Reality is Broken Book Review – Fun and Games Aren’t Just Fun and Games
More and more Americans are playing video games and many are flocking to casual games like CityVille and Angry Birds. Some people play to de-stress, some to escape, some play just to have fun. As an example of the growing interest, Zynga, the producer of the -Ville series, is now valued at $9 billion. According to Jane McGonigal's new book, "Reality Is Broken", this is not a bad thing. Based on a recent survey, by the age of 21 the average American has spent around three thousand hours reading books. This may seem like a lot, but it pales in comparison to the ten thousand hours the same group has spent playing video games. Ten thousand hours of experience has made a whole generation of gaming-experts. But are there any real world skills that benefit from raising virtual crops and demolishing a pig army?