Introduction

Give a short introduction of yourself:
My name is Jon Spratt, I'm 21 years old and I am born and raised in Toronto (Don Mills area).

Have you had any experiences Gaming (PC or Console)?

I have an older brother, an older sister and a younger brother, so I have been playing video games for literally as long as I can remember. I definately started out on NES (original Nintendo), but during most of my childhood I was a Sega Genesis kid.

If so – what games do you play? What is your favourite game? Why?

In recent years I have played mostly sports games. I've probably spent more time playing FIFA during university than I have spent doing homework. As far as an all-time favourite game, its hard to argue with Super Mario Bros. 3. Beautiful in its simplicity, and is just as fun to play on an emulator today as it was for me around 1990.

Why do you think virtual worlds, games, gamers & gaming is important to talk about?

The video game industry is becoming an increasingly major part of our Western culture, and is becoming simply too large to brush off as a distraction. For example, Grand Theft Auto IV just moved $500 million worth of sales in its first week. Virtual worlds offer new possibilities for connectivity, and opens up a new range of identies and communications that are available to people.