Gaming.... a serious business

I was thinking the other day about the AMP topic 'Gaming is a serious business' which often crops up at this time of year.

It seems to me that it is very important to define what you think this question means before attempting to answer it.

Gaming ( Computer gaming ) is  a serious business in terms of the economy or number of participants. You will need to find some statistics to support this.

The world serious however has another meaning involving being the opposite of lighthearted or fun. Many dictionaries on Credo Reference stress this element.

Considering this second aspect you may consider the amount of games which are not played for fun ( maybe military, educational  business simulations ? )


Think too about your search terms, because the word 'gaming' sometimes means gambling or online betting.

Game Over in Luton

Another closure in the Luton Mall. GAME the computer games retailer has closed with the company in grave danger

Suppliers of new games were so worried about the company's prospects that they were unwilling to deal with the company.

Most gamers today seem to buy products and services online.

Bad news for the Luton staff. The Mall branch is one of 280 to close. A further 333 stores remain in the UK.

Gaming is serious business

If you are doing the AMP Project on gaming I recommend that you look at the series of talks below, and search for one by Tom Chadfield.

http://www.ted.com/talks/

Tom is the author of the book Fun Inc ( see below )and explains in his talk the positive benefits of online gaming.

Playing Games is a Serious Business

Those of you who are working on the project about the games industry should look out for Tom Chatfield's book Fun Inc which I ordered for the LRC yesterday. Thanks to Alan Wheeler for the recommendation. It should hopefully be with us soon.

Entrepreneur honoured at University of Beds

Those of you studying the role of the Entrepreneur in society, and which skills they need should look out for Jan Telensky, who is being honoured at our graduations this week.

Czech-born Jan's concept was that there is a massive demand for new online games, and those who have the skills to produce them can be trained online.

The CATS faculty at the University of Bedfordshire runs courses on gaming, and has strong links with Mr Telensky. There is plenty of information on :

http://www.train2game.co.uk

as well as several articles on Jan Telensky on Newsbank

It is possible to find material on the computer gaming industry on several of our databases.