Ever since the novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic back in March 2020, companies, businesses, and other offices worldwide have adjusted from the typical workplace environment and moved towards work-from-home practices in order to support social distancing practices and curb the spread of the virus.
While many companies have relied on applications like Zoom and Google Hangout to keep in touch with employees, one company decided to use the online function in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to keep in touch with co-workers. But this particular company wasn’t looking to hold a business meeting or conference call - they were looking to recruit potential employees. And what better way to connect with people through one of the most popular video games of the year?
The creative business that ran this event is a Japanese company called Arch. Like other companies in Japan, Arch was planning to hold a company seminar, which is essentially a job recruitment fair. Typically, these types of events would be held in-person, allowing job seekers to speak directly to current employees, ask questions, and even take home souvenirs.
While Arch wasn’t able to support a typical company seminar this year, they did a pretty great job of creating a virtual one in the world of New Horizons.
The seminar was held on an island specifically designed to represent Arch. Photos from the event show the amazing lengths the company went to hosting this event, including recreating their company logo right outside the island airport, paving a path to direct guests around the island, making their own virtual office space, and even setting up chairs and a podium so guests could listen to current employees. The speech space even featured a snack and drink bar so guests could help themselves to refreshments!
The seminar appears to have gone over successfully, as Arch received a number of visitors to their island. According to several reports, attendees even left with some in-game merchandise - just like receiving souvenirs at a real company seminar!
This is not the first time a Japanese company has relied on Animal Crossing to keep in contact with employees. Back in March, one company reported using the game to host a business meeting, though admitted that during their experimental gathering, employees kept getting distracted by the game.
While it doesn’t look like Animal Crossing will ever become an official substitute for an office setting, it’s amazing to see how creative businesses have utilized the platform during this time!
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is available now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Nintendo Soup
