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You don't see nearly the amount of coverage of Second Life (or as we call it in these parts, PlayStation Home's creepy, aggressively pornographic uncle) these days as you used to, and BBC did a little digging to find out why. Their discovery? Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but Second Life sucks. It's overly complicated to control, it's full of some truly horrific human beings, there are many better social networking hubs and (perhaps most importantly) companies that sunk a bunch of money into it rarely got their investments back.

What the BBC seems to be implying is that Second Life was largely a media-created phenomenon, with journalists and public figures so smitten by the idea of a virtual world, no one stopped to notice that it was a wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Besides, everybody knows that HiPiHi is where it's at.

Industry Gamers reports that Linden Lab, developer of Second Life, has announced that citizens of the virtual world have exchanged over $1 billion in digital goods and services with one another. Furthermore, said citizens have also logged over one billion hours of their first lives in Second Life. The creators elaborated that the game currently has "the largest virtual economy in the industry" generating $50 million per month in user-to-user transactions.

Linden Lab drops some other Second Life statistics, including the fact that over 250,000 virtual goods are created every day, 1,250 text messages are sent every second and that the world now occupies 2 billion square meters of virtual land. According to Linden Lab, that's roughly the size of Rhode Island.

It's not stopping there either, as CEO Mark Kingdon notes that the company is "positioned for reinvigorating [its] growth in 2010 with a range of strategic initiatives that will enhance the experience for existing Residents and propel [its] expansion with new users." We're not sure exactly what's planned for Second Life, though we hear cataclysms are all the rage these days.

Before you start furiously clicking through the source link to see where on the list of Architect's Journal's "Top 10" gaming worlds Second Life falls, we're just going to tell you upfront that it's number seven. That's three full spots ahead of the (apparently) FAT-inspired Super Mario World! Outrageous, we know, we know.

The list is rounded out by some rather ... interesting choices -- from Jet Set Willy's house to Halo's ring world, and everything in between, which are all discussed in highfalutin terms that we simply can't wrap our heads around. "Gemutlich?" "Miminalism" (note: not "minimalism")? We're sticking with the video games, thank you very much.

[Via Kotaku]

Online gaming news site Virtual Worlds recently had the opportunity to sit down with a couple of FTC attorneys who are currently investigating adult content in virtual worlds. The FTC is apparently working on a report for Congress (which is due in December), spawned by an inflammatory report on Second Life's "rape rooms" from Illinois' Rep. Mark Kirk. Thankfully, according to Virtual Worlds, the FTC is "on a fact-finding mission, not a witch hunt."

Coincidentally, this news comes on the heels of an announcement from Second Life's creators, Linden Lab. The virtual world will soon see a massive redistricting in order to separate the game's adult content from its all-ages content. To put it simply, Linden Lab will soon be creating an "adult content continent" that minors won't be able to access. May we suggest the name "Creepyvania" for this brave new landmass?

[Via GamePolitics]

The Reuters news service has just announced the closure of its bureau inside Second Life. The post announcing the closure is actually the first (and now only) activity on the secondlife.reuters.com site since September 30, when the only remaining reporter, Eric Krangel, left the site for another job. This news was posted under the account of Adam Pasick, who hasn't posted on the site since May 2008. We suppose that just having everyone leave wasn't an official shutdown of the site, just an effective one.

However, that's not the end of Reuters' virtual machinations. The company may have just closed its virtual space, but another island owned by parent company Thomson Scientific is now being rebranded with Thomson Reuters logos. If only Reuters had someone on the scene to keep us updated about Reuters.

[Via Massively]

Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:
It seems around this time every year, with W2s and 1099s filling mailboxes, that someone thinks it's a good idea to bring up the idea of taxing the virtual world. The irony really is that most of these discussions are far from complete and often only address one potential viewpoint that could be taken.

The latest commentary comes from the Washington Post (via GamePolitics) with further follow up on New World Notes based on a recent publication by the IRS. Their basic contention is that the essential difference in the Terms of Service between the Second Life model and the more traditional MMO model (i.e. World of Warcraft, Ultima Online, Everquest) would mean different tax treatment. I don't think it's nearly so cut and dry.

Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:


We're seeing quite the economic turbulence in the United States as of late, and financial problems lead to two things: 1) further regulations on the issues that caused the problem; and 2) people seeking out new sources to exploit to make a quick buck. Plenty of people have written article upon article about all of the various economic tools that have been exploited to bring us to this point. I, however, would like to talk about one of those potentially exploitable areas people may move toward, that being the currencies that exist in virtual worlds and MMO games. I figure it's only a matter of time before what I'm about to describe occurs in one manner or another, which could very easily turn the tide of regulatory scorn from Wall Street to Azeroth or Second Life.

I guess the best place to start is from something I hope most people are familiar with on a basic level: insider trading. In short, insider trading is when people with non-public information trade stocks to their benefit. It's regulated as a combination of a breach of fiduciary duty to the company or a misappropriation of information. In short, it's an unethical way to profit from inside information, and generally frowned upon (though some economists disagree with regulating insider trading). But insider trading is about stocks and securities, so where am I going with this?

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]

Amy Taylor and David Pollard, a British couple who, until recently, had spent three years together in marital bliss, are both avid Second Life players. So avid, in fact, that their nuptials were delivered in the game's virtual world in addition to, you know, the real one. Unfortunately, digi-Amy caught digi-David in a compromising position with a digi-prostitute shortly after the wedding, leading these two fully grown adults to file for an untimely digi-divorce. However, they remained married in real life, which likely led to a few awkward conversations over brunch.

Digi-David seemed to prove his fidelity by passing a "honeytrap" test later ordered by digi-Amy, in which a buxom digi-Private Eye attempted, and ultimately failed, to seduce his avatar. Unfortunately, digi-Amy recently walked in on digi-David and another avatar, who were conversing with "genuine affection". In response, real-life-Amy filed for real-life-divorce from real-life-David.

This report has been fairly sensationalied by the mainstream media over the past few days -- some outlets state that Taylor's divorce lawyer had already seen a Second Life-related seperation earlier that week, while some mention that Taylor has found love once again, this time in World of Warcraft. Regardless of the veracity of these questionable accounts, the news of couple's split due to online infidelity seems to be as true as it is infinitely depressing.

Either Nintendo just bought a large lot of "fake estate" (as opposed to real estate, which exists in the real world) in the ultimate non-game, Second Life, or someone who really loves Nintendo is up to something. A mysterious island has appeared in-world called "Nintendo Island." It's currently closed to the public (and devoid of structures), so we can't tell what Nintendo (or whoever) is up to on the island.

If this is Nintendo's doing, they could be setting up a giant advertising initiative on the island, with videos of stuff like Brain Age and Cooking Guide. Second Life residents are probably a good audience for Nintendo to attract -- they've proven that they're willing to spend a lot of money on things that are vaguely game-like.

[Via Massively]

For every story we post about Second Life's various troubles, there's always another story about one company or another arriving late to the SL bandwagon. So, following up our news of Phillip Rosedale's resignation as CEO, we have word that Samsung will be including technology to run Second Life on its line of smartphones.

The technology is being shown off at the CTIA wireless event this week in Las Vegas, and will allow users to access the 3D world of Second Life, as well as communicate with in-game avatars via text and SMS. The application is due to launch on Samsung phones running Softboard software in the second half of this year. Huzzah?

[Via GayGamer]

Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq, a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:

First, I'd like to apologize to all of the aspiring beaurocrats out there. This is not an announcement post for World of Taxcraft -- I hope I haven't ruined your favorite time of the year: tax season. Yes, with April Fools' behind us there are no distractions left to cling to. We're headed into the big tax crunch and that dreaded day, April 15. So what do taxes have to do with gamers, other than the fact that we probably pay them and are either reveling in our refund or frantically finishing 1040s right now? Well, looming on the horizon is a concept that may strike fear into the hearts of Azeroth: taxing the virtual world.

The virtual taxation concept isn't a new one. I discussed it in 2005, Prof. Bryan Camp wrote about it at length in 2007, and Dan Miller and the Joint Economic Committee are working on a report on the topic right now. At this point, it seems to be more of a 'when' rather than an 'if' we will start seeing taxation applied to the virtual realm. The US government is bent on spending an almost impossible amount of money, and this is yet another way to earn some revenue. What is more curious is how exactly the idea of virtual taxation can be applied, given the methodology behind the US income tax system. Tax law can get rather complex, so this column will try to keep things as elementary as possible.

Linden Lab's CEO Philip Rosedale, the man behind Second Life, told Reuters today that he'll be stepping down from his position and the company will seek someone with more management expertise to replace him. Rosedale will become chairman of the Linden Lab board when a successor is found and he'll stay active at the company in product development and strategy.

Rosedale's replacement will be tasked with regaining the momentum that Second Life once had when it was the hip thing for academics and business journalists to write and talk about. Although nothing is expected to be announced in the next year, Bill Gurley of Bechmark Capital believes the company could go public "at some point in the future."

[Via Massively, GameDaily]

Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq, a column on legal issues as they relate to video games:

Everyone remembers the now classic "You Stole My Cloudsong!" recording (warning: NSFW). What's less funny, if you're a MMORPG player, is that theft is a real occurrence in MMO worlds. So what happens if someone steals your hard earned gold or items? Do you have any recourse? According to the cops in Minnesota, the answer is no. However, a more progressive look at the issue would suggest that protection for your virtual assets is certainly coming, if it doesn't exist already. In fact, in China, a recent case declared that seizure of virtual assets had actual value with actual recourse. It's an issue that is often discussed at sites like VirtuallyBlind, TerraNova, and (shameless plug in 3-2-1) Law of the Game, among others. Of course, simply lumping in digital theft with ordinary theft is far more complex than one might think.

The baseline question that needs to be answered is: What is theft? According to Black's Law Dictionary (7th Ed.), theft is "the felonious taking and removing of another's personal property with the intent of depriving the true owner of it; larceny." Simple enough, but going back into the common law, many jurisdictions traditionally limited larceny (the root of theft) to tangible personal property. It's only more modern interpretations, especially in the US, that include intangible property in the grander concept of "theft." However, even assuming you can include intangibles in "theft," there are much bigger problems with trying to apply this concept to in-game theft.

We're getting mixed signals from this new trailer from the upcoming film about MMOs, Second Skin. On the one hand, it seems like an exaltation of the incredible phenomenon of virtual communities, but we're also getting the vibe that we may be asked to feel sympathy for MMO addicts, something we're not inclined to do. If the film manages to walk that line successfully though, it may just be required viewing.

The team behind it has its fingers crossed for a SXSW showing, which could lead to theatrical or cable distribution, so hopefully we'll be able to judge it in full soon. You can learn more about the film, as well as see a higher-quality version of the trailer, on the official site.