Chris Deering Joins Red Octane

Guitar Hero publisher RedOctane has announced that former Sony Europe Computer Entertainment (SCEE) chairman and CEO Chris Deering has been appointed to the company's board as one of its non-executive directors. Much admired within the European industry, Deering oversaw the debut of both the original PlayStation and the PlayStation 2, before retiring from Sony at the end of 2005. He subsequently joined British publisher Codemasters as a non-executive chairman and now chairs the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival. "We're assembling a phenomenal board for a phenomenal company," said Kelly Sumner, CEO, RedOctane. "RedOctane is one of the most dynamic, innovative and energetic companies in the games business, and Chris's appointment continues our progression towards global impact. The industry knows that Chris has a special passion for music, which will prove invaluable as we continue our rapid growth in musical instrument-based products." Chris Deering added: "RedOctane has talented technical visionaries who have already proven in North America with Guitar Hero that they can fashion everyday music lovers into Great Musicians. I look forward to helping RedOctane advance this very promising frontier of interactive high-tech entertainment." Guitar Hero for PlayStation 2 is available today in the UK, Scandinavia and Benelux. The game will be available in mainland Europe from May onwards and has already enjoyed considerable success in North America.