Virtual Worlds News

Q&A: Onverse CEO Steve Pierce

In development for over a year and a half, virtual world Onverse opened its doors to users just last week. The five-person team launched on a shoestring --"on savings, family and ramen noodles," founder and CEO Steve Pierce told me today).

I spoke with Steve and asked for a bit more detail on the new site.

VirtualWorldsNews.com: You're live, correct?

Steve Pierce: We opened our beta last week and have been running in stealth mode so we could make sure our server code was stable.

VWN.com: Can you tell me about the site, the user experience?

SuperSecret, SPIL Distribution Deal Now Up and Running

Tween-focused SuperSecret.com's ramp up has been in overdrive since the new year. After two years in development, the virtual world-social networking hybrid was soft launched in January. Then in March, the company picked up an investment round of $10 million. In April, the site said it had inked distribution deals with Addicting Games, WildTangent, and Spil Games.

The big news today? Spil, one of the largest casual games networks in the world, flipped the switch on its distribution agreement and is now steering visitors to SuperSecret.com via its US-targeted GirlsGoGames.com and Agame.com portals.

Quick Stat: Fashion Fantasy Hits Active User Milestone of 200K

This slipped under our radar last month, but it's worth noting that not only did the The Fashion Fantasy Game.com join the fast-growing Glam Media Network last May, it also, and more recently, charted a milestone in the category of unique monthly visitors -- 200,000 uniques. The peak tally comes after the six-month-old game secured 500,000 registrants over its short lifespan. The game, a fashion-based virtual world aimed at tween and teen girls, mixes fashion design, retailing, and shopping with lessons about financial management and business development. Fashion Fantasy was created by entrepreneur and clothing designer Nancy Ganz.

Report: Zynga IPO TBA, er…N-O-T

The last time IPO fever made headlines was last month when Open Table, a web site for making restaurant reservations, went public. Today, another tech play made headlines in the context of an IPO, but with a lot more mystery surrounding it. Just after noon today, Silicon Alley Insider took a story live with the headline (admittedly fuzzy): Zynga Could IPO In 18 Months. Zynga makes a number of popular, addictive social games like Mafia Wars and Texas Hold'em. But was it true? Zynga denies. Venture Beat covers the fallout.

Habbo, Seventeen Magazine in Online Fling

Teen-targeted virtual world Habbo and young girl-focused Seventeen magazine announced a partnership today that will see the two heavyweight brands promote each other in their respective beats.

The agreement, a short-term deal slated to run for three months (and one which quietly kicked off in May), sees the Hearst-owned Seventeen brand surface in Habbo in a number of ways -- from articles culled from Seventeen.com to polls to in-game events, quizzes, advice from Seventeen editors, and even the occasional surprise celebrity chat. In return, Seventeen will bring its readers editorial content that profiles Habbo and Virtual Worlds.

Coinstar Ups Commitment to Games, Virtual Worlds

Coinstar, the company behind those ubiquitous green kiosks that in exchange for heaps of nickels and dimes print out a receipt that is convertible into cash, has long provided another option for users -- the opportunity to convert coins into e-coupons which are then convertable into prepaid cards. Longstanding partners include Amazon, Starbucks, Borders, and Lowe's. Earlier this year, the company diversified its partner pool by adding Rixty, a company that targets a largely unbanked teen demographic with prepaid cards used to play a number of online games (as well as buy music downloads and ringtones). Today, the company upped its presence in the game space, adding 15 new partners who will honor its "Pay As You Go" pre-paid card; new partners include Facebook and MySpace for games and apps, select MMOGs, and virtual worlds, though specific worlds were not detailed in today's announcement. VirtualGoodsNews covers in greater detail.

InXpo Adds Maritz to Partnership Roster

As real world brands move their meetings and events agenda into virtual spaces, one of questions is whether to develop the necessary technology in-house or partner with an established player in the virtual space. If news of the past week is any indication, partnering is the preferred choice.

Today, virtual events provider InXpo said it had entered into an agreement with motivational, sales and marketing company Maritz and will act as the preferred provider of virtual events Maritz produces on behalf of its partners.

Q1 Brings Unisfair 25 New Customers, 100k Visitors, New CEO

For  Unisfair the recession is actually a goldmine. As organizations look to cut costs for travel and physical events, the virtual events solution provider is seeing tremendous growth. Today the company announced that it had increased its customer base by 20% in Q1 2009, adding 25 new customers.

Spread largely across the high-tech, pharmaceuticals/biotech and business services sectors, the new customers have brought roughly 100,000 people to virtual events, the company told us, not to mention sales generating a 70% quarter-over-quarter growth.

Who's New to Virtual Worlds - May 15, 2009, Wrap Up

Students at MIT are using OpenSim as an astrophysics simulator. More info.

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" is appearing in McDonald's Happy Meals and McWorld. More info.

BrainBand has created a new online course for first responders that integrates with Second Life. More info.

FlowPlay Platform To Provide Virtual World For FanHub, More On The Way

TheFanHub.com  is a crowd-sourced fansite funded by game designer David Perry. It brings together content about movies, games, comics, television, and more in a social setting where users can network, post, and chat.  Soon it will also have a virtual world built on the FlowPlay platform.