In one of the truest signs that gaming has finally hit the big time, MTV Networks has announced (via Reuters) that it plans to invest an incredible half-billion dollars in the video game industry over the next couple years. According to the report, the two-year investment "is part of a global strategy to incorporate games development at the inception of all new programming plans and not as an afterthought."

MTV Networks President of Global Digital Media Mika Salmi, who joined MTV after parent company Viacom bought Atom Entertainment last year for $200 million, said that "games are critical."

"As we take our brands narrow and deep to serve our targeted, niche audiences, we're putting well over $500 million behind building our games business across all of the brands in our portfolio," explained MTV chairman and chief executive Judy McGrath. "I'd like to see more game applications on some of our current big brands across the music group," McGrath said, apparently referring to the potential for creating games based on the networks' range of shows.

Of course, MTV's biggest splash in the gaming arena will be felt this fall when their Rock Band game goes axe-to-axe with Activision's Guitar Hero III. As Reuters points out, Rock Band "is now viewed as its most ambitious bet to influence digital entertainment as MTV's cable TV channel transformed the music industry in the 1980s." Moreover, MTVN is investigating how they could link Rock Band to its traditional cable networks and Web properties. At the same time, however, Salmi cautioned that MTV has to be careful not to alienate gamers.

"It's hard to tell where it's going to go," Salmi said. "It's in the consumers' hands to take it to the next level."

MTV has really been sinking its teeth into the video game industry in recent years, and this whopping $500 million investment is further proof of just how serious they will take the business. In the past two years or so, Viacom/MTV has purchased Guitar Hero creator Harmonix, Xfire, GameTrailers, the aforementioned Atom (which includes Shockwave.com), and most recently MTV Networks' Nickelodeon announced that it's investing $100 million to position itself as a top provider of casual games.

Throwing $500 million at the games industry is certainly somewhat risky, but MTV's track record over the last two years has certainly shown that they know more than most media companies when it comes to gaming. "Media companies are crazy trying to bring video-game development in house," commented Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. "They act like anyone can do this. The fact is not everyone can."