What's in a Name: Toys for Bob
Toys for Bob's Paul Reiche III, co-creator of the Star Control series and Pandemonium, lets us in on the thinking behind his studio's name.
Whenever you're putting together a studio, right, it's like name, t-shirt, and then let's do the contract. So Fred [Ford] and I had formed a partnership to do Star Control 1. And we had all of these different names laid out, including this Bosco the Bee mascot that didn't work out. And finally my wife -- she's a poet, very interested in psychology -- she said create a name that generates interest, that doesn't distance yourself from people, and that you can reinvent.
I love toys, I always have, and she knows that and Fred knows that. And so it was just a perfect fit. Bob is also a universal name -- everyone knows a Bob, I used to listen to the Bill Cosby and he was always talking about Bob the mechanic. And part of my brain is just permanently Bob.
We have an official rule, which is that everyone gets their own Bob, whoever you want. "Toys for Bob Kotick" is a fairly good analogy for us, since he's paid for everything we've done. But I'm a sort of a Church of the SubGenius guy myself.
Toys for Bob is currently working on Activision's Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, due out later on this year.
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