Fun Inc.: Why Play is the 21st Century's Most Serious Business

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"A thought-provoking read for those already won over to the delights of computer games, and an even more important introduction to them for those who remain sceptical." --Observer"Tom Chatfield's Fun Inc. is the most elegant and comprehensive defence of the status of computer games in our culture I have read, as well as a helpful compendium of research. The numbers surrounding the sector are certainly thudding. By the end of 2008, annual sales of video games -- not including consoles or devices -- was $40 billion, comfortably outstripping the movie business. In the same year, Nintendo's employees were more profitable per head than Google's. The sheer pervasiveness of game experience -- 99 per cent of teenage boys and 94 per cent of teenage girls having played a video game - means that instant naffness falls upon those who express a musty disdain for the medium. In fact, as Fun Inc. elegantly explains, computer game-playing has a very strong claim to be one of the most vital test-beds for intellectual enquiry."--Independent

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TOM CHATFIELD completed his doctorate at St John's College, Oxford, before moving to London to work as a full-time writer and editor. He is currently the arts and books editor at Prospect magazine. Tom has done puzzle design and creative consultancy work for a number of online games companies, including Mind Candy, Grex and Red Glasses, and has spoken on gaming at international conferences including Picnic in Amsterdam.