January 9, 2011

The Game of Life

The Game of Life 1

Bart Nagel

In her new book, Jane McGonigal says gamers, with their exceptional ability to collaborate, can learn to solve problems like poverty, climate change, a failed education system, and much else. She wants to see a game developer win a Nobel.

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close The Game of Life 1

Bart Nagel

In her new book, Jane McGonigal says gamers, with their exceptional ability to collaborate, can learn to solve problems like poverty, climate change, a failed education system, and much else. She wants to see a game developer win a Nobel.

By Evan R. Goldstein

Ours is the age of the video game. In the United States alone, 183 million people devote an average of 13 hours a week to video games. Americans are not alone: China boasts—if that's the right word—200 million gamers; there are 105 million gamers in India; 100 million in Europe; and even 10 million in Vietnam. Collectively, according to one estimate, the planet spends more than three billion hours a week playing games.

This Exodus to the Virtual World—the