Fun Inc.: Why Games are the 21st Century's Most Serious Business

Fun Inc.: Why Games are the 21st Century's Most Serious Business

by TomChatfield (Author)

Synopsis

People make many assumptions about video games; only teenage boys play them, they increase anti-social behaviour and they tend to be violent. Fun Inc. dispels these misconceptions, revealing that 40 per cent of all video game players are women, that most of the bestselling console games of all time involve no real-world violence at all, and how World of Warcraft's online community of over 12 million players is changing our understanding of what it means to be sociable in the modern world. But understanding games means a lot more than simply challenging stereotypes. Find out why the South Korean government will invest $200 billion into its video games industry over the next 4 years and how games are used to train the US Military, to model global pandemics and to campaign against human rights abuses in Africa. Game worlds are creating a new science of mass engagement that is starting to transform our understanding of economics, business and communications. Whether you like video games or loathe them, Fun Inc. will show you that you cannot ignore them.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Publisher: Virgin Books
Published: 14 Jan 2010

ISBN 10: 0753519852
ISBN 13: 9780753519851
Book Overview: Serial to be placed in a national newspaper Author written piece: Guardian op-ed pages/ Guardian Unlimited Broadcast interviews: BBC Radio 4 Today programme, BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine, BBC Newsnight, Channel 4 News Digital campaign targeting key influential bloggers Author will promote at targeted events

Author Bio
Tom Chatfield completed his doctorate at St John's College, Oxford, before moving to London to work as a full-time writer and editor. He is currently the arts and books editor at Prospect magazine and has also written for the Times Literary Supplement, the New Statesman and the Observer. Tom has also done puzzle design and creative consultancy work for a number of online games and media companies, including Mind Candy, Grex, Red Glasses and Intervox, and has spoken on gaming at international conferences including Picnic in Amsterdam.