The next time your game-addicted significant other yells “I’m not playing CounterStrike, I’m conducting important business deals!” from the depths of the basement, there might be good reason to believe the BS.
Jane Pinckard writing for 1upweb.com has a great essay this week on how multi-player online games may be the newest breeding ground for high-profile wheeling and dealing.
Here’s an excerpt from the article, titled Is World of Warcraft the New Golf?
“Overheard, at brunch: two tech entrepreneur types discussing World of Warcraft. What server are you on? What guild? Oh yeah, me too, I heard it’s a good way to schmooze. Is that true? Has logging in to the world’s most popular massively multiplayer online game replaced a few rounds on the links as the way to make the right business connections in a tech-driven culture?”
Interesting. On one hand you could say that the more informal and intimate nature of communication that happens during online gaming (chat rooms, instant messages, etc.) could foster stronger comaraderie than a more buttoned-up game like golf. Then again, you could also say that nothing replaces face-to-face interaction, where the ‘real-life’ game of golf has the advantage.
One group of suits has a strong belief in the power of online gaming, and that’s Morgan Stanley. The firm recently released a glowing report on the future of online gaming. Read more here.
