_Profile/Career_Profile.aspx?id=XPMvBldTW7IdPhYXsOHulQXAP3DPAXXAP3DPAX&screen=9 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615142504/https://secure.okcollegestart.org/Career_Planning/Career_Profile/Career_Profile.aspx?id=XPMvBldTW7IdPhYXsOHulQXAP3DPAXXAP3DPAX&screen=9 | archive-date=June 15, 2023 | website=OKCollegeStart.org | accessdate=November 30, 2024}}{{cite book | author=Janal, Daniel S. | date=1995 | title=Online Marketing Handbook : How to Sell, Advertise, Publicize, and Promote Your Products and Services on the Internet and Commercial Online Systems | url=https://archive.org/details/onlinemarketingh0000jana_i3y1/page/18/mode/2up | publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold | isbn=978-0-44-202058-3 | pages=18–9}}

Development lasted nine months with a budget of $30,000 USD.{{cite web | author=Ryan, James | date=May 25, 1998 | title=Quirky PC Games Try to Find Market Niche in a Virtual Pet Cemetery | url=http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/25/business/quirky-pc-games-try-to-find-market-niche-in-a-virtual-pet-cemetery.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527084225/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/25/business/quirky-pc-games-try-to-find-market-niche-in-a-virtual-pet-cemetery.html | archive-date=May 27, 2015 | website=The New York Times | accessdate=November 29, 2024}} LavaMind first made Gazillionaire available for Windows 3.1 as online shareware in late 1994. Because personal webpages were not prevalent in the early days of the internet, Hoffman shared a trial version on bulletin board systems with a full version sold via mail-order.{{cite web | author=Weisz, Jeremy | date=August 11, 2021 | title=[Venture Capital Series] How to Survive a Startup with Steven Hoffman of Founders Space | url=https://www.inspiredinsider.com/steven-hoffman-interview/2/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240621065213/https://www.inspiredinsider.com/steven-hoffman-interview/2/ | archive-date=June 21, 2024 | website=Inspired Insider | accessdate=November 27, 2024}}{{cite web | author=Martignetti, Tony | date=April 11, 2022 | title=Radical Innovation, Breaking The Routine And Accelerating Success With Steve Hoffman | url=https://www.inspiredpurposecoach.com/radical-innovation-breaking-the-routine-and-accelerating-success-with-steve-hoffman | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612145638/https://www.inspiredpurposecoach.com/radical-innovation-breaking-the-routine-and-accelerating-success-with-steve-hoffman | archive-date=June 12, 2024 | website=Inspired Purpose Partners | accessdate=November 29, 2024}} Its retail distribution rights were picked up by Spectrum Holobyte shortly thereafter.{{cite magazine | author=Bateman, Selby | date=March 1995 | title=Movers & Shakers | url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_03/page/n30/mode/1up | magazine=Next Generation | publisher=Imagine Media | issue=3 | page=29 | issn=1078-9693}} Although Hoffman claimed Gazillionaire was technically outdated upon completion, he said the publisher quickly agreed to the partnership after its quality assurance team had fallen in love with it.{{cite web | author=Hoffman, Steven S. | title=BPI Network Views & Commentary: Make Elephants Fly | url=https://bpinetwork.org/thought-leadership/views-commentary/438/make_elephants_fly | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613135731/https://bpinetwork.org/thought-leadership/views-commentary/438/make_elephants_fly | archive-date=June 13, 2024 | website=BPI Network | accessdate=November 28, 2024}} The president of Spectrum Holobyte also informed Hoffman that its next big release, Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unity, had been delayed to the following calendar year and that it needed a replacement to book revenue for the close of 1994 to prevent its stock price from dropping. This allowed Hoffman to negotiate an advance on royalty payment and the full rights to a Gazillionaire sequel after one year. LavaMind's creative goal with Gazillionaire was to teach financial skills and inspire entrepreneurship in its players.{{cite web | author=ChildArt staff | date=July 1, 2012 | title=The money game. | url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The%2Bmoney%2Bgame.-a0306242913 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402124618/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+money+game.-a0306242913 | archive-date=April 2, 2014 | website=The Free Library | publisher=International Child Art Foundation | accessdate=November 27, 2024}} Gazillionaire proved popular as an educational video game and in the years following its launch it was adopted by various grade schools and universities as part of economic curriculums and by certain prisons to help reform convicts.

According to Kokubo, the game's technical limitations allowed for easy design tweaks to extend its longevity. An expanded edition, Gazillionaire Deluxe, was released toward the end of 1996. In addition to numerous gameplay improvements and added Windows 95 compatibility, it had a play-by-email mechanic for up to six people alongside to the hotseat multiplayer from the original game.{{cite web | author=Soucy, Glenn | date=January 1997 | title=Gazillionaire Deluxe by LavaMind | url=https://csoon.com/issue21/gazidelu.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208232707/https://csoon.com/issue21/gazidelu.htm | archive-date=February 8, 2023 | website=Coming Soon Magazine | accessdate=November 28, 2024}}{{cite web | title=Gazillionaire Deluxe | url=http://www.gazillionaire.com/gaz2.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961105044251/http://www.gazillionaire.com/gaz2.html | archive-date=November 5, 1996 | publisher=LavaMind | accessdate=November 28, 2024}} The developer eventually found it difficult to commercially compete in brick-and-morter stores and shifted to primarily selling the game online once again. By mid-1998, LavaMind estimated that 150,000 copies of Gazillionaire had been sold. Yet another update, Gazillionaire III, was released for download around 2007 and was compatible with Windows Vista, XP, 98, 2000, Me, and NT.{{cite web | title=Gazillionaire III | url=http://www.lavamind.com/gaz.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017032944/http://www.lavamind.com/gaz.html | archive-date=October 17, 2007 | publisher=LavaMind | accessdate=November 28, 2024}} A web browser release came in 2012 and required a yearly subscription fee.{{cite web | author=Bell, Erin | title=Gazillionaire! | url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/gazillionaire | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123005404/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/game-reviews/gazillionaire | archive-date=January 23, 2013 | website=Common Sense Media | accessdate=December 23, 2024}} Finally, LavaMind published Gazillionaire on Steam on January 14, 2020 and was compatible with Windows 10 and Mac devices using up to the Big Sur operating system.{{cite web | title=Gazillionaire | url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1169100/Gazillionaire/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121231845/https://store.steampowered.com/app/1169100/Gazillionaire/ | archive-date=November 21, 2024 | website=Steam | publisher=Valve Corporation | accessdate=November 28, 2024}} This decision was made due to the impending discontinuation of Adobe Flash, software on which the most recent version was heavily relied. The Steam version includes hotseat multiplayer but no remote multiplayer.{{cite web | author=Renadette, Brian | date=December 31, 2019 | title=1990’s Business Game Gazillionaire Heading to Steam | url=https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/1990s-business-game-gazillionaire-heading-to-steam | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240725084732/https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/1990s-business-game-gazillionaire-heading-to-steam | archive-date=July 25, 2024 | website=TechRaptor | accessdate=November 28, 2024}}

Next Generation reviewed the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "A great title for gaming purists or children."{{cite magazine|title=Finals|magazine=Next Generation|issue=4|publisher=Imagine Media|date=April 1995|page=92|author=Next Generation staff|issn=1078-9693|url=https://archive.org/details/next-generation-24-dec-1996/NEXT%20Generation%2004%20Apr%201995/page/n75/mode/1up}}

Computer Game Review scored Gazillionaire a 92 out of 100, earning the game its "Golden Triad Award".{{cite magazine | author1=Perry, Kevin | author2=Chapman, Ted | author3=Kaiafas, Tasos | date=March 1995 | title=Reviews: Gazillionaire | url=https://archive.org/details/computer-game-review-and-cd-rom-entertainment-march-1995/page/n37/mode/2up | magazine=Computer Game Review | publisher=Sendai Publishing | volume=4 | issue=8 | issn=1062-113X | pages=38–9}} It was also named "Strategy Game of the Year" for 1995 from the magazine, tied with Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest and Blood Bowl. The editors wrote, "Tucked behind the strange graphics, bizarre names and, um, interesting items to trade was an economic engine that proved to be as good as they come."{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961018154404/http://www.nuke.com/cgr/features/9604/strategy.htm | url=http://www.nuke.com/cgr/features/9604/strategy.htm | title=CGR{{'}}s Year in Review | date=April 1996 | archive-date=October 18, 1996 | author=Staff | website=Computer Game Review | url-status=dead | access-date=December 25, 2019}}

• PC Gamer (April 1995)
• Computer Gaming World (April 1995)
• PC Player - June 1995
• PC Games - July 1995

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://www.lavamind.com/games/gazillionaire/ Gazillionaire] at LavaMind
• [https://store.steampowered.com/app/1169100/Gazillionaire/ Gazillionaire] on Steam
• [https://www.mobygames.com/game/1944/gazillionaire/ Gazillionaire] at MobyGames

Category:1994 video games

Category:Business simulation games

Category:Educational video games

Category:LavaMind games

Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games

Category:Play-by-email video games

Category:Spectrum HoloByte games

Category:Video games developed in the United States

Category:Video games set in outer space

Category:Video games set on fictional planets

Category:Windows games