Two items from the New York Times caught my eye.
This past weekend, Blizzard's 2007 Worldwide Invitational "Starcraft" tournament was held in Seoul, with thousands of fans cramming into the Olympic Gymnastics Arena. Seth Schiesel writes about this event and the gaming craze that grips South Korea in today's "To the Glee of South Korean Fans, a Game's Sequel is Announced." E-sports (what South Koreans call competitive gaming), he notes, has not just millions of fans, but millions of participants. Just imagine the enthusiasm in the arena yesterday when Blizzard announced its sequel to Starcraft.
"Why Work Is Looking More Like a Video Game" doesn't offer any new information to us in the field, but gives a nice glimpse into how a number of companies are using games to their advantage. Author Michael Fitzgerald points out, by the examples he uses, the power and importance of social networking to a serious game's success. It's the collaboration that results from the networking that facilitates learning transference back to the job.
So we have e-sports mania in South Korea contrasted with just a dawning awareness among the world's business leaders of the power of games for learning, for innovation, for team-building, for on-boarding... The good news is that with attention from the likes of the New York Times, serious games are getting a serious look by more and more decision-makers.
I'm serious,
Anne
