Oh No, Simon Cowell Wants In On Gaming

Prepare to see American Idol’s Simon Cowell talking about venturing into video games without actually discussing anything of substance. In an interview with GQ (via MCV), Cowell said he’s teaming with entrepreneur Philip Green to launch an entertainment empire, part of which will include video games. But when he actually starts talking about the vision, things run off the rails pretty quickly. “[U.K. talent search show] X-Factor should have been the initial vehicle to have Activision come to us and say: ‘You’ve got all the [consumer] traffic. Can you help launch Guitar Hero?’” The interviewer then reminded Cowell that neither X-Factor nor American Idol feature guitars, to which he replied, “I’d put guitars on my show to get Guitar Hero.” Simon Cowell’s Guitar Hero? Glad it didn’t pan out that way.

Cowell found one receptive publisher in Sony chief executive Howard Stringer, who met with Green in London, and then sent his board over for more talks. “I said [to them]: ‘Look at what we can do together. You’ve got massive manufacturing capability. You’ve got retail business. You’ve got PlayStation. You’re one of the biggest TV suppliers in the world. He [Cowell] is one of the most watched men on TV! … Suddenly, people started to say: ‘You’re right.’” Seems like step one is Simon Cowell, step two is “?” and step three is “Profit!” [MCV via 1UP]