IBM's upcoming CityOne game is like SimCity evolved to collect scenario and interaction data that will help solve real problems:
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Saw the above video today and thought of two others:

Jane McGonigal, Gaming Can Make a Better World:  "Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems?":

Dan Meyer, Math Class Needs a Makeover: Thoughts on how school systems encourage simplistic, straightforward (as opposed to patient) problem solving:

I'm part of a generation of gamers who were all told games were negative distractions. We're now entering a world that's beginning to think twice about whether the capacity of the straightforward, rational, direct guides to solving problems in traditional institutions and models is really helpful when approaching modern challenges.