Changing the Game: How Video Games are Transforming the Future of Business

This book is a rare example of a business book that is really enjoyable, immediately practical, and generally inspirational - think "The Tipping Point" meets "Good to Great" meets Super Mario Brothers. In a relatively short 6 hours, I was introduced to a range of video games, and shown how they can be used for everything from selling products to coming up with new innovations. The first hour is an introduction to games, with an overview of a variety of different game types. The next couple hours cover games for marketing, including some really cool examples in which real products were incorporated into games, and others where virtual items were turned real products. The next hour and a half focus on games for training and recruiting, with some neat cases from the military and Google. The final two hours show how games are going to be an important part of the future of business, giving examples of games being used to motivate people to work, to innovate, and even how games are being used to predict the future. Examples abound, and there are lots of good facts and figures.

The book is informative, but even better, this book is fun! The authors have a sense of humor, keeping things light even as they provide lots of information. And there are tons of interesting ideas, entertaining examples, and amazing pieces of information (did you know people spent 9 billion man-hours in 2003 playing Windows Solitaire alone?).

So, if you have a job dealing with marketing, product development, HR, strategy, or innovation, this is pretty much a must-read for understanding the future. If you just like games, you will find this a terrific read from people who know what they are talking about. And even if you don't fall into either of these categories, you will still find this book an interesting and fun introduction to the topic. My favorite book on Audible so far!

For those who enjoy computer games and for those who know next to nothing about them, this book is for you. The sections on current uses of games for marketing and human resources is worth the price of admission. Anyone with even a marginal interest in where this industry can go and might go will be rewarded. Read this book quickly, because the material will become outdated quickly.

This book pulls no punches with the facts about how games are becoming bigger than most businesses can comprehend.

This is possibly the best "business" book I have heard thus far, and is a must-buy for anyone who is interested in video games and/or play a role in an business that wishes to endure in an age where those who stick to the old-fashion business plans are more likely to fall flat.

I would give this book six stars if I could.

This audiobook has a great information about the newest marketing strategies using video games. Its web page is really helpfull in order to understand the book.

Mollick & Edery have done the unthinkable -- they have written a cutting edge technical business review and made it both enjoyable and comprehensible for both the business professional, and interested layperson. "Changing the Game" first brought me up to date on gaming technology and culture, and then allowed me a full understanding of its wide ranging benefits and applications in marketing, business, and HR. The audiobook reader was clear and professional. Highly recommended!!!

Quite interesting research about computer games. You can find examples how to use games in marketing, hiring or training. The most interesting findings for me were actually examples of failures, including analysis of what and why specific approach didn't work.
However, if you play or at least know games, like Sims, SimCity, WoW, SecondLife or Doom, there is not so much new for you.

As an "enthusiast gamer" I found this book extremely boring. I appreciate the authors' effort to educate the broader audience about games and their benefits to companies as well as customers. However, I feel that most of the concepts described in this book are common knowledge to gamers. I would recommend this book to people who know little to nothing about modern video games.

Even though this book was published in 2008 or earlier, it is even more relevant now because we all play video games on our smart phones, social media, tablets, and of course game consoles. The market of yours standard bland billboard is not good because it's static and unmemorable. Think about driving to Las Vegas and seeing a billboard for mobile Poker games, that you play on your way to the Strip and you can redeem a voucher for a free buffet dinner, visiting that casino that was on the billboard. The authors made a valid point of what happened to Sony and PSP. Sony tried to lock their game systems down by copy protection, and yet PSP was stilled hack, after multiple security patches. The market is in gaming and it is very interesting to see what was then and what is now.

Very insightful, clearly the authors are experts in their field. The examples are fairly old by 2012 however. For example it talks about "Second Life" as an up-and-coming phenomenon.

Update with new examples.

A good book, well narrated. Thanks to Audible for having this in store. And price is also reasonable