Academic Theorising Social Convergence and its Relation to the Xbox Experience: Globalising Gameplay

Globalising Gameplay

What is the reason we buy an Xbox? To play games, so how can globalisation be achieved while involving yourself in gameplay on Xbox? Microsoft has introduced some highly social aspects to gameplay and online gameplay through the Xbox.

The first of these is the party system where acquaintances and friends can communicate through headsets while playing their respective games, this feature can be used in many aspects either while playing together or playing separately. This takes the sociability of gaming to a new level and gives us a new perspective on the capability of gaming to achieve a never before seen form of social interaction. Interaction is the important word when we discuss gameplay and it is the interactive aspect of gaming that gives it its entertaining nature. It seems that it is combat which brings the height of interaction within popular gaming because game designers have had years of practice in this form of building interaction, this issue that this poses is the danger of rating systems and rating online gameplay. The response that has been taken by the majority of ratings board globally is to agree to not rate online gameplay and separate it from the ratings of other games. Cross, (2009) in his article about combat interaction talks about not relying on combat for successful interaction although issues such as language and personal behaviour. Greater research has to go into how communities are forming themselves around game-play and the effect this has on the people who previously would not have had this type of interaction.