
Fun Inc.
Why games are the 21st Century's most serious business
Tom Chatfield(Author)
Virgin Books (Publisher)
Published on 6. January 2011
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-7535-1945-5 (ISBN)
Description
'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
Independent
Reviews / Votes
A lively, thought-provoking and thoughtful read on an entertainment juggernaut many of us have failed to properly recognise. A good book, too, for parents, who might feel far more comfortably informed about a sector that can come across as - literally - an alien world their kids inhabit. * The Irish Times * A detailed and engaging analysis on an increasingly influential medium. Even non-gamers may find themselves seduced. * Esquire * Games are invading our downtime. They are becoming the dominant form of distraction, stealing thousands of hours from television. And they have, as Chatfield says, escaped from the gloom of the teenage bedroom. * The Sunday Times * In exploring the potential of the medium, Chatfield covers much territory, briskly and with intent ... His conclusion on what the future could hold is in equal parts daunting and lip-smacking. It should be read by gamers and non-gamers alike. * Time Out * Sparklingly intelligent and nuanced ... Fun Inc. is fresh and engaging -- Steven Poole * Guardian * 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 * The most elegant and comprehensive defence of the status of computer games in our culture I have read * Independent * Excellent * Evening Standard *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Ebury Publishing
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
322 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7535-1945-5 (9780753519455)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2010
1st Edition
Virgin Digital
€12.99
Available for download
Person
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.