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Video Games & the Workplace

As the generation that grew up with video games enters and assumes leadership positions in the work place, computer and video games are being increasingly used to conduct business. A growing number of major companies, from automobile manufacturers to beverage producers, employ video games to find and train employees and increase sales among their younger tech savvy customers. With the video game industry booming and its products gaining broader acceptance, the use of games in the work place is certain to expand in the years ahead.

Recruiting

In recent years, organizations across all sectors have discovered that computer and video games are effective tools for raising awareness and generating excitement among young job candidates and current employees.

In 2007, The MITRE Corporation developed Job of Honor, an interactive 3D video game designed to create awareness of the company and its job opportunities. Prospective employees can download the game to get a better understanding of the company's campus, how the interview process works, and view examples of company projects. The game was featured prominently at the 2007 ERE Expo, a series of recruiting and workforce management conferences, where it was the subject of the "Recruiting by Video Game" session.

The Government Communications Headquarters, the surveillance arm of British intelligence, embedded job ads within games such as Ubisoft Entertainment's Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent to attract young recruits. The Australian Defence Force has also created Advanced Urban Ops, a game that follows Australian soldiers patrolling an abandoned village, to increase its recruitment. A spokesman for the Defence Force, which maintains six similar games on its network of Web sites, said that approximately 16 percent of people who enlist do so from their sites' games section.

Companies also use video games to appeal to potential job candidates and boost the morale of current employees. Offices are abandoning ordinary break rooms and creating game zones where employees can relax and relieve stress. PopCap Games, a Seattle-based video game developing company, takes potential employees on a tour of their game room during interviews to give them a sense of the company and its culture. However, it's not just companies in the video game industry that see advantages of an in-house game room. Host Hotels & Resorts based in Bethesda, Md., offers employees a game room complete with a big-screen TV and a video game console along with pool and foosball tables. The company's game room was highlighted in Washingtonian magazine's "Great Places to Work" article in 2007.

Training

Because the costs can be less and the learning experiences more engaging, video game training offers public and private sector organizations a better way to train employees. According to a study by the Entertainment Software Association, 70 percent of major employers utilize interactive software and games to train employees. Additionally, more than 75 percent of businesses and non-profits already offering video game-based training plan to expand their usage in the next three to five years.

Canon U.S.A., for example, uses a video game to train new copier technicians. To play, technicians must drag and drop parts into the right spot on a virtual copier. IBM developed Innov8, an interactive, three-dimensional educational game to teach graduate students a combination of business and IT skills. Meanwhile, railroad giant Union Pacific designed a video game to train employees to safely maneuver cars and locomotives in its rail yards and is now using it in 45 locations across the country.

In 2008, the Hilton Garden Inn introduced the first interactive training game for the hospitality industry. Ultimate Team Play, created by Virtual Heroes, places employees in a virtual hotel interfacing with customers and fielding typical guest requests. Players' responses are then evaluated and rated based on Hilton's Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking system.

The use of video games as a training tool has led to the creation of new companies to serve this growing demand. Marc Prensky founded Games2Train.com, where he has created more than 100 software titles for companies such as American Express, Bank of America, Charles Schwab & Co., Estée Lauder Companies, Inc., IBM, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Nokia Corporation, and Pfizer Inc. Stanford University education professor Dr. Byron Reeves founded Seriosity, which applies "game elements" to the human resource issues of Fortune 500 companies.

The public sector is also embracing this trend. The U.S. Army created its own video game unit and will invest $50 million in designing game systems to prepare soldiers for combat. That effort will build upon current Army training practices that utilize modified versions of commercially available games, such as DARWARS Ambush! A new research lab at Parsons The New School for Design aims to develop video games for training public officials, students and professionals in various fields. Carnegie Mellon University recently developed a video game to prepare police and fire departments for terrorist attacks involving biological or chemical hazards.

Marketing

As the computer and video game playing population expands and diversifies, marketers are increasingly using in-game advertisements and advergames to reach potential customers. The market for such advertising is expected to expand enormously in the years ahead. According to Nielsen Media Research, the market for video game advertising is expected to reach $1 billion by 2010, a 13-fold increase from the $75 million level in 2006.

Anheuser-Busch, Inc. and Adidas Ltd., set the tone for computer and video game advertisements in Bally Midway's Tapper and Moby Game's FIFA's International Soccer in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the automobile industry is building on that. Toyota Corporation released a promotional video game for Xbox 360 to build awareness among 20-somethings about the company's new Yaris. Nissan Motor Company Ltd., eager to build a buzz around the GT-R sports coupe, unveiled the car to the public in downloadable computer games. Finally, Mazda Motor Corporation and Nissan both launched new car models in racing games like Sony's Gran Turismo 3 and Electronic Arts' Need for Speed: Undercover long before the actual cars rolled out to the public.

The automobile industry is not alone; food and beverage companies are using video game advertising to tempt customers. South Beach Beverage Company (SoBe) paid Ubisoft Entertainment to design the main character in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent to reach for the company's product when thirsty, hoping gamers would do the same. In 2006, Burger King produced and sold several games featuring the company mascot, "The King." The fast-food chain reportedly sold 3.5 million copies of the $3.99 games.

Go Figure

• 1 billion — Expected market, in dollars, for in-game advertising by 2010, according to Nielsen Media Research.
• 75 — The percentage of companies whose managers said their employees like video game-based training more or the same as traditional training, according to a 2008 Entertainment Software Association survey.
• 1983 — The year Anheuser-Busch, Inc. first included advertising in Bally Midway's game, Tapper.

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