Black History in Video Games: Jacqueline S. Beauchamp

I'll admit before writing this segment I never heard of Jacqueline S. Beauchamp or her company Nerjyzed Entertainment, Inc. (pronounced energized) or even their first console release game BCFx -- The Doug Williams Edition but through researching this topic, I grew fascinated by her extensive journey.

Jacqueline's story began as a child growing up in the projects of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When she was nine years old her favorite TV show was Bill Cosby's cartoon Fat Albert & the Cosby kids. She was mesmerized and connected by what she saw; characters who looked like her. Even at an early age, positive representation was very important to Beauchamp. This was a vital point in her life because the Cosby creation became a significant influence and planted the seed of entrepreneurship. According to a CNN interview, the show was her inspiration to say, "One day I want to own a company that knows how to do that". 

Jacqueline Beauchamp during a CNN interview

Jacqueline attended Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College majoring in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science and Mathematics. Soon after graduating, IBM hired her as an engineering technologist where she devoted a decade toward areas of product design, development, and advanced technology. Interestingly enough, at IBM, she holds a US patent for a "Density Memory Module". Eventually she transitioned into a business-oriented role working for Motorola, first starting as a semiconductor then finally a General Manager. Most notably she was the first African-American to attain the GM position overseeing the Multimedia Systems Division. Under her management the department responsible for developing silicon used on DVDs, higher quality audio devices, and organizing digital set-boxes and porting video games. With a storied career spanning almost twenty years, she knew her childhood dream was ready to come to fruition. The seeds planted as a child were ready to blossom. She left her lucrative executive career to follow her entrepreneur spirit.

Company logo, SB: I'm not a fan of typing the name,

Enter Nerjyzed; founded in 2004 by Jacqueline and her co-founders Brian Foster, Michael Turner, Scotty Scott and Fred Johnson - all whom were alumnus of various HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Jacqueline decided to relocate the business from Texas to Baton Rouge where her company benefited from a digital media tax incentive. As the Chairwoman and CEO of the privately held Nerjyzed Entertainment (NE), Jacqueline's vision for the company was to display positive images of African-Americans and black culture though their projects. Unhappy with the stereotypes portrayed through the medium and she wanted others to see a different perspective. Jacqueline hired mainly local Baton Rouge talent, ushering a culturally-diverse workforce. All this possible because Jacqueline and the co-founders raised between eight to fourteen million dollars through various investors and seed money to hire programmers and video game developers. Now the most imperative step was to create a video game.

BCFx was primarily a college football video game...

but also placed emphasis on the halftime "drumline" show segments.

The first game NE worked on was Black College Football: The Xperience (better known as BCFx). Paying close attention to market trends and consumer profiles, Jacqueline and her team found sports games were among the highest selling genre - more specifically football. The rise of rhythm games also caught their attention. Compelled by their findings, the decision was to meld both genres and provide audiences a new experience. Adhering to Jacqueline's mission they determined a college football game highlighting HBCU teams would be the perfect fit. They would be able to highlight the culture and feel of playing in a HBCU football game while enabling players to participate in marching band sequences, a prevalent aspect to the HBCU football experience.

The initial 2007 release on home computers 

The next couple of years was spent building the game using the Unreal 3.0 Engine and BCFx was released on PC in 2007 but their goal was to hit home consoles via the Xbox 360. After being certified gold by Microsoft (the first black-owned studio to do so), NE added small updates readying the game for its console debut. During this process Jacqueline ran into former HBCU Hall of Famer and NFL Superbowl champion Doug Williams and showcased the work her team completed and impressed by what he saw, he licensed his name to the console project. After five years of multiple delays and a budget of nine million dollars, the Xbox 360 version of BCFx--The Doug Williams Edition was finally released on home consoles on September 29th 2009. The title was available at brick and mortar stores like Walmart and Gamestop. To promote the game Nerjyzed Entertainment visited multiple HBCUs to generate buzz and Jacqueline did multiple interviews and press, highlighting her achievement of being the first black woman to own and run a video game studio.

BCFx--The Doug Williams Edition

Despite all the promotional tours, press and support from HBCU football fans, the game under performed selling less than 100,000 copies (158,000 copies globally as of today). Complicating matters,  BCFx-- The Doug Williams Edition was a critical bomb. While many were happy to see a long-awaited focus on HBCU football teams, the consensus of game reviewers cited poor gameplay and extreme lack of polish. The poor retail performance of BCFx began to overwhelm the small studio. Investors began publicly spoke about a lack of return on their investments, NE employees had their paychecks bounce and lost their health insurance sans notice. Employees complained to news sources about the staggering workload. There appeared to be plans to release three other games but with the financial hardships the studio faced it had no choice but shutter its door. Nerjyzed Entertainment was no more. Did the dream wither?

Jacqueline Beauchamp (m.) between retired NFL and College Hall of Fame players Doug Williams (l.) and James Harris (r.)

Jacqueline did more than dream; she invested time and action into growing her vision. She turned a childhood goal into reality. Make no mistake folks, the video game business is a very profitable one but it's very cutthroat (although I do hope all parties were compensated). One under performing game can be the downfall of a long-running studio regardless of the quality. The console generation that Jacqueline and her team embarked on saw yearly closures of multiple high-profile studios. Video games studios live and die by the sales of their products.

I didn't choose Jacqueline to highlight the closure of Nerjyzed Entertainment, I chose her because even through the hardships, she did it. She did it. Owning and founding a business in an industry where opportunity comes far and few in between for women, moreso for those of color, she tore down walls. Much like the positive representation she desired as a child, she worked tirelessly to become an accomplished woman. She's broken barriers since her days of being the first black GM at Motorola, being voted 2009 Influential Business woman of the year and she was recognized with the Technical Innovator Award in 2011. Jacqueline is a trialblazing black woman who deserve more credit than she's currently given. It may be a small step but it's the foundation future generations will appreciate when they learn about Jacqueline S. Beauchamp.