A report last Thursday announced a blockbuster collaboration. No, sadly Jay-Z will not be working with John Tesh — but we can always dream. The Associated Press broke the news that acclaimed director Steven Spielberg would be working exclusively along with Electronics Arts (EA) to craft three brand new video games.

An unprecedented deal, this is the first time a filmmaker on Spielberg's level has dedicated himself to working with video games. The company has said that Spielberg "understands how our medium works and wants to push it in different directions, putting innovations in a game that no one has ever seen before."

What does this all mean for the previously clear line between video games and movies? Can Spielberg create magic on a format quite different from his usual bread-and-butter? Will gamers be subjected to another "E.T." video game? Read on to find out.

Ryan:

Video games and movies have long been held in different regard by society. While we at Nerd Alert have long said that the line is blurring between the two mediums, this announcement still came as quite a shock to us. Why would Steven Spielberg decide to work in a realm typically brushed off by so many in the entertainment industry? For starters, EA probably paid him a wee ton of money. After securing exclusive licenses to the NFL, ESPN and FIFA, the software giant has recently taken to working toward buying the rights to famous films like "The Godfather," "Lord of the Rings" and "From Russia with Love." Realistically, hiring an acclaimed director like Spielberg to simply craft new masterpieces directly for the gaming genre was just the next logical step.

In a press release issued by the software giant, they quote Spielberg as saying, "I have been playing EA games for years and have watched them master the interactive format. … I'm looking forward to working closely with the team in Los Angeles."

Masters of the interactive format, huh? Interesting.

While many games have touted directors "working" with them on titles, it typically added up to little more than them stopping for a couple of days during the development process and giving input or helping brainstorm ideas. EA's deal with Spielberg does the opposite, actually giving Spielberg an office within EA and having him work side-by-side with a development team to create brand new games. People hoping for "Saving Private Ryan" or "War of the Worlds" titles may be saddened that the director won't be recreating any of his successful films for consoles, but plenty of developers have that under control — and after the bomb that hit the Atari so long ago, maybe gamers were never meant to play a game starring "E.T."

Sundeep:

With Spielberg joining the finest at EA, perhaps we won't have to worry about games like "Mario Party" and "Marble Madness" anymore. Rather, the medium that was once looked down on for lacking any true substance and only "hurting" scores of youth, is finally making the jump to the big leagues. No longer is a video game just a video game, it's art too. The video game-to-art trend has been a continual expansion since video games have begun to pick up richer story lines, large orchestral and popular music pieces, as well as higher-end graphics. With games like "Halo," whose storyline is easily eclipsed by its graphics and orchestral score, the jump is even being made in the opposite direction: with video games going to the silver screen. It's not certain what kind of impact this new format will have on art in general, but what can be expected is a newer interest in the video game industry and more appeal amongst fans who would not have otherwise been interested. These days the video games aren't just for your run-of-the-mill nerds.

Ryan:

Most interesting of all in this matter is the fact that this move effectively breaks down the wall between the two mediums — or at least knocks a large hole in it. Spielberg is certainly not the first director to express interest in video games. Most are aware of George Lucas' in-house software developer LucasArts, who has turned out such greats as "Star Wars: Rogue Squadron" and the recent success "Mercenaries." As we discussed last week, director Peter Jackson will be "overseeing" the new "Halo" movie. Jackson's involvement doesn't stop there, as he's been working extensively with Ubisoft, who are producing a game based on his remake of the classic "King Kong."

Recent years have seen an unparalleled level of collaboration between film and game houses, as seen in titles like "Enter the Matrix" and "Spider-Man 2." Basically, successful movie franchises are more often translating into successful video game franchises. Whereas a typical movie turned into a video game failed miserably — "Batman Returns" and every "Shrek" game every made come to mind — things are beginning to change now.

With Spielberg actually working directly with EA, the stigma often tied to video games could be eliminated. If Scorsese and Eastwood see Spielberg giving serious attention to the gaming world, I see no way they can still shrug it off as a niche market. Plus, they will likely notice what has to be a huge chunk of change Spielberg is getting for his work.

It's certainly unclear whether or not the games will be any good, but Spielberg's collaboration certainly could be a sign of video games finally getting the recognition they deserve as an entertainment medium.

Sundeep:

I'm not going to lie, video games made by movie directors just makes more sense than video games made by video game directors. A video game story line that follows the creative quirks only a movie director can bring to the table will redefine how games are played. It's about time. The video game genre has been getting better over the years, but there have certainly been some mistakes. I point directly at "Def Jam Vendetta." Sheesh.

Of course, I do worry that maybe the video game industry might become too serious, and too artsy. Sometimes, a mindless, storyline-less video game can be ten times more fun than any well-thought out one. I point directly at Tetris. Yes.

We must also recognize that some game genres are simply not conducive to movie directors, especially those without any real storyline. Many strategy games for example, have little to do with the storyline, and more to do with the actual game play. Blizzard's most recent strategy release, "Warcraft III," has some of the worst voice-over and story sequences I have ever seen, but it really doesn't matter because the game play, both multiplayer and campaign, is more than enough fun for any one person. That said, "Warcraft" also has some of the best CGI sequences I have ever seen.

Ryan ([email protected]) and Sundeep ([email protected]) are hopelessly addicted to video games. Sundeep began playing "Warcraft III" again. He is terribly fond of Night Elves and Orcs. Ryan has been playing "Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks" yet again, and can't stop laughing every time he impales an enemy on the multitude of spikes found in the game.