Virtual Worlds are Hot right now

[kygon]

I would think most big companies would have learned from SL. The spent quite a bit of money setting up their prescence there only to have those areas turn into ghost towns overnight. Its sort of like our Ad screenies in EU. They are there and do catch people's attention to the point of being annoying so in some respect that works and brings in some additional revenue for EU.

Virtual Worlds are supposed to be an escape from everyday life just like MA states. So smart advertisers and companies are better off spending money on getting simple brand recognition in games of all types. So in EU don't try to sell us an iPhone on the vid screen but make up some iCom device that fits our virtual world and plaster Apple all over it.

To me virtual worlds are close enough to reality that I can identify with my avatar but not so close as real life. Its a way of letting me pseudo live out those day dreams I had when I was a kid about all my favorite Sci Fi movies.

I don't mind the corporations trying to bridge into virtual worlds so long as they integrate into the virtual world they set their sights on. If I have a super efficient and useful iCom device in EU that might make me think about an iPhone in real life.

If virtual worlds are going to be successful the corporate world is going to need to take some imagination classes before they see a dime of my paycheck. If not I think many companies suffer the same issues running their own VW as the corp sites did in SL.

agreed but where big corporations go wrong is they think they already know best (god i've worked for enuf of them lol) and people tend not to speak up EG .com boom no one was allowed to mention "revenue" or ask "how exactly does this crap idea make us any $?"

there are a few big co's who I think could create a virtual world I'd inhabit mostly out of interest but its one thing getting me ingame vs getting me putting £20k in there - EU has evolved anything new will always be years behind EU , that said I'd like to see what Apple might make or even Nintendo lol

big corp = soulless & $'s
small co = passion & vision

 

[AJack10600]

It's completely beyond me why virtual worlds all try to be as realistic and as close to RL as possible... why would I want to relive my RL in a virtual world?

I want it to be different and in another setting, and with other tasks, issues than my RL.. i.e. I don't want to have my everyday troubles in my virtual world...

 

[xaph]

It's completely beyond me why virtual worlds all try to be as realistic and as close to RL as possible... why would I want to relive my RL in a virtual world?

I want it to be different and in another setting, and with other tasks, issues than my RL.. i.e. I don't want to have my everyday troubles in my virtual world...

I'd have to agree in some respect.
However there may be a time that expansion of this VR and its financially viability continuance as a virtual world may have to incorporate some RW adverts to sustain it.
I am aware of what you are saying that the user pays in this VR for VR. The way prices are going in VR, the sustained paying base I suspect may dwindle and a whole lot of people will be unhappy when MA says demand is down and we are shutting shop....I dont think they will let that happen!

So to maintain participation adding some fleeting glances of RW adverts might be a way to boost revenue for MA to continue.

We can already see evidence of signs arriving, and thats undeniable in certain land areas who are now posting billboards. I supect this geared with Crytopia and there will be a whole set of new adverts , not LA centric, perhaps LA owners willl be able to onsell at a % profit to MA.
The bubbles or RW adverts seem viable in this context, who knows whatever extrapolations MA have up their sleeves.

I suspect we are about to see a very large change, however my VR will remain same or better for the changes I hope.

Cheers

 

[Ozi]

Money keeps flowing into Virtual Worlds

See the attached link for another example of the funds being raised by up and coming Virtual Worlds.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/22/zynga-raises-29-million-b-round-led-by-kleiner-perkins-and-buys-virtual-world-facebook-app-yoville/

I know this is not direct competition for EU, however it is competition. MA needs to really work a strategy for growing quicker or it could be left behind.

In the old world economy business writiers used to say you can be number 1 or number 2 in your market space. The new world economy requires you to be number 1 only. Think of the big names in the web, Google, Amazon, eBay - naming the number two is not easy for any of them as number 1's command all the market share.