Michael Knox (software businessman)
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2012) |
Michael Anthony Knox (February 1, 1961 – September 15, 2009) was an American software businessman and expert. Knox was a co-founder of Park Place Productions with Troy Lyndon in 1989, which produced such classic video games as John Madden Football and Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing.[1]
Knox first became interested in the software gaming industry while he was living in Tracy, California, with his family. A woman, who lived in the area, introduced Knox to the fledgling video game industry.[1] Knox and his older brother, Richard Knox Jr., later enlisted in the United States Navy, where he worked as an engineer and computer programmer.[1]
In 1989, Knox founded Park Place Productions with Troy Lyndon. At the time, Park Place Productions was one of the largest independent software development companies in North America.[1] With Knox as a producer, the company developed approximately 70 video game titles, including John Madden Football, which has been called "the most successful sports game of all time." [1] Other notable productions included Batman Returns, Monday Night Football and Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing.[1]
Knox and Lyndon received the Inc. Magazine's "Entrepreneur of the Year" award by Ernst & Young and Merrill Lynch for the software industry category for the Greater San Diego Country region in 1993.[1]
Michael Knox died on September 15, 2009, of colon cancer in Kaneohe, Hawaii, at the age of 48.[1] He is survived by his parents, Vickie Lenore Knox and Richard James Knox Sr., son Aaron Michael Knox, daughter Tyra Renee Knox, sisters Kanani L.Y. Fung and Kahle Miller, and two grandchildren.[1]