Virtual Worlds are Hot right now

[Encicra]

Originally Posted by Snabble

MA cant get many people involved simply because its a gambling enterprise...
Same reason Mcdonalds doesnt put ads in casino's...

They don't need to put McD's ads in casinos because they put the full blown restaurants inside them.

[Zefram]

All these "competitors" if they even should be called like that, have one thing in common. They are just 3d versions of myspace, facebook and what else is out there on the social networking market. What they all lack is the gaming aspect and even more important that their credits system has no tie to any real world currency.

Sure it can be quite interesting to create a fancy avatar here and there, design some clothes, cupboards, houses or whatever those competitors allow you to do with your time and then show yourself, chat and do...right...nothing more.
And thats why people are leaving those sites as fast as they registered, simply because it gets boring pretty fast.

EU offers a similar way to be creative and interact with people (and it gets better with every VU) and it even gives you something to do when you are bored of that.
You just go and hunt, mine, craft, be a landowner, organize events and so on. And the best part is. You can even make money out of it, if you are persistant and clever enough.
Thats the reason why the duration the usual EU participant EU stays with the game before he/she eventually quits is one of longest among any other virtual universe or gaming platform.
Heck, I am here since 6 years now and I can´t get away I have never played any other game for that long...

Sl for example had lots of big names opening branches in their world because it was just "in" to be there and almost every big name got in there. What happens now is that some of them already leave again because they realize its not what they got promised. The user base and the audience they can reach is just too fluctuating.
Daimler recently announced they are withdrawing and I think I have read about other companies doing that as well.

So, to cut a long story short.
Once the new planets are out it will create such a media hype that everyone wants to be part of EU. I am pretty sure many big companies will follow with their own planets, continents or whatever. Who knows maybe MA is already negotiating with more partners like CKD.
And thats when the "competitors" will realize they forgot a few important parts in their enterprises and then the real competition will start

[aridash]

Originally Posted by Pollus

Hmm why wouldnt people see RCE combined with VR as an exciting consept!
Just you wait, the masses will come.

because its too much like work?

Without compelling gameplay people wont come. Without real added value services to generate income people wont come.

EU has created a bit of a niche but no one is following. its reasonable to argue that no one can, since any attempt to replicate it would immediatly have half of EU avatars falling over themselves to get the Hyper Heal Units and MkX Vanquishers in the hope they will be as lucrative as EU items, which would put people off from the start and it would be still born.

[Joat]

Originally Posted by Pollus

Hmm why wouldnt people see RCE combined with VR as an exciting consept!
Just you wait, the masses will come.

I don't think market is too big actually, sure there are many that are interested
to invest in a VRwRCE, but how many are willing to spend money in one?
You can't trick people by nice lines, that money almost jump on you, and
think that kind of customer stays, when (virtual) reality hits them.

IMO, EU must be presented more as a entertainment, not only a place where
you can make a lot of money without a lot of work.
There must be a better balance, that is more equall between entertainment
and VR with RCE, in the advertising for EU. Yes, easy for me to say, but
nearly impossible to do so, I guess. It's a thing that must be done thou'.

MA has lost a lot of players that were willing to spend, but since prices
are almost pathetic on interesting items, and ROI is not the best, they
left. Not only due to the two reasons, but also due to they want to use
their money, not hand them over to others due to extreme markup, and
to fees just to be able to hunt.
Even worse, these that has left, has warned friends that might have been
potential customers. So it isn't only a big part that has left, where vast
majority did leave due to they thought EU were "easy income", there are
also people that hasn't even tried EU, that boycott EU now, sadly.

We can always hope the system can handle way more players in future,
so way more can play, hopefully a better linear ROI too, and then, EUs
future is quite promising. My guess is that a lot of old players will come
back, if they see that they can play longer than just some few hours.

[micker]

Originally Posted by Snabble

MA cant get many people involved simply because its a gambling enterprise...
Same reason Mcdonalds doesnt put ads in casino's and sex shops

you contradict yourself here... McDonalds buys ad space in entropia.

[xaph]

Originally Posted by Ozi

I agree Pollus, it seems there is a shitload of money looking for a virtual world home. Look down that list and it's a who's who of the worlds top Venture Capitalists. They are all looking for a stake in the next Google.

Despite some doom and gloom in the world economy, there is a heap of investment money available for the right companies. MindArk could grow like mad if they'd just get out and raise a few hundred million and employ an army of developers and marketers. Just raising the money acts as a massive marketing boost - as the VC's have learned, the investment into the company can become a self fullfilling prophecy, people go and join the Virtual World because it raised money, it's successful because it's successful

MA have a small handful of developers, how long will it take Google to catch up if they employ a few thousand?

Just a thought very open to comment .

At present there is a burgeoning market of free add on applications in google and whatever you see as a net based application.
There is no doom and gloom in that, and as the 3rd world catches on it seems a prospect to expand.
Microsoft and their competetitors and there like are scurrying to develop web based applications.

EU have a software based platform it is free to run as long as you agree to the Eula which is fair, it is not a web browser base application!

I see a number of these web browser applications running agreements that seem similar to a Eula.

I see a number of VR / MMPORG'S offering free participation that requires an install and not a web browser, EU does not run browser base software as I can see.

The problem is that any respectable VR or MMPORG requires a decent set of data on their users computer for that users experience, its not browser based and thus this type of usability does not appear to match Web base apps of Google of Yahoo at this stage.

Google or whatever, seem to me, cannot provide the immensity of data download, if it were to affiliate with EU or any other MMORPG in a significant campaign and effort to gain market share with them. I dont profess to be all knowing on this, but due to the sizes of the packages required it may compromise there servers, I suspect if any agreement were reached they would attempt to share this cost to the providor of the software....hence in the current we see why EU and others provide installed packages apply to a discreet market.

Yes Google can affililite with the strong in this field, but only if there is a negotiated path for profiting via web browser type applications. They may have the capacity to install MMPORG'S but I suspect the prospect of and installed package of the propensity of Crytopia/EU may be too much at this stage. Particulary if it was on offer to every man and his dog to download, its free to forget .

That being said biggest losses would be big for MA or others , if they were that inprudent to accept a Google deal (or other) to share bandwidth cost and download server capability to supply such packages.

Given that I doubt that MA of any other MMORPG would commit as they are likely to be taken over by Google (or other) with financial failure

I suspect that this will remain the issue of expansion, China remains a big possibility however the market will be choked by the financial limitation of the general public there, I supect contained capitalization for EU as China becomes wealthier, and also a continued unique experience for those in the western world who are able to download and participate in EU.

[McCormick]

Second Life and IBM just made it possible to teleport your avatar from SL into another "game-platform" which I cant mention

http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/07/0...-announcement/

But who cares as MA does not want that (right now) ;p

[Level]

Originally Posted by McCormick

Second Life and IBM just made it possible to teleport your avatar from SL into another "game-platform" which I cant mention

http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/07/0...-announcement/

But who cares as MA does not want that (right now) ;p

second life sucks, I don't want ppl in Entropia Universe who are only chatting...BAN THEM !!! they are weak !!!! chatting is for the weak !!!

[NetStalker]

Originally Posted by Level

fantasy sucks, its a fairy tale for kids and for the weak)

Originally Posted by Level

BAN THEM !!! they are weak !!!! chatting is for the weak !!!

Kind of theme you have going today....

[Jamhot]

Originally Posted by McCormick

Second Life and IBM just made it possible to teleport your avatar from SL into another "game-platform" which I cant mention

http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/07/0...-announcement/

But who cares as MA does not want that (right now) ;p

Wow thats hot news, and we already know that MA are in discussions with IBM too about this very subject, so interesting times ahead indeed!

Jamhot