August 29th, 2008
Via The Economist, an interesting analysis of why video gaming can be good for business. In fact, the article notes, the smartest firms will not only allow game-playing in the workplace, but will actively encourage it.
“…To CEOs who throw a tantrum every time they catch someone playing solitaire on an office PC, or who consider video games to be the exclusive preserve of pasty-faced teens, that may sound like daft advice. It may also smack of bias coming from Mr Edery, who happens to be in charge of game planning for Xbox’s Live Arcade online-gaming system. (Mr Mollick is an academic at MIT’s Sloan School of Management). But there are good reasons to think that he’s right.
Much (electronic) ink has already been spilt about boosting sales through online promotional games. These “advergames†have become a staple of viral marketing campaigns for firms such as Burger King and Intel. Intel’s “Silicon Commanderâ€, for instance, lets users manoeuvre a fleet of robots through a host of IT-related dangers. Players advance more easily by upgrading their fleet to “Pro†models—which happens to be the name of a processing technology developed by Intel.
Admittedly, game-based marketing has had its downs as well as ups. Many marketing efforts in virtual worlds such as Second Life have flopped. But to judge the potential value of gaming to business solely on the basis of its ability to promote products is to miss the bigger picture. According to Messrs Edery and Mollick, by making work more fun and by allowing firms to tap into wisdom beyond their walls, game playing can dramatically improve both productivity and bottom lines.
To see why, consider one of the things it takes to become an ace at, say, World of Warcraft, a hugely popular online fantasy game inhabited by griffins, trolls and other mythical creatures. To make progress inside the game, players must engage in “grindingâ€â€”gamer-speak for performing a repetitive task, such as slaying a monster, many times over.
What makes people, both young and old, want to sit for hours in front of a screen, clicking away on their consoles? The answer, say the authors, is status and friendly competition. Games that track players’ progress against their previous achievements, or against those of others, can make grinding seem like—well—less of a grind.
Staging in-house competitions to boost productivity is hardly novel. But gaming technology can make competition more enjoyable. Take Microsoft’s own experience. Before it releases a new version of its Windows operating system, it asks staff to help debug the software by installing and running the system. In the past, project managers had to spend a great deal of time and effort persuading busy Microsoftees to help them with this boring task. So for Windows Vista, the system’s latest incarnation, Microsoft created a game that awarded points for bug-testing and prizes such as wristbands for achieving certain goals. Participation quadrupled.
Gaming also promotes community building. Popular games can attract hundreds of thousands of user-group members, who swap notes and develop their own modifications (or “modsâ€). In many cases, such as The Sims—the most popular computer game of all time (in terms of copies sold), which allows players to control a household full of people with very human attributes—these mods have deepened customers’ attachment to the product.
The authors argue that firms in other industries should look to video-gaming companies for inspiration when it comes to managing their own communities. They point out that good gaming firms must learn the language and rules of different customer groups, appointing staff to engage with them. They also offer prizes that encourage creativity, as well as tools and support that make it easier for users to come up with mods, while discouraging unwanted innovation. The resulting software can help predict what future products might succeed.
…Such hiccups aside, the evolution of gaming technology has definitely given companies the ability to create virtual sandboxes that can provide a competitive edge. So executives who still insist on all work and no game play won’t just be running dull workplaces; they will also be running less profitable ones too.”
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