NYU-MVGRP now officially exists!

This is the email that went out to various departments at NYU today.

Dear students and colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to announce a new Steinhardt Music Business Program initiative, the NYU Music Video Games Research Project (NYU-MVGRP). This letter is an invitation to be a part of this exciting endeavor, and its evolution. The NYU-MVGRP has been set up to explore the convergence of musical businesses and cultures with those of video games and other interactive technologies, including iPhone apps, handheld media devices, Flash advergames, and whatever lies just around the corner that we can only detect hints of today.

ACTIVITIES:
Recently the NYU Games Center, which is housed in Tisch and is designed to link the many departments and scholars interested in the study of video games, opened its doors. The NYU-MVGRP, in conjunction with the Games Center and the Clive Davis Dept of Recorded Music, will host a regular Open Gaming Session event open to the whole university beginning Wednesday March 11 (see details below). It is hoped that students from various departments and disciplines will find common ground at these sessions, and begin to develop cooperative projects of their own. Other activities planned for NYU-MVGRP participants include talks from guest speakers, group discussions about news in the music and games industries, and outreach to professionals and companies working in the city.

The NYU-MVGRP has at its disposal all the major gaming consoles (Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 3 and PS2) and handhelds (Sony PSPs, Nintendo DS-Lites, Apple iTouch), and a growing library of games software. Examples include rhythm action games (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Elite Beat Agents, Patapon), music generation games (Rez, Auditorium, Bloom), and games with action-integrated soundtracks (Little Big Planet, Afro Samurai), licensed soundtracks (Grand Theft Auto, NFL/NBA games, Bioshock), and original soundtracks (God of War, Prince of Persia, Halo).


FIND US ONLINE:
The NYU-MVGRP has a blog at http://nyumusicgames.blogspot.com/
and is on Twitter at http://twitter.com/samhowardspink/
It also has an as yet unpopulated Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=819889#/group.php?gid=55191437390&ref=mf/

I look forward to collaborating -- and playing the games, of course -- with as many of you as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Sam Howard-Spink
Clinical Assistant Professor
NYU Music Business Program