What does purpleguy mean?

A question I'm starting to hear quite often is, "What the heck does purpleguy mean?" So, here's the story, in a nutshell.

It all dates back to a time when the SNES was king of the home video gaming market, and we would get together with some friends and play a certain very popular multi-player racing game. As in many games of the period, the programmers had built in what we refered to as the "fun inhibitor chip." In essence, at a certain point in the game, one of the computer opponents would suddenly become unbeatable. The only way to stop this from happening was to destroy that computer opponent - the purple car - before it got too fast. So, many of our racing sessions would be punctuated with excited shouts of, "take THAT, purple guy!"

And, gradually, the phrase "purple guy" became a way of referring to someone or something which had achieved a level of unbeatable perfection.

Now, obviously, we aren't arrogant enough to think that we've achieved any such level of unbeatable perfection. Don't get me wrong - we're good. But, we're not perfect.

There are several reasons that we chose this name for our company. First, it's a reminder to us that in everything we do and in everything we develop, we should strive to achieve this pinnacle of computerized perfection.

Second, it's a reminder that this business is a constant struggle, and there is always someone out there better than yourself. Sometimes, no matter how awesome you are, the "fun inhibitor chip" kicks in and you have no chance of winning. But, in the end, it's not about winning - it's about having fun playing the game.

The key is to keep moving, and to keep an eye on the purple guy.