Community Voice

Could Online Gaming Transform Community?

Sometimes, what some of us may see as merely "trivial" pursuits are at the heart of some exciting technological developments which ultimately have an impact on all of us. Online gaming is one such arena which has seen a massive shift and battle in recent months and years.

What relevance does this have to me as a community professional, you might ask. Well, on the one hand you might find if you are running a teenage web site that you are in competition with online games as many more players take to the internet as a form of communication and social entertainment. On the other hand, you might actually find yourself having to embrace the new online gaming community in order to maximise your community and have to accommodate their need for interaction.

Gaming as social? Gaming as communication? Some mistake, surely? Well, no.. The big push in online gaming has come from the console manufacturers, namely Microsoft and Sony. Big players, with big bucks and big visions of what online gaming should be. And their shared vision is very much geared to their consoles being used as a platform for exchange between gamers online. Both rivals' intent is to create a global interactive gaming network - in other words, a massive community of console players.

This week Sony launched its challenge for supremacy in the US with an internet adaptor which allows their Playstation2 console to connect to the internet for online gaming and communication. Later this year Microsoft's Xbox will take to the web too, with the Xbox Live offering. The Xbox Live is however, not only a means to play games online but also a means for players to talk to one another via a Communicator headset, AND a means to connect to other players wherever they are on the system using a Gamertag ID, "buddy list" and "invite" facilities.

The online gaming industry could redefine what we all know as community, simply because of the sheer volume of participants in it, the ease with which those participants will be able to connect with one another, and finally, will raise the horizons of what is expected for online interaction and entertainment.

Of course, online gaming is not for all. But the online gamers of today are your market in a few year's time. They will be the accountants in your professional community. The fans within your music community. Those in need of advice from your medical community.

Are you game?

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