While the company he founded (Enlight Software) may passWP:GNG, this person doesn't seem to passWP:N. The coverage from reliable secondary sources is either interviews (primary sources/coverage is about the games/Enlight and not about the person) or press releases. There is no in-depth discussion/SIGCOV about this person's life.OceanHok (talk)17:33, 17 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Enlight Software is well known in the business simulation game community. I believe that you are not a business simulation fan, so it is understandable why you don’t think Enlight Software is notable
Correct me if I am wrong -- I believe Wikipedia requires articles to demonstrate notability within their specific fields, rather than general notability to the broader public. Wikipedia's notability guidelines (WP:NOTE) emphasize that subjects must be notable within their own field or context (in this case, business simulation game community), not necessarily to the general public at large. This is a core principle to allow coverage of specialized topics, from niche software developers to cultural institutions, as long as there's significant reliable, independent secondary coverage.
For example, does the following article look notable to you?
If all articles that are not notable to the general public should be deleted, then I believe a significant portion of articles in Wikipedia should be deleted.Fact2Hound (talk)21:07, 17 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
SeeWP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS. It is quite probable that a large portion of Wikipedia articles are non-notable if we stopped all editing today and only went through assessing the notability of articles, but there isn't going to be some sort of mass deletion as that would easily throw the baby out with the bathwater. Anyway, this discussion is not about the studio, butWP:FAME is not a viable argument either.ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ (ᴛ)01:13, 18 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I was responding to your saying that "I also do not think Enlight Software is notable either", which should be classified as WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS also.
Don't you think that it is strange that with so many old biography articles needing to be deleted, the on-going AfD list includes none of the old ones:
I wasn't aware of this until I just checked out the list. For Wikipedia's transparency, I think at least this deserves some observations.Fact2Hound (talk)15:37, 19 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
KEEP - Wikipedia's general notability guideline (GNG) and specific notability criteria for people (WP:BIO) do not explicitly require in-depth discussion or significant coverage (SIGCOV) specifically about a person's life to warrant a standalone article. Instead, notability for individuals is established through significant coverage in multiple reliable, independent secondary sources that address the person directly and in detail (beyond trivial mentions), which can focus on their achievements, contributions, works, or roles in events rather than a comprehensive biographical overview. For creative professionals like video game designers, this could include coverage of their role in creating or co-creating significant works that have themselves received independent reviews from notable sources or critical attention.
The article includes references to the following reviews of Chan's games from GameSpot and IGN:
@OceanHok According to your standard, many persons in thehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_designers list have the same issue. I believe fewer than half of the persons in the list have in-depth discussion/SIGCOV about their person's lives or are very famous. Should we delete all of their wikipages that do not pass this highly demanding threshold? If you think so, I will go ahead and create "articles for deletion" for them and see how the community reacts to the deletion proposals, so that we don't hold a double standard.
The links you provided are SIGCOV for his games and NOT for himself. We need RS about the person, not RS about the studios/games. While it is true that some of the other articles probably won't survive AfD, mass nominating them for deletion is aWP:POINTY behaviour.OceanHok (talk)03:31, 18 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
What you said is not true. The links I originally added are not only about his games but also include this one about himself:
Comment sources are mainly interviews, user has no edits(or minimum) outside of this article , Sections of the article (mainly "Capitalism series") looks AI generated. Not !voting only because i had reverted user's edit to redirect (which i felt was perfectly fine) assuming good faith and hadthis encounter with the user in his talk page and left decisions to experienced editors . please ping me if i am eligible to vote .Khagendra (talk)03:55, 18 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
FYI: Per Wikipedia's policy, the concensus is actually not affected by the numbers of positive and negative votes .
If the depth of coverage in any given source is not substantial, then multiple independent sources may be combined to demonstrate notability; trivial coverage of a subject by secondary sources is not usually sufficient to establish notability.
Sources
Yoon, Suh-kyung (2002-09-26). "Gaming -- Game Boy: A Hong Kong game developer proves that learning is half the fun".Far Eastern Economic Review. Vol. 165, no. 38. p. 40.Factivafeer000020020919dy9q0000r.ProQuest2869126904.The article notes: "Trevor Chan spends most of his days flipping through recipe books and finding out how much fresh produce like artichokes and steak would cost in Paris. He also has a map of properties in Paris and calculates their rental fees. But 29-year-old Chan knows nothing about cooking and has no plans to open a restaurant -- at least not a real one. He's a game developer and he's working on his latest creation, a simulation game called Restaurant Empire. ... In another game, Virtual U, which Chan developed with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York, gamers must manage a university. But none of these games come close to the success of Chan's first creation, Capitalism, which he designed when he was just 19. The business-simulation game has sold more than 150,000 copies around the world. Building on its success, Chan launched a sequel, Capitalism II, earlier this year. "He's the most successful game developer in Greater China," says Gino Yu, head of the Multi-Media Innovation Centre at Hong Kong's Polytechnic University. "Almost every other computer game made in the region is a "me too" game that was modelled after something made before in the U.S. or Japan. Trevor's games are unique. He's one of the few Asian developers who can get their games distributed in the U.S. and Europe." One reason Chan succeeded in the global games business is that simulation games are easier and cheaper to create than shoot-em-up, graphics-heavy strategy games. ... Ironically, Chan never went to university and doesn't know how to do many of the things his games teach others to do. The unlikely entrepreneur learned how to build a business when he was developing Capitalism. ... Today, as founder of a profitable company with a staff of 27, that research has paid off."
Davis, Chris (2004-05-04)."Writing your own rules in the business of computer games".South China Morning Post.Factivascmp000020030505dz540005w.ProQuest265647330. Retrieved2025-10-18.The article notes: "By combining his love for computer games and business, Trevor Chan Ming-yuk created his own entrepreneurial vision as founder and chief executive officer of Enlight Software Limited. ... It wasn't long before he had created a game based on building a business empire. In 1995, he launched "Capitalist", a simulated stock market game that allows players to experience running their own multi-billion dollar business. Leading US publisher Interactive Magic distributed Capitalist, which has been hailed as one of the best economic games. Harvard and Stanford University incorporated the award-winning game into their business management courses shortly after its release. ... It took more than three years to develop and launch Capitalist, during which time he was working seven days a week as a consultant providing computer-generated business solutions to trading companies. He spent his evenings and weekends writing computer code and reading business manuals. The phenomenal success of Capitalist spurred the creation of other business games, such as Virtual U, which simulates operating a university, Seven Kingdoms, Capitalist ll, Hotel Great and the latest offering, Restaurant Empire."
Saltzman, Marc, ed. (2000).Game Design: Secrets of the Sages. Indianapolis:Macmillan Publishing. pp. 395–396.ISBN1-56686-987-0. Retrieved2025-10-18 – viaInternet Archive.The book notes: "Trevor Chan founded Enlight Software in 1993. Under his leadership, the company has received numerous accolades from the industry and become one of the world's leading developers of strategy and simulation games. ... Trevor's first game,Capitalism, published by Interactive Magic in 1995, has won industry awards and been widely regarded as the best business-simulation game ever created. "Capitalism is the most realistic, detailed business sim on the market today, and one of the best economic games of all time," saysPC Gamer. ... Trevor then went on to produceCapitalism Plus, the eagerly anticipated follow-up to the original. Together with the original, over 150,000 copies of the Capitalism series have been sold worldwide. ... Trevor Chan is now directing his teams at Enlight to produceCapitalism II andVirtual U.Capitalism II will take the award-winning business-simulation game to the next level with breathtaking graphics and increased realism."
Krich, John (2004-05-20)."Virtual Feasts: Restaurant Computer Game Turns Chefs Into Action Heroes".The Wall Street Journal.ProQuest315568313. Archived fromthe original on 2021-01-23. Retrieved2025-10-18.The article notes: "The game, developed by Hong Kong programming whiz-kid Trevor Chan, comes in the wake of "The Sims," a massively popular series of games that allow players to create characters, make decisions for them and control their environments -- from casinos to cruise ships and nightclubs. ... Mr. Chan may be right when he claims his creation "shows the emotional attachment needed to succeed at a restaurant." Surprisingly, however, he wasn't moved to invent Restaurant Empire by a love of gourmet dining, but because "a lot of simulation games can measure management results or tell a story, but this game does both." Mr. Chan founded game-development company Enlight Inc. in 1993, when he was 20. His first release was the 1995 "Capitalism," a management game that became a cult favorite at Harvard and Stanford business schools. In 2002 came "Hotel Giant," a hospitality-industry mock-up. Restaurant Empire, released last year, has sold 150,000 copies."
Feldman, Curt (2000-04-28)."Trevor Chan: On the Record".GameSpot. Archived fromthe original on 2025-10-18. Retrieved2025-10-18.The article notes: "Trevor Chan, the game designer behind Intaractive Magic's Seven Kingdoms, doesn't make it to Atlanta very often. Chan is based in Hong Kong, In fact, as GameSpot News pursued Chan in the weeks preceding E3, all efforts to connect failed - and failed again. Actually, IMagic staffers started to worry a little that Chan had decided to leave the business of computer game development behind. Our worries were quickly routed when Chan walked into the E3News booth on the show floor and introduced himself. He was, to be expected, quickly engulfed by a small sea of curious GameSpot reporters and editors. ... Seven Kingdoms' sequel, Seven Kingdoms II, is currently in development at Chan's Hong Kong-based design company Enlight Software."
"Seven Kingdoms 2".GameStar (in German). October 1999. p. 138. Retrieved2025-10-18 – viaInternet Archive.The article notes: "Trevor Chan, Spieleent-wickler aus Hongkong, verfügt über ein ganz besonderes Talent: Er tüftelt gern komplexe Spiel-ideen aus, die er dann in armselige Grafik verpackt und mit einer umständlichen Steuerung versieht. Damit hat er es schon zweimal geschafft, sehr interessante Spiele zu Kultobjekten für ein Häuflein Hardcore-Profis zu machen. Besonders schade war es um Seven Kingdoms, einen originellen Mix aus Echtzeit-Strategie und Civiliza-tion-Elementen. Der Nachfolger präsentiert sich mit hübscher Grafik und entrümpelter Steuerung. Damit ist es auch für Normalspieler interessant, in das stimmungsvolle Szenario abzutauchen und als König eines Menschen- oder Mon-sterreiches die Weltherrschaft an sich zu reißen."From Google Translate: "Trevor Chan, a game developer from Hong Kong, has a very special talent: He enjoys devising complex game ideas, which he then packages with poor graphics and cumbersome controls. This has enabled him to twice turn very interesting games into cult classics for a handful of hardcore pros. It was a particular shame with Seven Kingdoms, an original mix of real-time strategy and Civilization elements. The sequel presents itself with attractive graphics and streamlined controls. This makes it interesting for even casual gamers to immerse themselves in the atmospheric setting and seize world domination as the king of a human or monster kingdom."
Less significant coverage:
Huang, Shih-yuan 黃士原 (2003-08-13). "奇蹟餐廳 挑戰經營 玩家上麻布 76折買遊戲" [Miracle Restaurant: Management Challenge. Players Go on Linen to Get the Game at 24% Off].Star News [zh] (in Chinese). p. 18.The article notes: "製作「金錢帝國」經典策略遊戲系的華裔設計師Trevor Chan，繼「模擬飯店」後再創結合模擬經營與角色扮演的遊戲「奇蹟餐廳」，遊戲最大特色將著眼在經營模擬的細度及廣度，並忠實呈現出建造與營運一家餐廳可能面臨的所有挑戰，這款遊戲預計在16日上市。"From Google Translate: "Trevor Chan, the Chinese-American designer behind the classic strategy game "Money Empire," has created "Miracle Restaurant," a follow-up to "Restaurant Simulator," a game that combines business simulation and role-playing. The game's defining feature is its focus on the intricacies and breadth of business simulation, faithfully capturing all the challenges of building and operating a restaurant. The game is expected to release on the 16th."
Huang, Shih-yuan 黃士原 (2004-05-21). "聖女傳 戰鬥感逼真 玩家扮貞德 講求殺得好" [Legend of the Saint: Intense Combat Experience. Play as Joan of Arc and Master the Art of Killing].United Daily News (in Chinese). p. B1.The article notes: "繼「金錢帝國」、「模擬飯店」、「奇蹟餐廳」等遊戲後，光譜資訊將再為玩家代理由名製作人Trevor Chan領導ENLIGHTSOFTWARE所製作的「萬夫莫敵－聖女傳」，遊戲結合了角色扮演、即時戰略，以及第3人稱動作冒險等遊戲元素，遊戲預計在5月底推出。"From Google Translate: "Following games like "Empire of Money," "Hotel Simulator," and "Miracle Restaurant," Spectrum Information will represent players with "Invincible - The Legend of the Saints," developed by renowned producer Trevor Chan and ENLIGHTSOFTWARE. The game combines role-playing, real-time strategy, and third-person action-adventure elements and is expected to launch at the end of May."
Thank you for your comment, ᴢxᴄᴠʙɴᴍ. I appreciate the heads-up on policy, but I believe there may be a misunderstanding here. To clarify:
1) I am not a WP:SPA, as I've made contributions to a variety of articles across Wikipedia unrelated to this topic. My editing history is available on my user page for review.
2) I also have no direct link to the subject of this AfD. My interest stems from general knowledge of the topic and a desire to contribute to Wikipedia.Fact2Hound (talk)13:15, 25 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the note, Whpq, and for bringing this to my attention. I was completely unaware of such a canvassing guideline. There are so many rules in Wikipedia that are not common by real-world standards. I actually found it very weird that sending a friendly message to you notifying about the 2nd AfD would violate the rule, as I didn't persuade you to vote to keep or delete. Having said that a rule is a rule, I'll make sure to review WP:CANVASS and apply it carefully going forward.
I certainly didn't intend to violate it or sway the discussion in any direction. That said, would it be possible to modify or replace the message I posted on your talk page to bring it into line with Wikipedia's standards? I'd be happy to do so if that would help resolve this.Fact2Hound (talk)13:12, 25 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Comment: What would be the nominator's preferred AFD outcome?Enlight Software is an obvious merge target, but I am not sure if it isn't better to merge Enlight into Trevor Chan? This article is better sourced at least.IgelRM (talk)18:26, 23 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
