Trend Alert: From ‘shoot ’em up’ to ‘think it through’: Gaming gets serious

Nintendo Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3 are battling it out for Christmas sales in the $30 billion plus games market - not to mention DS, PSP and online games. But gamers and the games they look for are changing. Games are getting serious and more intellectually oriented.

'Hardcore' gamers have till now been mainly young and male and interested in action packed games. 'Casual' gamers - who often nonetheless play for several hours a week - have been predominantly women interested in puzzles and other ways to relieve stress and relax. Although Nintendo has begun to target the older market more specifically with its new Brain Age series, overall they remain an under-explored segment. But now, NGOs and a few innovative game developers are developing serious gaming, bringing an educational and political edge to games that may open up gaming to new audiences and appeal to older consumers too.

The simplest incarnation of serious gaming is Darfur is dying, which was visited by over 700,000 people within days of its launch by MTV and resulted in raised political awareness and calls for change. More complex examples are UN Foodforce where players have to get a food convoy through to a disaster zone and two others to be released early in 2007 - the Peace Maker Game where players react to 'events' and negotiate as either the Palestinian President or Israeli Prime Minister; and Global Conflicts Palestine where a player is a journalist reporting on a story.

The makers of the games hope that players will begin to understand the complexity behind world stories, and that the games may break down barriers - especially if they are played by young people in the Middle East.

The games also recognise that many young people have abandoned political parties and newspapers - the traditional routes to political awareness and news, and want ideas presented in new ways, to have fun while they learn.

These games enable young people to deal with complex situations, see more than one 10 second sound bite, and recognise the way in which events and actions have repercussions which affect the rest of the system. They also enable players develop some of the critical soft skills for the future work place .

But they may also appeal to that growing band of older gamers who are not necessarily looking for urban ghettoes or shootouts, but something more challenging and more intellectually satisfying.

Some of these ideas were discussed by Sheila Moorcroft, Research Director, on Culture Shock October 16th, a BBC World Service production

Please email Kerry Richardson if you would like to contribute a Trend Alert on foresight, strategic thinking or change management.

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Strategy 2007

Sharks and the Blue Ocean - Balancing Risk and Opportunity in Volatile Environments

Venue: QEII Conference Centre London  Date: January 29th 2007 

How do you think your company should find the uncontested market space to grow without taking unnecessary and catastrophic risks? You can develop your ideas using the principles of blue ocean strategy. Then test them against practical implementation and risk management approaches developed for the kind of volatile environments you face  

• Hear from world's leading strategic thinkers the key business practices behind "Blue Ocean Strategy" the radical new way to grow in uncompeted new market spaces
• Gain fresh insights that will equip you to lead and champion the strategy making process within your organisation
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Book for this exclusive event by 22/12/2006 and if you're not a member, you'll get a year's FREE individual membership of the Strategic Planning Society (SPS). Existing members save £50 off the full registration fee.

SPS's invited speakers include , W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne authors of Blue Ocean Strategy, and Dr Mike Jackson Chairman of Shaping Tomorrow. For the full list of topics they will be discussing, see the full programme.

Places are strictly limited so to avoid disappointment, book your place today.

Venue: QEII Conference centre London  Date: January 29th 2007