MTV, Bruckheimer to Make Video Games

Associated Press/AP Online

NEW YORK - With a long list of credits for blockbuster movies and hit TV shows under his belt, Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer is branching into video games.

Bruckheimer, whose movies and TV shows include the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy and the "C.S.I" franchise, will set up a gaming lab with MTV Games, the company announced Wednesday.

"It's pretty exciting what's going on in that arena," Bruckheimer said.

The joint project is part of a $500 million push by Viacom Inc. unit MTV Networks into interactive entertainment over the next two years.

MTV did not disclose financial terms of the agreement.

"He's been able to kind of reinvent genres. We're hoping he'll do the same in the video game space," said Bob Picunko, MTV's vice president of electronic games and interactive products.

Bruckheimer didn't say what kind of games he would create, but he said he expected them to mirror his work in film and television, where his hallmark is action-packed drama featuring explosions and car chases.

Bruckheimer said some of his movies have been made into video games, and he is producing a film based on the "Prince of Persia" video games.

As part of MTV's video initiative, the network recently released "Rock Band," a music-focused game developed by Harmonix, which MTV acquired in 2006.

Other Hollywood heavyweights including Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and the Wachowski brothers have deals to develop video games.

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