An Exodus Recession?

“I thought we would not see a real-world recession caused by the removal of consumption energy into virtual environments until sometime in the far future. But I didn’t think about the possibility that the term ‘virtual environment,’ in its economic meaning, might expand to environments as diverse as Hulu and Facebook. Are people now spending enough time fiddling around with digital stuff that their interest in physical stuff has weakened to the point that it catalyzes an ongoing cycle of economic pessimism? Perhaps not. But some trends certainly point in that direction.”

“Calling pro wrestling ‘fake’ is neither accurate nor informed. The term is ‘kayfabe.’

Kayfabe isn’t a euphemism for false. Kayfabe is specific to pro wrestling, and it means everyone – athletes and fans – getting the story straight without saying so. It’s a conspired narrative that you can’t acknowledge is unreal, like a hilarious family secret whose official version changes when your drunk uncle shows up sober.”

I’d never encountered this term before, but I can’t help but feel there is a lot to consider here: Immersive, collective, self-consciously pretensive agon, at once methetic and kathartic. I’d say it out-Antigones Antigone. Deeply interesting. (Wikipedia, predictably, is useful, but the OED is clearly immune to the considerable charms of Rowdy Roddy Piper et al.)

Criticisms and speculation about Zynga’s theft of ideas have been aired before, chiefly in tech-industry blogs that have remarked on apparent design similarities between Zynga’s smash hits — including FarmVille, FishVille, PetVille, Café World, and Mafia Wars — and predecessors published by other companies. But company insiders have never discussed the frankness with which Zynga, led by Pincus, based its lucrative business model on exploiting the achievements of competitors.

While you’re at it, be sure that you check out this recent piece, courtesy Gawker, on Zynga’s weirdly secretive “Platinum Purchase Program,” where a $500 minimum purchase nets players “bonus loot” (first-hand corroboration here), and see this overview of the Apple-enabled and Google-backed Zynga’s dark (virtual) world.

Nichols liked the game so much that she got in touch with the manufacturer, PopCap Games. The inventors of the game were surprised to hear about its possible mental health benefits, and the company decided to study Bejeweled’s untapped potential systematically. In a preliminary study that PopCap commissioned and funded, researchers found that volunteers who played Bejeweled displayed improved mood and heart rhythms compared with volunteers who weren’t playing. The preliminary study was published this year in the Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine. Now, the company is about to launch a second phase of testing to see if the video games can have measurable effects on clinical markers of depression.

For the study and related material, see Chapter 44 (pp 189–191) in the Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine (2009).

Players interact with their virtual pet using a bundled card and camera. The card is used to bring up menus when placed in front of the camera that allow users to bring out toys and monitor their pet’s health, among other basic functions. Players are also able to play with their virtual critters by gesturing near the pet’s vicinity. EyePet is set for a holiday release—and from the first impression, it looks like it’ll be fun for the kids (the ones with allergies so severe they can’t have real pets).

Kotaku spent some time with the product (which is essentially intended for children) and has an interesting video.

Of course, Eyepet is not the first consumer-oriented “augmented reality” technology. One of the more notable recent efforts came from baseball-card publisher Topps. From an article in the Old Grey Lady herself:

Total Immersion, a French company, brought Topps the augmented reality technology. It has already been used in a theme park and for some auto design work. Using the technology, card collectors see a three-dimensional version of a player and can play elementary pitching, batting and catching games using the computer keyboard.

Read more (and check out the Topps 3D Live video) at the NYTimes.