Game company returns to play

J.W. "Wild Bill" Stealey is rebooting video game company iEntertainment Network ... again.

The Triangle company has been in quiet mode during the past two years while some would-be buyers worked to raise sufficient financing to acquire and expand the business, but they haven't managed to do so, Stealey said.

"You know what, I've waited long enough," said Stealey, iEntertainment's CEO and founder.

On Thursday, the company announced its first game aimed for retail stores in five years. "Dogfights," a World War II game, puts players at the controls of planes engaged in aerial duels. The $29.95 game will be available in January.

Stealey, 62, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, isn't anticipating blockbuster sales.

"We're a small company," he said. "Fifty thousand units would be a huge number for us."

But he has higher hopes for future games based on a series of best-selling novels. Stealey said iEntertainment has secured the rights to those books, but he's not naming authors just yet.

Stealey, who is seeking an infusion of capital for iEntertainment, is a colorful entrepreneur who first made a name for himself when he co-founded MicroProse Software, a Baltimore game company, in 1982. Its military simulation games attracted a devoted following, and the business peaked with 400 workers and $46 million in annual revenue before it ran into financial trouble. The company's marketing campaign prominently featured Stealey wearing a flight suit.

Stealey moved to the Triangle and founded what today is iEntertainment in 1995. He left in 1999 but returned as CEO and chairman in 2001 as the business faced bankruptcy.

In recent years, iEntertainment has relied on revenue from a military contract and subscriptions for its several online games, most notably the multiplayer aerial combat game "WarBirds."

"I fly it every night," Stealey said. "I like to kill 10 customers a night."

The company has a mix of 10 full-time and part-time workers who have been working out of their homes.

Stealey isn't divulging the company's revenue, but he did say: "They all get paychecks. I don't, but they do."

Although iEntertainment's shares are publicly traded, the company is classified as a "non-reporting" company that doesn't have to disclose the information required of larger companies.

It's the epitome of a penny stock. Its shares last traded at 1 cent.