This is cool and I totally agree with Prince on this one. There is an incredible amount of money being made in the video game industry, and all of the big money making video games involve some form of combat and the use of guns in various types of environments throughout the world. Not only that, but they are drawing from historical battles or modern war fighting for ideas. So with that said, it makes total sense for him to enter such a market.
Here are some statistics that support what I am talking about. As of June of 2011, the gaming industry global revenue forecast was about 65 billion dollars. There were 10 million Kinect motion sensors sold, and 55 million Xbox’s sold. The top game was a first person shooter called Call of Duty, like the interview mentioned. With those numbers, it is no wonder that Prince would want to get into this market.
Anyway, this is a cool little interview below. I have not played the Kinect Blackwater game since I’ve been busy with a free bingo games download recently on my phone so I have nothing to add on the game itself. I would be interested in any gamer feedback on this thing though? –Matt
Blackwater founder Erik Prince enters video game business
By John Gaudiosi
September 12, 2011
More and more, today’s video game business is driven by huge military shooters like Activision’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” and Electronic Arts’ “Battlefield 3.”
Now, Erik Prince, the founder of a controversial, real-world military group, is stepping into the virtual war zone with a new first-person shooter, “Blackwater.”
Designed exclusively for Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360, “Blackwater” was developed by Zombie Studios and overseen by Prince, a former Navy SEAL.
The shooter is set in a fictional North African town overrun by warlords and opposing militia forces. Players enter the fray as team members of Blackwater, the mercenaries-for-hire company that Prince founded in 1997.
Featuring licensed real-world weapons, the game can be played with a traditional controller. But it has been crafted to take advantage of Kinect’s motion controls. Gamers will be able to aim, crouch, and interact with the on-screen action using only body gestures and moves to take out enemies through a series of action-packed missions.
The game has already courted controversy, since Blackwater employees were linked to the deaths of numerous noncombatants and civilians in the Middle East while employed by the U.S. government.
Critics have complained about the game because Blackwater employees take on missions for money, while U.S. soldiers, the focal point of games like “Modern Warfare 3” and “Battlefield 3,” fight for their country.
Following inquiries by Congress into Blackwater actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, including a shootout that led to the deaths of 17 Iraqis, Prince changed the company’s name to Xe and, in 2009, resigned as CEO. He sold the company last year.