Jeremy Elliott "Jez" San OBE was born on 29 March 1966 and is an English game programmer and entrepreneur who founded Argonaut Software as a teenager in the 1980s.
17 Facts About Jez San
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Jez San is best known for the 1986 Atari ST game Starglider and helping to design the Super FX chip used in Star Fox for the Super NES.
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Jez San first became interested in video game development at a young age after playing a multi-user dungeon in the 1970s.
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Jez San founded Argonaut Software as a teenager in high school at JFS as a way to get software consulting jobs with large companies.
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Jez San worked on security systems with British Telecom and Acorn.
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Jez San became a wizard at Essex MUD, the world's first multiplayer online role-playing game.
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Jez San attracted Nintendo's attention because Argonaut was the first developer to successfully design 3D modelling on the NES and the Game Boy.
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Jez San helped develop the first 3D graphics accelerator known as the Super FX chip that made Star Fox possible on the Super NES.
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Jez San helped found ARC International when it was spun out from Argonaut in 1998 and was its largest shareholder on IPO.
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Jez San made substantial share sales during the flotation by Goldman Sachs and Warburg and in 2007 fully exited ARC.
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Between 1999 and 2002, Jez San funded Codeplay and is currently the majority shareholder.
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Jez San received an OBE in 2002, the first explicitly awarded for services to the video game industry.
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Jez San served as president, having hired his replacement with CEO Malcolm Graham, formerly of the Ritz Casino and AntFactory.
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Jez San was only an investor at the time of its collapse and expressed sorrow at seeing his creation fold.
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In 2008, Jez San co-founded mobile application developer and publisher Origin8 with game industry colleague Foo Katan.
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Jez San produces iPhone and BlackBerry software, and has offices in London.
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Jez San is a life member of BAFTA, and was an advisory board member of the GDC and TIGA for several years.