Virtual World Boom: While Second Life Lags, The Kid-Safe Variety Win Big

Here’s something I didn’t expect to read this morning. Virtual worlds are big stuff.

The kid-oriented variety, anyhow. Indeed, The New York Times reported today that despite the less-than-stellar magnetism attributed to the teen- and adult-specific gamespace/marketplace called Second Life, the places on the Web reserved for the youngest of computer-savvy generations are quite the attraction these days. So much so that Disney and other companies are investing heavily in new environments built to attract children with a wide range of interests.

Or at least keep the audiences they’ve so far lured to their graphical delights. You know, what with the rampant attention disorders preying upon the moodiest of today’s youth. The moodiest being, well, all of ‘em.

Okay, let’s be upfront and honest here. We know all too well how big Webkinz and Club Penguin and the lot have gotten. The stats are out. It’s no secret. They’re very successful experiments. While Second Life teeters around the million mark in registered (and active) users, Webkinz is moving along past 8.2m. By 2011, the research firm eMarketer believes the portal will amass a following of some 20m. Club Penguin, a Disney-owned location, is smaller yet, but is nonetheless growing at its own relatively hasty pace.

The parent company is also working to establish thematic variations on the concept of the virtual world. It launched one for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise in November, and is considering employing online experiences to correspond with other film titles, like “Cars.”

Leaving aside any further details as to what company is building what virtual space, the message relayed by The Times’ Brooks Barnes is pretty simple and straightforward: virtual worlds are fun and financially worthwhile – as long as they’re produced specifically for the Harry Potter crowd. (Yes, adults have enjoyed the Potts chronicles, but you, dear reader, know what I meant here.)

I will admit that in past posts I have belittled the industry exemplified by SL. I thought it worthless on the whole and chock full o’ nonsense that I found naught but a waste of time. And, you know, I still kind of feel that way. Second Life is, in my view, a (warning: overstatement ahead) big pile of you-know-what, and will sooner or later collapse under the weight of infamy.

Yet at the same time I can certainly see why it is that the stuff designed exclusively for non-adults has done well what Linden Lab failed to do.

Webkinz (and most derivatives and competitors) works because it’s only there to provide one thing: entertainment. Sure, users are able to buy stuff in the virtual world, much like you can do inside Second Life. And the choices of activities are very numerous - much like Second Life. But there’s no pretending that the stuff’s real. You deal with digital animals, not humanistic avatars. There’s currency, yes, but it’s not going to do kids any good to make an exchange out to real-world dollars. The stuff built for kids, in other words, is built in the vein of the video game. Not eBay. It’s all fun through and through. Not something disguised as fun.

Of course, even when taking such differences into consideration, Disney and its competitors in the virtual realm can still take their concepts a touch too far and spoil things before the new industry is able to hit its projected peak. They would do well to focus on evolving their favored titles before diversifying too much. As much as young people like everything newer and newest (does that make sense?), they also like to make changes as they see fit – not when corporations deem change to be necessary.

So to Disney we say: hold off on that ambitious thematic expansion you may be planning. Let them kids get their fill of what they’ve been given. If and when a slowdown indeed arrives, then you may build your branches.

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