With the novel coronavirus pandemic on everyone's minds, many businesses across the globe have instituted work-from-home policies in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus and aid social distancing practices. While many companies have relied on video conferencing apps like Zoom to hold virtual meetings, one Japanese company recently tried another method to keep in contact with their employees - holding meetings in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
The experiment was documented in a Livedoor News article, which began when one employee suggested the idea of teleworking in the virtual world of Animal Crossing to a couple of other coworkers. Three employees decided to come together to test out this potential virtual meeting location. One volunteered to use their in-game island as their meeting location, while the other two flew over so they could all (virtually) be together.
Screenshots from the experiment show just how dedicated the employees were to make this work, as they went above and beyond to set up an in-game conference room to recreate the experience of real-world meetings.
Using the game's chat feature, they were able to discuss work-related matters as well.
They even engaged in some good ol' fashioned coworker bonding and set off to the island pier to go fishing together.
The team ended their experience with a list of pros and cons from their attempt at using Animal Crossing: New Horizons as a virtual workspace. For their one pro, the company agreed that, when compared to other chat programs, Animal Crossing was much more fun to use.
Their cons list, however, had a few more points.
Firstly, the team was unable to send work files to each other, such as images and documents. Secondly, employees couldn't talk about anything confidential, as it could potentially get leaked to Nintendo. Thirdly, people couldn't stop talking about Animal Crossing. And lastly, it was impossible to keep track of everyone's real-life identity, as many people had their own in-game handle. As a result, communication became difficult when everyone kept forgetting who was who.
While it's unlikely for New Horizons to become the new virtual meeting space for businesses, this experience shows that truly anything is possible when it comes to Animal Crossing!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Nintendo Soup