The Merits And Demerits Of Using Animal Crossing: New Horizons For Telecommuting

Due to the global novel coronavirus covid-19 pandemic, many people are not only staying at home but working there. In Japan, the editorial department of game site Inside decided to hold meetings in the happiest place there is: Animal Crossing.

There were merits to meeting up online in New Horizons. According to Inside, those include:

• Compared to other apps like Slack or Discord, chatting in Animal Crossing is way more fun.
• It’s a change of pace from the office.
• It might be easier to communicate with others in a more relaxed way than compared to an office setting.

There are also demerits, including:

• Sending attachments is not possible, so you’ll end up sending those via your computer.
• There is a concern about security when discussing confidential work matters in New Horizons.
• When meeting in groups of three this probably isn’t an issue, but for groups of eight, remembering everyone’s in-game handle might be tricky.

Plus, even though a meeting might be scheduled, you and your coworkers might end up doing something else, like going fishing. This is Animal Crossing after all.

If you haven’t read it, be sure to check out Kotaku’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons review.