Historically, video games have been seen as an alternative to social activity; a place where those who lack basic conversational skills could thrive without the need to communicate with anyone. Beginning with the Wii, and subsequently with the Playstation Move, and the Xbox 360 Kinect, a new genre was created: the casual game.
Casual video games are defined within this article as any game that is intuitive and user-friendly, typically focusing more on the movement of the player to control the game play. Nintendo's Wii Sports is the prototypical casual game, with options such as tennis that don't require a single button to be pushed once the match begins. Since these new-generation games are able to be picked up and played by just about anyone, they make a perfect addition to any company party.
There are several different ways that you can go about incorporating video games into your event. If you are planning to have families invited but wanted to have more mature entertainment, such as casino games, you can have a separate "kid-friendly" area with lots of age-appropriate video games for all of the kids. You may find that many of the adults end up spending their time in the kids' area though. Another option is to choose from many different video game party themes. This can be as simple as having Wii Sports set up in different stations for a sports themed party, or as extravagant as having full racing simulators brought in to complement your Nascar theme. Best of all, you can just allow the games be the focus of the party.
The next trick is convincing people that have never played video games in their life, that not only will they be able to play, but that they will undoubtedly have a lot of fun. Contests can be a great way to accomplish this. Break your group into teams and have them compete in a few of the games for the chance to win a prize. Not only will this encourage team-building amongst your fellow employees, but it will get everyone involved in the games and having a great time. Another strategy would be to grease the wheels a little bit by waiting until the guests have had a drink or two before moving on to the games. If that is still not enough, having dedicated event staff on hand to encourage and coach everyone on how to play the games can get even the most reluctant employee to give it a go.
As new and entertaining casual games continue to come out for the all three of the main consoles, video games will only continue to grow in popularity as the second highest priority at your next company event, just behind the open bar.
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