GAMINGtruth

The business scene has changed. What once was a lifestyle of extravagant lunches, brunches and dinners has now come to a much more comfortable form of communication; you can now network in your pajamas from home.

How’s this possible? Xbox Live, of course. From the LA Times:

Marks hunched behind a wall, revved the chain saw motor and leaned forward. Next came the grinding, spinning sound of metal cutting through bone, the blood spattering, the agent’s arm and head flying off. Marks grinned, unsheathed a shotgun and went in search of his next target: a reporter for Variety.

Marks was just doing his job — kill or be killed — in the video game Gears of War, which he plays from the comfort of a brown leather couch in his Los Angeles home. Every Thursday night, he and dozens of other up-and-comers in Hollywood turn on their Xboxes to engage in violent killing, mock each other and sometimes even talk shop.

The online gaming session, which the organizers call Nerd Poker, has become an opportunity for networking that has led to dozens of business meetings — and even a few deals.

That must be nice. To rub elbows with possible career connections over a friendly game of Gears of War. Oh, I can’t wait to get to that point in life! How cool would it be to punish a friend over Xbox Live, only to find out that you could work together in the future; that your Live friend could be a co-worker?

That’s completely awesome. Screw poker, I’ll be playing Gears.

Hollywood nerds turn video game night into networking opportunity [LA Times]