Former Gaikai boss is now CEO of Instagram influencer marketing firm

Hey! Remember David Perry? He was one of the founders of Shiny Entertainment, the folks behind Earthworm Jim and later games like MDK. Previously, he did programming on 16-bit greats like Disney’s Aladdin and Lion King games.

In more recent times, Perry is known for heading up Gaikai, the improbably streaming service that promised to let gamers play games by streaming them over the internet instead of running them locally. In 2012, Sony bought then OnLive competitor Gaikai for a sweet $380M. That became the technology base for PlayStation Now, which works as promised if you happen to live within spitting distance of its data servers. He’s now left Sony…to head up a company that deals with influencer marketing.

Former Gaikai boss David Perry is now the CEO a new start-up called GoVyrl, with the aim of connecting Instagram influencers with businesses. It’s not dissimilar to the likes of local group Webfluential.

Says Perry on LinkedIn

“I personally believe authentic influencer marketing has a much brighter future than all the friction and annoyance we used to accept from old-school TV, magazine and even online banner advertising.”

According to the company, “VYRL allows Instagram influencers to connect and collaborate while discovering opportunities to promote brands and companies.” Participants are required to have 5000 followers at a minimum, with the company saying that its network of influencers has a combined reach 561,418,291 sets of eyeballs.

I have no real problem with influencer marketing when it’s done right, and the right people are matched up with the right brands. There has to be some sort of authenticity to it, which I feel is often lacking in the space. I also feel that many consumers are growing increasingly weary of famous, semi-famous and not-even-a-little-bit famous people telling them what to like.

Last Updated: July 6, 2017