by Adam Rosenberg
We've known for some time that MTV and Jerry Bruckheimer have been ambling down the road together towards a video games-related partnership. MTV has seen a world of success with their "Rock Band" rhythm game/platform and mega-producer Bruckheimer... well... he's good at making explosions look awesome. It's a natural pairing then; MTV gets to expand their games lineup while Bruck inserts himself into a fast-growing entertainment industry with a well-established partner to back him.
Late last night, Variety reported that there's finally been some serious movement with regards to this partnership. The newly-minted Jerry Bruckheimer Games Studio will be run by the powerhouse gaming tag team of Jim Veevaert and Jay Cohen. The Variety piece also reveals that Cohen and Veevaert will handle development and production, respectively. Read more...
It's time to throw out the old playbook, says THQ president and CEO Brian Ferrell, because the the industry's traditional hardware cycles no longer exist.
Ferrell's comments stem from a presentation at today's Pacific Crest 10th Anniversary Technology Leadership Forum.
"We used to always think of this industry as 'the cycle.'" said Ferrell. "I think the reality now is there are several sub-cycles."
THQ's leader sees at least three separate sub-cycles: 1) the handheld market, 2) what Nintendo's done with Wii and 3) the continued competition between Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. There's even an emerging sub-cycle in the online world, he said.
"It's hard now to talk about 'the cycle' -- I think we have to talk about all of the cycles," he said. "The way we think about it at THQ is we plan our business around each of those platforms, not around 'the cycle.'"
The success of the Wii and DS combined with the expensive nature of Microsoft and Sony's consoles certainly support Ferrell's theory. The industry no longer shifts all at once. As part of the purchasing public, is this as a positive trend?
Ever wanted to work in the video games industry, but didn't know if you could handle it? Imagine if "playing games" could really pay your bills.
In a study released by Game Developer Magazine the average salaries across more than 4,800 professionals in the games industry for 2007 was $73,600, up $284 dollars from the year before. Business and marketing make the most at an average of $101,848, followed by programmers at $83,383 and production at $78,716.
Hit the jump for additional tidbits regarding education, gender, and experience.
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