Microsoft Using PS3 Home for Workplace Meetings

I'll be the first to admit that not only have I not touched PS3's Home service since the week it launched, but I kind of forgot it existed. While I may represent a portion of the gaming community, some businesses have actually found a use for the service.

Companies such as Ernst & Young, Merrill Lynch, and even Xbox's baby-daddy Microsoft are using Home as a way to communicate. Home's popularity within these companies began with help from Dr. Nipan Manier and Manish Malif from Portsmouth University and was commissioned by Advanced Workplace Associates. In a statement by managing director Andrew Mawson from Advanced Workplace Associates, the importance of such a service is vital to bridge communications within a business. "...The use of virtual worlds may offer the next evolution in overcoming the tyranny of distance - a more realistic and learning enhancing environment."

While I think it's great when gaming technology can find daily use within a major company, I find it all a little unnecessary. By setting up a few webcams and a Skype account, you can easily pull off the same effect, all without the $399 price tag.

Source: Gamasutra