3pointD.com

For those of you still skeptical about the value of game consoles as a social and communications channel in an age of virtual worlds, I offer this Variety story, which describes young Hollywood execs networking and talking about deals over Xbox Live. Voice chat means they’re undeterred by the lack of a keyboard. And the games provide the engaging activity around which social functions are organized: “Nobody is yet selling a script or getting cast in a movie on Xbox Live. But like any social activity, the bonds formed in a game of “Gears of War” — currently the most popular game on XBL — carry over into other areas. In an incestuous industry town like Hollywood, most people’s social circles primarily involve people in the biz; so tagging somebody with a grenade at night can make it easier to give them a call about a project the next day.” World of Warcraft may be the new golf, but Live seems to be the new Chateau (or wherever’s more hip these days). Romantically, however, it’s not so hot: “Xbox Live is not a universally appealing way to socialize, even among the under-35 set. The games are predominantly male; the rare female voices are often girlfriends or wives in the background asking when the player is coming to bed.”