Virtual Worlds News

Comdex Returns With Virtual Trade Show

Comdex ran as a popular computer trade show in Las Vegas from 1979 to 2003. Since then Comdex has been sold around and existed as a website rather than a conference. Now Comdex is coming back to a virtual Las Vegas. From November 16-17, 2010, Comdex will reopen with an environment created by UBM Studios.  

Linden Lab Set to Debut Nebraska

Mark Kingdon, CEO, Linden Lab/Second Life will unveil and demo what the company is calling "the much anticipated behind the firewall’ product from Linden, code named Nebraska. According to Linden lab, "a few enterprise customers will join [Kingdon] to discuss the product and future outlook of immersive, virtual workspaces" in the public demo. The presentation is slated for a mixed-reality event at the Moscone Center and in Second Life. Second Life and Linden Lab observers expect the demo to offer nuts-and-bolts into Nebraska specs, packages, and what ever Linden plans on calling the new stand-alone virtual world package. Kingdon will present during a tech conference in SF on November 4.

Engage! Expo Leads with Jeremy Liew, Trip Hawkins Keynotes

SAN JOSE, CA -- Venture capitalist Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners kicked off this year's Engage! Expo with a keynote talk that held at least one zinger for big game publishers like Activision Blizzard, publishers of the dominant MMO, World of Warcraft.

Liew identified "non-hardcore gamers" as a sizable untapped market for the types of games that can best leverage virtual goods. "This kind of consumer is coming into the market right now at unprecedented rates," he said. "These aren't people who want to spend time grinding out levels. These are people who want to maximize their time having fun, rather than just maximize their time.

Nike Takes Runners, Brand Online

Running shoe giant Nike has created The Human Race 10K, a running event that will not only take place in major cities around the world on October 24 but, with the help of nikeplus.com, will enable runners anywhere to take part in the event virtually.

NewsBrief: Second Life Eulogy for Michael Jackson

The real-world death of pop legend Michael Jackson was felt yesterday in Second Life. Reportedly, while the singer's close friends and family assembled for a private ceremony at Forest Lawn cemetery in Glendale, California, hordes of Second Life residents held their own service. The in-world event lacked the celebrity of a Reverend Al Sharpton, Gladys Knight, Lisa Marie Presley, Macaulay Culkin or Liz Taylor, but as one SL reporter put it: "made up for it in the passion of its mourners, with frequent sobs and shouts of 'I love you Michael!'  Second Life residents can visit the site of the in-world service by teleporting here.

Hello Kitty Online Goes On the Road

Aeria Games and Sanrio Digital are teaming up to put Hello Kitty Online in players' hands. A public demo of the upcoming virtual world is taking place at game industry event Penny Arcade Expo taking place this weekend in Seattle. Developed by Sanrio Digital and published in North America by MMO game portal Aeria Games, Hello Kitty Online will emphasize community building -- the world will have ties to user blogs, email, and include video and photo sharing options. Sanrio merchandise sales will be a big part of the experience and form the basis of the revenue model. Hello Kitty Online is currently in closed beta, says Sanrio, but will transition to open beta later this month. This teaser video was posted by Sanrio Digital last month.

Will Wright in New Orleans: Perception Is Everything

NEW ORLEANS -- Game designer Will Wright addressed a crowd of nearly a thousand SIGGRAPH attendees this morning in the city's riverfront convention center. And while Wright's track record of game creation -- actually, he prefers the term software toy -- doesn't put him directly in the sights of virtual world aficionados, there's been enough cross-pollination between entertainment sectors recently which have included virtual worlds, it seemed sacrilege not to attend Wright's presentation.

Social Games: Ready for Prime Time?

SAN FRANCISCO -- On a day the Dow dropped nearly 200 points, Dada, a trendy bar in the South of Market district was slowly filling with a lively bunch of twenty-something programmers, coders, and entrepreneurs. Invited by Offerpal Media, one of the major players in the nascent area of social gaming (Offerpal's place in the value chain is primarily one of integrating ad offers into the games) the meet-up took place the night before the Social Gaming Summit 2009 was to take place. In less than 12 hours, the 100 or so revelers at Dada would be supplanted by literally hundreds more who would fill an expansive ballroom at the elegant Hotel Nikko for the annual event.

Who's New to Virtual Worlds – June 19, 2009, Wrap Up

The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life is taking place nationwide this weekend, and in Second Life. More info.

Not in Gotham for New York Law School's State of Play law and economics conference through tomorrow? Participate in-world. More info.

Netroots Nation is live from Netroots Nation Island in Second Life. From August 13 to 16. More info.

Children's entertainment group The Jumpitz will team up with SecretBuilders to host free live virtual concerts June 19, 20, and 21. More info.

PDN Talks Up Success of Inaugural Virtual Event

As the area of virtual trade shows grows, it pays to look closely at the track record laid down by early adopters. Today, Nielsen Business Media's Photo District News (PDN) released a few milestones reached during its PDN Photographers' Virtual Show held last May 21 -- and detailed some of what the public can expect from the second part of the show, scheduled for June 11.