A 2005 video game industry demographics survey by the International Game Developers Association found that only 2% of game developers across all disciplines are black. Contrast that with the national demographics of the countries that participated in the survey (Australia, Canada, United States, and United Kingdom) who have a combined 9% black population (aggregated from each country's population and demographics data on Wikipedia).

Nielsen Entertainment also did a study on the demographics of video game players in 2005 and found that African Americans are spending more money to purchase games and more time to play them compared to your average gamer.

So why the disparity when it comes to developers in the industry?

This week MTV's Multiplayer blog has a lengthy and fascinating look into the world of black professionals working in the video game industry. The five-part series interviewed several black game industry professionals to get their first-hand experiences and opinions on the state of race in the industry.

Some highlights from the series are after the jump.

Full blog series at MTV's Multiplayer

[ Read the rest ... ]