In a recent article in Venture Beat, Dean Takahashi writes about the expanding number of colleges offering programs in video game design. He writes,
It’s a sign of how important video games have become as part of the economy and culture of the United States. The spread of gaming reflects shifting demographics as young people embrace games and ditch the media of their parents, who watched a lot more TV and read newspapers and magazines.
We couldn’t agree more. We also believe that a solid foundation in business, marketing, entrepreneurship, and consumer psychology are important components. Many times, it is only when developers become successful that they return to college to take business courses or complete an MBA. We hope that more colleges will incorporate business education into the video game design curriculum, so that new graduates will be equipped with the tools they need to make better product development choices.
The integration of business education and game design must first overcome barriers of distrust that exist between the two disciplines. The reasons behind this distrust are simple. Game developers don’t want “suits” dictating how they practice their art. They want to create games according to their vision without having limitations imposed on them from business executives and marketing analysts. In the October issue of Game Informer, editor-in-chief Andy McNamara proudly tells his readers that his magazine shuns the opinions of business and marketing professionals.
The bottom line is the Game Informer team carefully chooses the games that grace our cover each and every month. No outside source, marketing department, or voice from above influences that decision – just the opinions of our dedicated staff of gamers.
On the other side, business executives can at times feel frustrated by the lack of business understanding in R&D departments. The key is to bridge the gap between gamers, game design and marketing by ensuring that both sides have an understanding of both disciplines.
At the close of his article, Takahashi questions whether the economy can support all the new graduates of game design programs,
The question is whether or not there are enough jobs to support all of the students getting out of those schools, particularly in a recession that is hurting sales and forcing the closure of a number of game studios.
An integrated business and development curriculum can help programs distinguish themselves from competitors by giving their graduates a competitive advantage in a limited job market. Prospective students should assess programs to ensure that they offer the breadth needed. Traditional colleges that offer a wide variety of degree programs may be the best option because of the availability of business and marketing courses to compliment the game design curriculum.
The reality, as our book shows, is that product design cannot be separated from business and marketing strategy. The sooner developers gain the business skills needed to be competitive in the current video game market, the better off they will be.
Prof. 
Very interesting point. I work with a computer camp for kids and we have recently integrated a type of marketing section for our kids. They build their video game and have to create a flyer or the cover art for their game. We are trying to get them to think about who would want their game and what would attract their eye. University programs which include business courses would be good for us to tell our parents to keep their eye out for when looking at colleges.