Video game company launched in Vegas

Jennifer Shubinski

Thursday, May 15, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

Former programmers for Westwood Studios said Wednesday they've formed a new video game development company, Petroglyph, and based the startup in Las Vegas.

The new company was announced at the E3 Expo, an electronic entertainment convention in Los Angeles.

Video game giant Electronic Arts closed Westwood Studios, its Las Vegas division, earlier this year and consolidated all video game operations at its Redwood City, Calif. headquarters.

Westwood Studios programmers and creators Michael Legg, Steve Tall, and Joe Bostic decided to stay in Las Vegas and open their own video game design company.

"We thought about relocating to Los Angeles, but we decided to stay behind," said Legg, who worked for Westwood Studios for 17 years.

"Petroglyph is a great combination of talent and creative energy," said Bostic, who has been programming computer games since 1989. "... The future is bright and we have the vision."

Legg said the state's tax structure, Las Vegas' entertainment offerings and affordable housing in Southern Nevada are all positives that will help attract new talent.

The announcement is good news for Las Vegas, which for years has often lost out to cities in Arizona, California and Utah when it comes to attracting technology businesses. Companies have cited a lack of talent and highly skilled workers as reasons to not locate, or stay, in Southern Nevada.

Legg, Tall and Bostic are well known in the gaming world for creating and producing such games as the Command & Conquer series; Dune 2: The Building of a Dynasty and The Legend of Kyrandia series.

The Command & Conquer series has sold more than 21 million units worldwide, Legg said.

Petroglyph programmers and creators plan to design Real-Time Strategy games, which can be played over the Internet or head-to-head on some gaming systems. Real-Time Strategy games are most often strategy games that allow players to control all aspects of the game.

The group plans to make games that can be played on the next generation of game platforms, such as Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation and the Nintendo GameCube.

"We are currently interviewing publishers for our next game," Legg said. "We are strategizing and setting up our office and our core technology."

Legg said depending on which publishing company it signs for Petroglyph's first game, it hopes to hire employees. But he said that ideally, the founders will limit employment to about 30 people.

"We want a team of quality over quantity," he said.