Forrester Research expects “serious gaming” - the use of games and gaming dynamics for non-entertainment purposes - to take off in the next seven years.
In a new report It’s Time to take Games Seriously, Forrester cites the rise of “Technology Populism,” the greening of IT, and the emergence of “millennials” born between 1980 and 2000 as factors driving the trend.
Michigan State University offers a master’s in serious game design and Coventry University in the UK houses the Serious Games Institute.
However, to achieve widespread adoption, the industry must deal with five issues: 1) what games should be called; 2) how slick the presentation should be; 3) how users should interface with the games; 4) how to determine ROI; and 5) determining if the technology has any limitations.
In Forrester’s view:
- Military and defense will provide developers with a place to innovate.
- Healthcare and emergency response will embrace large-scale games.
- Universities will become competition to game developers.
- Enterprises will seek to make games a part of work.
Forrester categorizes vendors vying for serious games business into four types:
1. Traditional video game companies such as Zombie and Blitz Game Studios.
2. Serious games vendors such as Virtual Heroes and PIXELearning.
3. Stalwart software giants, led by IBM (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT).
4. Multimedia companies such as C2 Creative and Red Knight Learning.
