Gartner: Gamification will ... gamify 50 percent of companies by 2015

Boy, there sure are a lot of folkslooking at2015 already, huh? The hype train known as the gamification movement (thanks, Foursquare) has officially left the station now that Gartner, technology research and advisory company, foresees the game layer blanketing at least 50 percent of companies in just four years.

Gartner analysts also see gamification becoming as important to companies' marketing departments as Facebook, Twitter, eBay or Amazon. Some might see the idea of the game layer as over-incentivizing human behavior or replacing feelings of inspiration and ambition with an overwhelming carrot-on-the-stick mentality.

Who knows, they could be right, but it's comforting at least that non-game environments such as innovation, marketing, training, employee performance, health and social change [will be affected]," said Brian Burke, an analyst at Gartner. The firm was even so kind as to provide tips for developers to drive engagement through gamification.