The Rockstar Games duo have built on the success of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption with massive hit LA Noire
Job: co-founders, Rockstar Games
Age: 39, 37
Industry: games
Staff: 885 (worldwide)
2010 ranking: 28
When Sam and Dan Houser made their MediaGuardian 100 debut last year, we said they brought "movie sensibilities and big budgets" to a previously niche medium.
Now with LA Noire, the brothers' Rockstar Games has had the biggest and most influential video game release of the year. Seven years in development and made with Sydney-based games studio Team Bondi, the interactive cinematic experience boasted a cast of more than 400 actors and, thanks to the quality of its graphics, the entirely new gaming concept of face acting.
Rockstar raised the bar with its Grand Theft Auto series and Red Dead Redemption, defining a new era of sprawling open-world adventures. With LA Noire, inspired by Raymond Chandler and LA Confidential, it has done it again. The title was the first game to be honoured as an official selection at the Tribeca film festival. It even spawned its own book of short stories – that never happened to Jet Set Willy.
London-born but based in New York, the co-founders of Rockstar Games (they had wanted to be in a band, hence the name) were the first global superstars of gaming. Unlike real rock stars, though, they tend to shy away from the media spotlight.
Critics said the success of games like LA Noire showed mainstream Hollywood was underestimating its audience. Gaming revenues already dwarf box office receipts in both the UK and US. But how far will convergence between the two industries go?
"There will be increasing talent convergence as games continue to become a more interesting creative medium that requires a greater number and variety of Hollywood talent," said Dan Houser. "We try very hard to avoid the debate as to whether games are art, as it tends to attract people with too much time on their hands."
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/24/sam-and-dan-houser-mediaguardian-100-2011
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