Virtual Worlds News

The University of Kansas Medical Center has begun using Second Life for training. More info.

Even though Home is still in closed beta, promotions are underway for the upcoming Watchmen film. More info.

The Department of Art at the University of Kansas has also entered Second Life for distance learning. More info.

Browser-based game developer Bigpoint is developing a 3D space in  Twinity. More info.

Mercedes-Benz (China) has signed a $100,000 contract to act as the launch sponsor for Speak2Me, a language-learning environment. More info.

Hulu and Meez have partnered to launch an in-world Movieplex. More info.

Bigpoint partners with Metaversum to Enter Twinity

Metaversum announced yesterday a partnership with Bigpoint to bring the browser-based games specialist inside of the mirror world of Twinity.  Bigpoint's 3D space will be a place for fans to socialize, learn about Bigpoint news and offerings, and take place in competitions and events, but it's not clear if the last will involve Bigpoint's own browser-based games or the virtual goods it sells. Posters and other measures will also be distributed around Twinity to direct traffic to Bigpoint's space. I do, however, find it interesting that Bigpoint is coming into the mirror world as a brand that doesn't have an actual physical outlet in the real world.

"We love the concept behind the online world Twinity. Our virtual presence will put us in touch with a whole new target group in Twinity to introduce to our browser games. We greatly look forward to this cooperation", commented Heiko Hubertz, CEO of Bigpoint GmbH.

Recent Discussions on our LinkedIn Group: 11/28/2008 Edition

Looking for engaging discussion with like minded virtual worlds professionals?  These are some of the recent topics currently being discussed in our virtualworldsnews.com group on LinkedIn:

> Black holes in the VW universe
> Funding for a new world project for Entropia?
> Virtual worlds and mobile devices
> EnteDo you know any inspiring examples of Open Innovation using VW Web communities, e.g. Second Life, etc.?
> Virtual world versus telepresence?
> Looking for a PR agency with VW experience
> Can anyone point to a publicly available source regarding the adoption metrics of virtual worlds for 8-12 year olds? How many are involved, how often do they play, for how long, etc.?
> Chat Moderation in a Virtual World for 'Tweens

Participation is open to anyone actively involved in virtual worlds.  You must have a LinkedIn account.

Mercedes-Benz Launching Campaign in Speak2Me, Immersive Language Learning Environment

Lingo Media Corporation announced this week that Mercedes-Benz (China) had signed a $100,000 contract to act as the launch sponsor for Speak2Me. Speak2Me is an English-language learning service that allows "users to engage in a virtual world tour [...] guided on an insider's tour by a virtual native" where they  "will speak to their guides in free-flowing conversations" to improve conversational English. I'm not sure how much that's leaning towards an actual virtual world or just describing a virtual world in the metaphorical sense, but it sounds interesting.

Capcom: Home is Like Comic-Con

In a feature on Home, Sony's virtual world for the PlayStation 3, IGN talks with Capcom Senior Director of Communications and Community Chris Kramer about why the video game developer wanted to get involved in the social sphere. Kramer compares Home to Comic-con, an opportunity to "reach out and talk with our fans and players." What I particularly enjoy is that while gamers haven't embraced the idea of a social world wholeheartedly, game developers seem to be getting the idea of using virtual worlds for outreach much faster than other brands did in previous years.

"The goal is to have our Home stuff ready by the launch of both games. [Street Fighter IV] is out on February 17, while [Resident Evil 5] is coming to North America and Europe on Friday the 13th, 2009 [in March]. We're not looking at Home as traditional 'advertising,'" said Kramer. "Instead, we view Home as a unique way of building, maintaining and growing a community. For the hardcore fans, hanging out in a Resident Evil area in Home will be cool, in the same way that they'll be excited to run around Home looking like Chris Redfield. For those PS3 players who haven't picked up RE5 or perhaps don't know much about the series, it's a great way for us to showcase some of the themes and imagery from the game." [via IGN]

Meez Partners with Hulu for Movieplex

Meez CEO Sean Ryan blogged this week about a new project for the avatar-based network and virtual world. While users could already add YouTube channels to their private rooms, now Meez has partnered with Hulu to provide more options for social media viewing.

"In a big step forward for social entertainment, Meez this month launched our new Hulu-powered Movieplex where our 2M monthly unique users can get together with friends to watch the best television clips, episodes and full length movies, all while chatting away with each other and comparing avatars," blogged Ryan. "With 16 initial theaters, plus the popular lobby and concession areas, users can choose from top shows such as perennial favorite The Simpsons, spooky break-out hit Fringe, crowd-pleaser brawler Saturday Night Smackdown, and many more, as well as classic movies such as Bring it On, and Dude, Where's My Car?, all provided by the amazingly broad Hulu catalog."

Mark Kingdon: 80% of Linden Business Focuses on Consumers

Although CEO Mark Kingdon has spoken extensively about Linden Lab's commitment to the enterprise and identified it and education as two major use cases for the Second Life Grid, the third, and apparently largest, is still individual consumers.  In an interview with Dusan Writer, Kingdon notes that enterprise attention is steadily growing and that the recently annnounced beta for a firewalled version of Second Life is almost full. He also confirms multiple times that 80% of Linden's investment is focused on consumers.

"80% of our business is focused on the consumer market — which of course includes content creators," said Kingdon. "We are putting more than 80% of our investment in the consumer market because a good part of our investment in Enterprise crosses over (shared media). We talk about Enterprise because we are doing new things there. We need to talk more about our plans for consumer because we have many big projects underway there. " [via Dusan Writer]

Sun Inc. Files for Bankruptcy; ngi Invested $1.85M Last Month

Sun Inc. [Google translation], the Japanese company that announced a mobile client for Second Life last year (not Sun Microsystems), has gone bankrupt, reports Mindblizzard. It appears (the site is in Japanese) that Sun had just signed a partnership last month with ngi group and 3di.jp to promote OpenSim. If nothing else, ngi apparently acquired a minority stake (14.9%) in Sun last month for 180 million Japanese yen ($1.847 million).

According to Mindblizzard, though, the company has since been plagued by legal problems and then posted a notice on November 21 that the company's net worth is at least negative $5 million. It looks like Sun Ltd., a branch working in Second Life, will still provide consulting services, though I'm uncertain about that. [via Mindblizzard]

UPDATE: NASA Picks Virtual Heroes and Whitecard for MMO?

Last month NASA announced that it had selected three proposals to hear for its upcoming educational virtual world. It appears a decision has been made. We were passed what seems to be, though we haven't been able to confirm, an email from MindArk CEO Jan Welter Timkrans to some members of Entropia, which was up for consideration, explaining that NASA had chosen to go in another direction with the project. The email (below) names Virtual Heroes and Project Whitecard as the winners. UPDATE: We heard confirmation from MindArk about the choice and that the developers of Entropia intend to, as NASA suggested, "move ahead with the project independently."

Past4Ward Licenses Rome Reborn for Educational Virtual World

Past4Ward announced this week that it had licensed Rome Reborn for use in a supplemental educational platform, games, and virtual worlds.  I haven't written anything about Rome Reborn because, so far, it's been more about mapping and building a detailed virtual re-creation of the ancient city, but I've been following it with a lot of interest. As it stands, Rome Reborn includes over 7,000 buildings and covers more than 13 square miles of a city modeled strongly on research. You can check it out in a recently added Google Earth layer.