Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 20, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
As the New York Times reports, completely new and independent games are to be produced in a joint development studio. Bruckheimer, known for series such as C.S.I. and the blockbusters Beverly Hills Cop and Pirates of the Caribbean, intends to draw on his experience from the TV and film business in game development. A team of experienced developers, artists and authors will assist him. MTV Games http://www.mtv.com/games, the music broadcaster’s video-game publisher, had until now released only games connected with music or its own TV shows. That is now to change in the course of the cooperation with Bruckheimer.
MTV Games and the development studio under Bruckheimer’s leadership will work together in all development phases. The partnership extends from developing the concepts through completion, including production, distribution and marketing. Van Toffler, President of MTV Networks Music & Logo Group, compared the cooperation with Bruckheimer’s exclusive contracts in the film business, for example with Disney or Warner. In future, MTV might also produce films or TV series based on successful computer games. Bruckheimer, for his part, said he was fascinated by the possibilities of video games. He is currently working on a film adaptation of the Prince of Persia video-game series, whose filming is scheduled to begin in summer 2008.
In August, MTV announced that it intended to invest more than 500 million dollars in its interactive-entertainment division over the next two years. A few weeks ago, the company then launched the long-awaited game Rock Band, produced together with developer Harmonix. MTV had already entered into a cooperation with the games manufacturer last year. “MTV’s reach and the possibilities of advertising products on air could make the company a considerable force in the games business,” analyst Michael Pachter believes. MTV is still a start-up in the video-game business, but the company has both the necessary determination and the necessary resources.