As VP of Marketing and Distribution at id Software, he directly managed the launch of the Quake series, as well as many products in the DOOM series. Next, he co-founded and served as CEO for ION Storm where he managed the creation and launch of one of the most high-profile game company brands in game industry history and negotiated one of the most lucrative game publishing contracts ever.

Following ION Storm, he co-founded and served as CEO for Gathering of Developers (GodGames) where, in the span of only two years, he helped create one of the most highly regarded worldwide brands before selling the company to New York-based publisher Take Two Interactive in May of 2000.

In the fall of 2001, Mike tested the waters of a new form of DVD entertainment in his next venture as publisher and co-founder of SubstanceTV. But 2003 found him back in the game fold at Take Two.

Mike has been featured in such leading publications as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Daily News, Wired, and Texas Monthly.

MW: That sparkle in my eye was probably some glitter from the party in San Francisco the night before, Mel. Or else I had just gotten a pay stub from Take Two. One or the other. Those are the 2 things that brought me back, other than missing some industry friends. I missed having good "business" reasons to travel to NYC, London, San Francisco, LA, and other fun places, and then I also had no idea what an "executive consultant" type can make working part time in this industry now that it’s huge. Who knew? So I guess, in a nutshell, you could say I did it all for the nookie, Melanie. As far as what I’ve been doing, well, surprisingly little. I rejoined Take Two at a time when they were doing a major executive and label restructuring, and by the time we sort of had our act together as the new "Gathering" and started doing some deals, it was time for another restructuring. So, in essence I’ve had a lot of business lunches and dinners and not done a lot of deals. I have worked a lot on my film project to keep me busy, which you can check out at www.goneoffdeep.com. I anxiously await the new marching orders from TTWO (or new walking papers...whichever) so that I can do some of what I was hired to do, or go back to the beach I was heading for when they called me. <grin>

MW: Well, when I started digging around to see what had changed since I left, my initial reaction was a wide yawn. Nothing had changed. All the big games people were anticipating were either sequels to the same crap that was big in 2000 and 2001, or they were the same exact big games that still hadn’t (and in some cases still haven’t a year later) come out yet. So I guess the complete lack of any new developments is what struck me. That and the fact that much of the good we had done for the artists’ side of the industry with G.O.D. had been just as quickly undone by the big boys. Even the top independent developers that are still out there seem to still be getting shoved around like barefoot hookers.

MW: Well, the leaders are still young, I suppose, compared to other industries but most of them are about 7 years older than when I said that in 97. And I haven’t heard much this year about new 25 year old heavyweights, so I’m afraid we are, or have, fallen into a tired, formulaic cycle that easily rivals Hollywood or Top 40 radio. Sad, really. But until some new blood with enough money behind them to matter surfaces, we’re pretty much doomed.

MW: Well, other than The Sims, we still seem to be pretty stuck in comic book/sci fi fan boy land with content. It seems that the masses are happy to play free Internet games, or at best to pay for the $20 versions of those games. The games that the "casual gamer" buys seem to have nothing to do with quality really, and so it’s hard for the big studios to be compelled to bend over backwards to create something of quality for them. I was mistaken when I thought the Deer Hunter and Barbie crowd could be converted into "real gamers", or so it seems. So, again, until someone (my guess is some female developers or God forbid a female led publisher) demonstrates otherwise, we’ll continue to wallow in the same "Lord of the Rings" audience. Which at least means we don’t have to do "Reality Games" anytime soon.

MW: Seems like it’s going to be really hard to make money at it, and, therefore, really hard to get any great games done. Much like Flash games, the audience is huge, but the content isn’t likely to be good enough to have people pay for it.

MW: Well, back at id, when we were about to put out that first taste of Quake, called "Q test", I was anticipating a little fallout since the 3 level test included a nice wall sculpture of Jesus Christ, which occasionally spurted a little blood if you hit it right with a rocket launcher. Since id Software was perched right on the buckle of the bible belt in Mesquite, Texas, and since many parents were already under the impression that id were a bunch of Satan worshippers who were leading their children down the path of darkness with DOOM (I’m still not sure they weren’t right), I figured we might have a decent turnout of protesters. I figured we’d do at least as well as some of the abortion clinics in Texas. So I had the idea of printing up some clever picket signs and actually selling them to the bible beaters I was sure were going to be standing on the Ferraris in the parking lot. Luckily, I had them designed but held off on the print job. As it turns out, no one gave a crap about shooting Jesus. The only complaints we got were about the fact that you could shoot the Rottweilers and they would yelp and die. No problem with shooting the JC image or the human soldiers, but don’t jack with dogs. This is one of the main reasons the business plan I was working on at the time was called "GOD" and not "DOG." Had it gone differently, you might have seen me 5 years later prancing around the "Barking Lot" with a giant Milkbone on my back instead of the Promised Lot with a cross.

MW: Well, judging by the rest of the entertainment industries, and consumer marketing in general, it seems that boobs will be king for some time to come. Try as we might, man just can’t seem to come up with anything more interesting that a nice pair of full perkies to associate our wares with. It could be worse. What if men’s hairy asses were used to sell everything? How bad would THAT be?

MW: It really boils down to one key realization for me. I had no idea until I joined the games industry and met some of the power players, particularly those running large public companies, that much of this world is run by complete clowns. The guys running GT Interactive in 1995, who were kings of the world due to their accidental association with id Software and DOOM, and who had completed the largest IPO of the year in any industry, were guys I wouldn’t trust to run a lemonade stand. I mean you wouldn’t believe it until you met them. And once I realized that this was the rule and not the exception, I realized that I, too, could be an overpaid clown and never really have to work a day in my life as long as I figured out the system and worked in a little white trash southern charm for flavor.

MW: I mostly play Vice City now. I love to "Kill the Haitians." Genius.

MW: Lucky Dog is a player, and mostly feasts on healthy things that keep him in prime condition for spreading his lovin’ ways all throughout our sleepy little neighborhood. When he does cheat on his diet, he always wants me to take him to Benihana where he can catch a flying shrimp in his pocket before feasting on Surf and Turf and hot Sake.