I recently read Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade. The most interesting aspect of the book is how video games are shaping childrens' ideas about life and taking risks. Got Game also discusses how such characteristics will determine the way in which the Video Game generation will be managed when they reach the workforce. Among the interesting assertions discussed in this book include the following:
- The gamer generation, at 90 million people, is larger than the baby boom. Some of these gamers spend enormous amounts of time playing video games. For example, Sony's EverQuest has 650,000 registered players who stay online an average of 22 hours a week.
- Gaming is rapidly becoming a worldwide phenomenon. A single Korean game claims 3.2 million paying subscribers, and the Chinese game market has already surpassed 14 million users despite hurdles of cost, censorship, and technology.
- The following are interesting aspects of the lessons that video games teach children: a) Each player is the center of attention; b) Each player is the boss - the player can choose things about the reality or switch to different experiences; c) Each game is designed for the customer's satisfaction and entertainment - the opponents are tough but not too tough. d) Each player can become very good at playing the games relatively quickly; and, e) Players can easily be led to believe that they are tough - they can experience all sorts of crashes, suffering and death and it doesn't hurt.
- Research has revealed that playing video games improved visual memory in children as young as four years of age.
- Gamers believe that they can always have another go at an objective. They believe they can always either hit the reset button and play again or turn off the machine and pick up normal life where they left off. For gamers, failure is part of the process that leads to success. One reason for gamers' forgiving attitude towards failure is that video gamers usually do not face live competitors; if you lose in most sports, you lose to someone or even to an entire team before large audiences. Video games let you move through those awkward stages, losing only to a digital opponent.
- Many women play video games to forge bonds with their partners.
- Gamers want to become experts in what they have a passion for doing, which is of great benefit to their employers. Gamers believe that winning matters. Gamers typically have high levels of confidence. People experienced with playing video games are passionate about adding value. Gamers expect high rewards for the value they create. Individuals who have the most extensive experience with computer and video games are the same people most likely to choose pay-for-performance.
- Professionals from the video game generation have spent hundreds or thousands of their socialization hours in clearly defined, goal directed tasks. And they chose that kind of environment voluntarily, often in the face of significant parental disapproval. While many people criticize the goals pursued when playing video games, the fact that goals are pursued is favorable to young people simply spending their time "hanging out".
- Many video gamers are migrating from arcade-style games to strategy-oriented games which conveys very positive cognitive elements to young players.
- Playing video games extensively teaches detachment. While the callousness that often results is problematic, some degree of the detachment that results is necessary for leadership.
These are some of the issues that will be discussed at our Profiting in the Video Game Economy Conference which will take place in NYC on February 16, 2006. More information about this conference is available from Naomi Barazani at 212-952-7400 ext. 126 or naomi@twst.com.
Comments