New Game Co. Grabs Second Life’s Coat-Tails
A new game company planning to bring free massively multiplayer online gaming to U.S. gamers is seeking to capitalize on the flood of press attention being devoted to the virtual world of Second Life in recent months. The strangely named OGPlanet will be offering “PC games built on a ‘Second Life-like’ model that lets anyone play for free, but offers players the opportunity to purchase game pieces, clothing and accessories,” according to a press release. OGPlanet’s first offering is Albatross18, a free massively multiplayer golf game with a unique fantasy twist in which players drink magic potions and meet various enchanted characters along the way. (Take care not to slice your shot into the troll trap!) Rrecently acquired by OGPlanet, the game lets players customize their avatars with clothing and equipment bought in the game, thus providing a revenue stream. All of OGPlanet’s games will work in a similar way, but if they’re hoping to capitalize on the strengths of Second Life, rather than simply the hype, they may need to take a closer look.
All of OG’s games will offer free downloads and unlimited free play, with revenue coming from in-game item sales and possible sales of advertising space. As the press release notes, this model has been successful in Asia, and is catching on in the U.S. But that’s not actually the model that Second Life uses. The revenue stream for Linden Lab, makers of Second Life, is derived from renting server resources in the form of virtual real estate, in a model similar to that of an Internet hosting service. The in-world economy is entirely user-to-user; its main function, as far as the company is concerned, is to attract new users who are either willing to pay the premium to own land or who will graduate to that level from their free accounts. OGPlanet’s business model may or may not be sound, but it’s not actually similar to the one behind Second Life.
All of which is not to say OGPlanet is doomed from the start. The company has a roster of investors with some considerable experience in interactive entertainment, including Richard Wolpert, former President of Disney Online and a strategic advisor to Accel Partners and RealNetworks; Mark Surfas, formerly founder and CEO of GameSpy; Andrew Wright, former Vice President of RealArcade and currently CEO of SmileBox; and Peter Levin, CEO of BellRock Media and RealNetworks. Its president and founder is Sangchul Park, a former executive with Korea-based LG Corp. It’ll be interesting to see what offerings they bring to market; their next game is due in the first quarter of 2007. Whatever they are, though, it sounds like they’ll be only distantly related to Second Life.
Feeds
So they’re emulating Acclaim’s business model and using Second Life for press release purposes…
They figured out that any concept of “real estate” or “land” was just oh-so-meat-world and merely created customer service headaches, and they went the content route which is what the Lindens will do ultimately.
Cause if there’s one thing those kids are crazy about, its GOLF.
And so it begins…… heh.
Hi guys — The golf game is a localized version of the on-line sensation known as Pangya. When I visited Thailand this summer, it was one of the most popular games — if not *the* most popular game — in the gaming parlors.
A few things to note: (a) Asiasoft (the makers of Pangya and Ragnarok Online) are not emulating the business models of others. They are responsible for the “pay to pay” concept in the first place, and (b) despite the claims of the localized press release the game is nothing like SECOND LIFE.
Aaron
Yes, (a) and (b) are just what I’m saying in that post, actually.
Hi again — Totally, Mark. My comment was in response to the other comments (e.g. “They’re emulating Acclaim’s business model”). Just wanted to note that the model was pioneered by Asian companies, and not by the folks at Acclaim (in Beverly Hills).