Jonathan Thompson
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| Jonathan Thompson | |
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| Born | November 2, 1976  Salford, England |
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| Occupation | Television presenter, entrepreneur |
Jonathan Thompson, born in Salford, Greater Manchester, November 1976 is a British television presenter, actor and entrepreneur. He is an avid collector of classic arcade games and is a popular figure in the retro gaming community.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Thompson was educated at St James' Primary School, Rusholme and Trinity C of E High School, Manchester, before attending Manchester Grammar School. He went on to study at both the University of Salford where he gained a HND in Design & Media Communications in 1997, and the University of Central Lancashire from which he graduated with BA (Hons) Television and Radio in 1999.[2]
[edit] Media career
Thompson started his broadcasting career at the age of 18 when he presented on SKY’s Nickelodeon channel. In addition he presented on hospital radio based in the Manchester Royal Infirmary where he presented various evening and weekend shows. BBC GMR where he presented a program called “The People” He also had a role in ITV’s popular drama ”Cutting It” in 2005.[3]
Thompson has scaled down his media activity, but he still operates on a freelance basis when time allows and has conducted interviews with some science fiction actors, including Dave Prowse and Elisabeth Sladen.[4]
He has also done reporting work for Southport Reporter, and Channel M.
[edit] Retro gaming
Thompson’s obsession with video games started at an early age when he was first encountered a ”TRON” machine, this fascination with arcades led frequent trips to Blackpool and it was on one of these trips that he purchased his first Star Wars machine. This sparked the collecting bug, and he had amassed a small collection whilst still in his early teens. He was able to take advantage of the lack of interest in old hardware in the early 1990’s and managed to make several block purchases of machines for bargain prices, using the then fledgling Ebay to search for machines.[5] The retro gaming revival and subsequent rise in interest in classic machines enabled him to build a successful business, to such an extent that he was a millionaire before he was out of his teenage years.[6]
He now runs several companies, including JS Classics which deals in original machines, Sci Fi Machines which offers machines for hire and he also founded the Voyager[7] arcade company which makes new cabinets for classic games. His company was also commissioned to produce commemorative cabinets to celebrate the release of ”Taito Legends” in 2005. He is a familiar face on the retro gaming circuit and a regular guest speaker at exhibitions, along with more established figures such as Archer Maclean.
[edit] Star Wars
Thompson’s love of Star Wars led him to collect as many of the machines as possible, and the 1997 cinema re-release of the trilogy led to a stroke of good fortune. Several machines were sited at a local cinema which led to an unexpected demand for his machines. Thompson currently possesses the largest collection of Star Wars arcade machines in Europe, they have been exhibited all over the country and will feature prominently at Star Wars Celebration Europe commemorating the movie’s 30th anniversary.
[edit] Voyager Crusade
He recently launched[8] the "Voyager Crusade",[9] a competition to find young up-and-coming game designers with the emphasis on playability, rather than the modern gaming trend of style over substance.[10]
[edit] External links
- Jonathan_Thompson's official website
- Lancashire Evening Post 2007
- Jonathan Thompson at the Internet Movie Database
- Jonathan’s Myspace profile
- Sci Fi Machines
- Liverpool Reporter Radio, reporting on the Southport Weekender 2006
- The Sunderland Echo 06 March 2006
- Star Wars Celebration Europe Official Site
- Level 22 Management
- Voyager Crusade official site
- Lancashire Evening Telegraph (Oct. 1999)
[edit] References
- ^ Classic Gaming Expo UK: what happened?. redkey reddoor. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ http://www.jonathan-thompson.co.uk/jt-biography.shtml Jonathan Thompson's online mini biography
- ^ "Cutting It" Episode #4.5 (2005). IMDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ An Exclusive Video Interview With Elisabeth Sladen. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ Barrett, Tony. We can't go a day without ebay. Liverpool Echo. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ "Nice little learner!", Lancashire Evening Telegraph. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
- ^ Games development press releases by Develop - www.developmag.com
- ^ Press Invite! Fancy some drinks next Friday afternoon? // GamesIndustry.biz
- ^ Retro Gamer, Page 6, April 2007. Also see http://www.jt-voyagercrusade.com
- ^ Crookes, David. Retro Games Competition Launches. Retrieved on 2007-06-02.
