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Posts with tag virtual worlds

Will Parents Pay for Virtual Barbie?

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jun 9th 2008 at 10:30AM

Will Parents Pay for Virtual Barbie?Remember that 'Second Life'-like Barbie world we told you about, 'Barbie Girls?' Well, it has been a runaway success for Mattel. Now, the company faces a new challenge with the service -- turning it into a money-making machine.

The company's latest idea is to charge girls (i.e. their parents) $5.99 a month for access to 'Barbie Girls V.I.P.' which will grant them access to perks that non-V.I.P. subscribers will miss out on: a virtual pet for your virtual Barbie, access to the Extreme DreamPark, and a virtual tiara.

Whether or not parents will be willing to fork over the $72 a year so their kids can spend more time in front of a computer remains to be seen, but it may be the more cost effective route than you think -- the Barbie Dream House costs over $250. [Source: GigaOm]
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Disney Fans Petition to Save Virtual Magic Kingdom

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 15th 2008 at 9:53AMBreaking News

Disney Fans Petition to Save Virtual Magic KingdomDisney's Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is, as the name implies, a rather magical place. It's also not a place that is close (or cheap) enough for everyone to attend whenever they want. It was no surprise, then, that when Disney launched an online Virtual Magic Kingdom (VMK) back in 2005, kids everywhere wanted to get in on the action.

And, just as in real life, said children aren't too inclined to leave, either. As a result, Disney's announcement of the end of support for the VMK has resulted in an online petition launched by the kids and their parents, according to WKMG Orlando.

Over 11,000 people have signed the petition SaveVMKToday.com, a site set up by a team of players and parents of players who don't want the site to go away. Even so, Disney has said the site has already been up far longer than originally planned, and now plans to wrap the service for good on May 21.

Given how successful most online petitions are, it doesn't seem altogether likely this one will change anything. Sorry, kids -- maybe you should start a protest on Facebook instead?

From WKMG Orlando

Gallery: Virtual Magic Kingdom




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Virtual 'Hello Kitty' World Officially Launches Online

by Evan Shamoon, posted Mar 18th 2008 at 10:07AM



Okay fellas (and gals), put on those capris and the pink halter top that's been collecting dust in your closet: it's Hello Kitty time.

Specifically, time for Hello Kitty Online, an online hub for all things HK. It's called Sanrio Town, and it will serve as the central community for the upcoming Hello Kitty MMOG.

There are forums dedicated to Hello Kitty and other lovable Sanrio characters, along with fashion, love, music and games. There's even a Dream Studio area (still in beta), allowing you to upload and personalize and share videos and photos.

Hellooooooo Kitty.

From ShinyShiny


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U.S. Intelligence Looking For Terrorists In "Virtual Worlds"

by Evan Shamoon, posted Mar 5th 2008 at 10:01AM



In an effort to cover all its bases, the U.S .government has begun a project to help spot terrorists who are using "virtual worlds" as their forum – World of Warcraft, Second Life, et al.

The program is essentially trained to set its baseline for what is to be considered "normal" behavior in online worlds, and zero in on strange or suspicious activity. Of course, when the de-factor activity is, say, killing a night elf with a level 73 Wand of Unscrupluousness, it's kinda tough to say what's cool and what's not.

"It's a positive step," said Andrew Cochran, founder and co-chairman of the Counterterrorism Foundation. "For a number of years we were behind in chasing jihadists' presence on the net and detecting it."

And now, finally, they can interrupt WoW raids without a warrant. Hmm.

From BBC

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Virtual Barbie World Sees Meteoric Rise

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 16th 2007 at 2:14PM

Mattel's Virtual Barbie World Sees Meteoric Rise
We've previously posted about the 'Barbie Girls' virtual world being slapped together by Mattel as a 'Second Life'-esque haven for teens and tweens. Now, the site has entered beta mode and something surprising has happened: The service has racked up three million registered users in 60 days and is still growing. The service is signing up roughly 50,000 new users a day, a growth rate that far surpasses the cultish success of 'Second Life' or the geeky fanatical rise of 'World of Warcraft' (WOW).

According to Tech Crunch, 'Barbie Girls' could be well on its way to becoming the largest online community in the new social Web. To put these numbers in perspective, it took 'Second Life' three years to hit the one million user mark. At current growth rates, 'Barbie Girls' will usurp 'Second Life' sometime between November of this year and January of next. And 'WOW' won't be far off either.

A couple of things are clear based on these numbers:
  • Virtual worlds have officially gone mainstream
  • Virtual worlds, once predominantly male are becoming more heavily female populated
  • Young girls are not above beta chasing
From Tech Crunch

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