Google Lively is dead ... ly

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 20th 2008 at 11:10AM }

A mere four and a half months after the project's birth, Google is pulling the plug on its Second Life clone, Lively. The internet giant announced that it will shut down the program at the end of December, leaving all those in need of a virtual sex outlet crawling back to Second Life.

We're glad that Sony realized how virtual worlds like Lively were played out years ago and cut its losses before going too far. Oh, did we say Sony? We meant Google. Yeah.

[Via Massively]

Tags: google, home, lively, second-life

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Burritoclock @ Nov 20th 2008 11:13AM

MEGABURN!!!

(ATHF)

Mr Khan @ Nov 20th 2008 12:13PM

YOU ARE THE INSULT MASTER!

required @ Nov 20th 2008 12:48PM

odd burn seeing as Microsoft released NXE avatars into their virtual world, oh wait that isn't a world per say...it's a pile of anti.

Kamal @ Nov 20th 2008 8:01PM

required, just because someone disses Sony, doesn't mean they're a Microsoft fanboy and defend Avatars.

Misfit Toy @ Nov 20th 2008 11:15AM

You hear that Sony. That's investors knocking at your door with torches and pitchforks.

MowDownJoe @ Nov 20th 2008 11:17AM

Google failed at something? How does that work? I could've sworn they'd create SkyNet by now.

Rollins @ Nov 20th 2008 11:54AM

You see, that's just it. They were able to predict (with 100% accuracy, mind you) that proceeding with Lively would result in failure, so they killed it before it could.

Unfortunately, their future predicting machines weren't quite ready four and a half months ago.

Killjebus @ Nov 20th 2008 11:18AM

"We're glad that Sony realized how virtual worlds like Lively were played out years ago and cut its losses before going too far. Oh, did we say Sony? We meant Google. Yeah."

Okay den, Joystiq yer so funny with that witty comment....YOU BETCHA!!!

Duke @ Nov 20th 2008 11:21AM

Oh c'mon. It was funny.

Killjebus @ Nov 20th 2008 11:28AM

Duke, I'm all for funny, but for me...that was not funny. If they wanna bash Sony for trying to do something completely different, innovative, and new for console gaming fine...but come up with some NEW material PLEASE.

deaftly @ Nov 20th 2008 11:37AM

new and innovative? nah dude it sucks, seriously.

(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm @ Nov 20th 2008 11:38AM

"If they wanna bash Sony for trying to do something completely different, innovative, and new for console gaming fine"

Guess there's not much to bash then, other than LBP.

Yeah, I went there.

Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Nov 20th 2008 11:40AM

Jebus, I think it's more about Sony hyping for so long everybody is sick of it than gamers hating Home because it's made by Sony.If they kept shut about it then people wouldn't be so disappointed over constant delays.

tmacairjordan87 @ Nov 20th 2008 11:46AM

Yeah it was funny because Home itself has become a joke. Everyone who's been (un)lucky enough to get in the beta says it's horrible and pointless. At this point they'd be better off scrapping the whole project and putting those resources back into making good games.

For example, they could start by resurrecting Eight Days which looked fantastic.

The-E @ Nov 20th 2008 11:55AM

@(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm

You want to bash little big planet?!!?Bu....bu....but they are so tiny and cute!! It would be like bashing the little animal thing from that stupid eye toy game...eye pet or eye rat or whatever it is!!Its adorable!!

(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm @ Nov 20th 2008 11:56AM

Judging by tone, I assume you know what I actually meant :P

ZaxCG2 @ Nov 20th 2008 12:05PM

YES MY FEELINGS ARE HARMED BY THAT JOKE AS WELL. FOR I AM A ROBOT WHO'S EMOTIONS COME FROM THE RESPECT OF VIDEOGAMES.

D dogg @ Nov 20th 2008 12:15PM

First off, the PS3 is a gaming machine at its heart. Others can claim Blu-Ray player OR multimedia player but if you're gonna put the "Playstation" name on it... VIDEO GAME MACHINE.

Having said that, HOME is NOT a game nor do I see it enhancing the game experience what-so-ever... not when compared to something like the new Xbox 360 interface.

Now I own a Xbox and think the PS3 sucks to be up front but I definitely think the NXE is better suited than Sony' HOME. To add further insult to injury, NXE was not only announced AFTER home but released BEFORE HOME. How much does Sony suck... I'll tell you, a LOT.

Duke @ Nov 20th 2008 12:07PM

Gotta agree with tmac on his comments. They should put the efforts into something more worthwhile. Home, for those of us who have it, is not this grand new world that so many seem to need.

Sometimes simple is better when it comes to online activities. I know I don't need to see virtual people walking around to make me more intersted in other computer tasks. What is it about a virtual online space that sounds so darn amazing and new to people?

Mr Khan @ Nov 20th 2008 12:15PM

Unless HOME is being made by Sony London, then it's scrapping would have no effect on Eight Days

Maverick Saturn @ Nov 20th 2008 1:09PM

Nah, I disagree, despite how funny the article was, people really have little or no reason to go on Google's lively and while Home may be the biggest pain in the ass, I can see people time wasting on it simply because its there, its free to enter and heck, its a place to fool about without having to install anything and take up space on your PC like Second life does. So I doubt Home will be epic fail once PS3 owners have a PS3, but I also doubt it will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, I'm guessing it will stay in the middle as one of those things you use to pass the time and for people who have just bought a PS3 and have nothing else to play or kiddies who have to wait until their birthdays and Xmas before they get thier next game.

tmacairjordan87 @ Nov 20th 2008 1:13PM

Actually it's good you bring that up Mr Khan because I just found out yesterday SCEE is the main company working on Home and I heard at least some of the people that were working on The Getaway and Eight Days are now helping with Home.

Now I doubt it was cancelled because of Home, and I pray to whatever's out there that it wasn't cancelled for that stupid Eyepet thing, but it hurts when garbage things like Home get pushed on while games with potential get cut. Here's hoping the animation system and cover system make it to uncharted 2 or something.

Shadow Hog @ Nov 20th 2008 11:21AM

That animal is pretty cute, actually. Given the rumors that Google wants in on the gaming industry anyway, maybe they'll reuse all these characters later on down the line?

Shadow Hog @ Nov 20th 2008 11:21AM

Also, this is the first I'm even hearing of this thing, so.

Burritoclock @ Nov 20th 2008 11:24AM

I agree, marketing was probably the failure here, I read gaming shit all day everyday and the fist thing I hear about this is it being shutdown...

Konstantine @ Nov 20th 2008 11:24AM

I'd never even heard if this before, but that character is so freakin' cute. If I had known, I'd be using the service...

Sam @ Nov 20th 2008 11:27AM

Dohoho you sly dog Alexander.

I chortled heartily.

deaftly @ Nov 20th 2008 11:27AM

You forgot to put up the /flameshield!

The-E @ Nov 20th 2008 11:49AM

OH GOD THE FLAMES!!!THEY BURN!!!!!!!!!AHHHHHHHH!!!

deaftly @ Nov 20th 2008 11:52AM

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The-E @ Nov 20th 2008 11:57AM

"Shields on full! Fire the fanboy torpedoes!!!"-Kirk

"I can't reach the controls captain..I'M TOO FAT!!"-Scotty

Deeznuts420 @ Nov 20th 2008 1:26PM

who said sulu isnt underneath the controls ;)

Sim and Sim @ Nov 21st 2008 4:18AM

Thats no moon...

JerJer @ Nov 20th 2008 11:28AM

heyyyyyy. i see what you did there sliwinski...

The Dark Wayne @ Nov 20th 2008 11:34AM

maybe in 12 years the media will report on this and have shitty CSI episodes about it too

Archon @ Nov 20th 2008 11:35AM

They are closing it down? Maybe because NO ONE EVER HEARD OF IT?...

crsh @ Nov 20th 2008 11:56AM

I think it's rather because Lively is great R&D work but commercially pointless; Second Life has the upper hand in the VR chat/avatar time-wasting business.

Archon @ Nov 20th 2008 12:00PM

The thing is that Google never really advertises most of it's stuff. Not many people know about their user image tagging thing, Google Docs weren't that popular for quite a long time and I don't know a single person who uses the whole Google Search History panel. On the other hand, I'm aware of the fact that if the G started advertising, they would probably be accused of using their position to elevate some of their features. It's hard to be a big-ass company these days, huh? *coughmicrosoftcough*

Burnt Meatloaf @ Nov 21st 2008 5:25AM

That's the simplicity paradigm for you.

Yeah, kind of ironic that a company that specializes in advertising released a product and nobody heard about it for months. Even Chrome got a sleeper release, if not for all the cheers on Slashdot (which were quickly followed by scorn).

tlarkin79 @ Nov 20th 2008 11:37AM

Why is it that more people are hearing about this project getting cancelled now, than ever heard about it starting?

ZaxCG2 @ Nov 20th 2008 12:01PM

That's how much it sucked apparently.

Sabi @ Nov 20th 2008 11:54AM

I saw this happening when they first announced it and after i tried it to find out it sucks..

Tez @ Nov 20th 2008 12:01PM

I'm in the Home beta, and honestly? It's not that bad. I think most people just read about it and look at screenshots and think "Why the hell would I want to make a person and walk around a virtual world?" and if that's all you do in it, then yeah it's pretty pointless. However, I've had some fun in it chatting with people, finding people in my area (hopefully they make this sort of thing easier later on), and most importantly, finding people to play games with. No other console has something built in to do that; I spent fifteen minutes in Home and have found about five people to play Guitar Hero with/against which was awesome because none of my friends have it. In that context, I think it's pretty cool, and finding people with the same game will be a lot easier in the future as more developers create specific game spaces for their games.

It's free, you don't have to download any section of it you don't want to use or go into... I don't see what the big deal is.

ZaxCG2 @ Nov 20th 2008 12:09PM

You have to understand the mind of a troll to see what the big deal is.

Mr Khan @ Nov 20th 2008 12:17PM

Enjoyment is often derived from interpretation, much like how some people look at Animal Crossing addicts and scratch their heads with bewilderment

If you see a product a certain way, you can find the value in it, but see it another way, and you just see a worthless waste of bytes

Edge @ Nov 20th 2008 2:42PM

The major problem: No one wants to have a virtual dance party in their virtual apartment. We can be complete douches in the real world just fine.

Honestly, the only thing that smacks of cool for me is the game area. And the clubs idea isn't that bad.... would be nice if they could hold more than 32 members.

Tez @ Nov 20th 2008 2:45PM

"No one wants to have a virtual dance party in their virtual apartment."

Good thing that's not the only thing you can do in Home, then? Again, what is the point/problem? There is a lot of things to do, and for most people only one or two of them will be appealing and you aren't forced to do any of the other stuff. Or any of it at all.

Titanium_Orchid @ Nov 20th 2008 6:06PM

I agree with Tez on this one.

I've watched advertisements with people, and chatted about the game being shown. I've seen random people meet up in the mall help a dude unlock the death cards in World at War. I think Home was made for interactions like these.

Home seems to fill a gap that has been pretty severe in the PS3's online capabilities; the social aspect. I have people on my friend's list but I don't really interact with them because its a pain to get a group together and do something. Home makes this process a lot simpler.

I think Home was created as a way for random people to come together and play/talk about games. Something that Live seems to be lacking at this point.

Home isn't a mind-blowing experience but its a nice tool to have around.

arrrgh @ Nov 21st 2008 7:24AM

let's think about this for a second...

"Why the hell would I want to make a person and walk around a virtual world?"

You say you found people to chat with, and could launch games and make clubs... and this makes it worth while? really?

i thought we could pretty much do these things from xmb/nxe (aside from the club thing...but you have a friends list)

Tez @ Nov 21st 2008 11:08AM

Those are great for people that are already friends, but how do you find new people in the NXE or XMB, other than looking at a list of people you recently bumped into randomly in your last few games?

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