PHOTO BY: PAM FRANCIS FOR TIME
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Co-founder, chairman and lead game designer, ION Storm (last year
No. 40)
NET WORTH $10 million (est.)
AGE 30
E-MAIL info@ionstorm.com
BIO Say "Dallas" to most people, and they will
think of J.R. Ewing sipping cocktails at the Cattleman's Club.
Romero also works high atop a Dallas skyscraper--but his job
employs the sort of plot twists and violence that old J.R. never
dreamed of. One of the originators of the "first-person shooter"
style of video game, Romero's wildly successful creations,
including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake, revolutionized the
industry by allowing players to look upon the 3-D carnage around
them as if through their own eyes. A programmer for more than
half his life, he left the scene of his past success, id
Software, to form ION Storm two years ago.
1998 POWER PLAY ION's
December release, Daikatana, has the video-gaming world waiting
in the sort of anticipation they usually reserve for new
Metallica CDs. In it, your hero, Hiro Miyamoto, uses a magic
samurai sword to travel through time while vanquishing his
enemies. Expect every kid worth his carpel tunnel syndrome to be
clamoring for it come Christmas.
PLACE YOUR BETS Never bet
against Romero in a drag race. His 1991 Ferrari Testarossa is
outfitted with a nitrous tank for an extra burst of speed.
Otherwise, an investment in Eidos--the distributor of many of
ION's games--is looking good. Analysts rate it a strong buy.
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