I so called this last month. In a column titled "Is MTV's Gaming Effort a Sign of the Apocalypse?" that I wrote following MTV Network's acquisition of casual and online gaming company Atom Entertainment, I hypothesized that MTV would soon be a bona fide gaming company that would develop and publish its own full-length games. Well, the day arrived sooner that I thought. MTV last week acquired Harmonix, the developer behind the acclaimed title Guitar Hero, for $175 million.

Here's what the head honchos at MTV had to say:
"The acquisition of Harmonix will deepen MTV's connection to its audience via
on-line, mobile and console music gaming, and expand the relationship with both
labels and artists through the creation of games based on classic songs as well
as future album releases," said MTV president Christina Norman in a press
statement. "Harmonix's technology allows everyone to pursue their rock and roll
fantasies, even people like me, with more musical ambition than actual talent."

"The acquisition of Harmonix advances MTV Networks' strategy of connecting with
target audiences by creating immersive, multi-platform environments that extend
to every device they use," said Judy McGrath, chairman and CEO of MTV Networks,
in a press statement.

Is MTV ready to be a big time game company? Well, it certainly needs a new
avenue because the network doesn't show videos anymore (as I pointed out in the
above column) and its reality TV programming is - how do I put this gently? -
complete and utter dog poo. In the column last month I wondered if a company
like MTV, which was producing crap content in one medium (TV) could branch out
and produce excellent content in another medium (gaming). I'm not sure if we'll
have the answer to this one for a while, but it will be interesting to watch
considering that MTV Networks is going with a convergence strategy.

MTV now has Atom (which boasts AddictingGames.com and Shockwave.com gaming
sites) as well as Xfire, the popular online gaming communication application,
which has more than 5 million registered users. With the addition of Harmonix,
which has Guitar Hero 2 coming out this November, MTV will have a formidable
gaming presence on which to build. But how in the world can MTV match up its
gaming strategy with its TV shows like "My Super Sweet 16" and "Pimp My Ride"?

For more on Guitar Hero, check out David Konow's story on href="http://www.twitchguru.com/2006/03/01/guitar_hero/">TwitchGuru.