The Player

Like rock stars and film stars, today's hot games designers are getting their own agents, writes JOE GRIFFIN

The TV show Entouragefollows young movie star Vinnie Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his posse as his career swoops precariously from terrifying lows to dizzying highs. The real star of the show, though, is not Vinnie but Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), his ruthless but fiercely loyal agent.

Alhough it's a scary idea, the games industry is becoming a hothouse for such people. Gaming agents can help developers and publishers in finding the right talent, structuring deals across media and even in bringing in third-party financiers.

Founded in 2006, Digital Development Management now represents some 700 developers and has offices in six cities across the US and Europe. Company president Joe Minton recently told the New York Timesthat the perception from gamers is changing: "I think there's been a sea-change from sceptical to 'Ahhh . . . this is what an agency does'."

Given the staggering numbers generated by big games, it's surprising this hasn't happened before. Have a look at first-day numbers for three representative properties:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsgenerated $220 million worldwide - easily the biggest-selling first day for any book; Spiderman 3had the biggest opening day for any film (at time of writing) at an impressive $60 million; but leaving those in the dust is Grand Theft Auto IV, which made half a billion dollars in its first day.

Another factor in the blossoming of the agent/ game developer relationship is the diversification of talent. Actor Elijah Wood is currently in talks with Quantic Dream to appear in one of its games; game writers such as Susan O'Connor ( BioShock, Gears of War) are having their work adapted into major movies; and film-makers, including Steven Spielberg, are increasingly gravitating towards game development.

In addition, many studios, including Disney and Warner Bros, have embraced the industry to the extent that they've acquired gaming companies.

While the image of a typical hoodie-wearing games designer couldn't be more different from a sharp- suited agent, their skills can complement one another.

The William Morris Agency entered the gaming sphere in 1992, and the first Tony Hawk game was one of its earliest successes. The deal that gave birth to the game was the brainchild of Activision and William Morris's New York office. While the subject of the game, skateboarder Hawk, earned little upfront, he did collect generous royalties from the iconic franchise.

In an interview with Yahoo Games, William Morris employee Cody Alexander said: "We bring business savvy and connections to the media industry. We're more focused on mapping traditional Hollywood talent with the game space."

Film agents didn't really become prominent until the 1930s, so the rise of gaming agents about three decades after the first commercial game seems to be right on schedule.

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