Game worlds: Growth economy

The virtual economy is strengthening - for gamers, anyway. This is a business story, but of interest to us parents because it offers indicators of where the industry's going. Electronic Arts will soon be offering the next version of its popular Battlefield Heroes game for free, the New York Times reports. You heard right - it will be downloadable for free. EA will make its money on advertising and in-game sales of virtual gear - weapons, clothing, etc. This is not a big leap of faith, of course. EA tested the approach in South Korea, "the world’s most fervent gaming culture," according to the Times, which adds that "in 2006, the company introduced a free version of its FIFA soccer game there ... [and] signed up more than 5 million Korean users," generating more than $1 million a month in virtual-objects sales. [See also "Virtual money, real income" and "Converting virtual cash to real."]

Job interviews in Second Life?!

Yes. Business suit not necessary, just send your avatar. The Wall Street Journal reports that a big recruitment-advertising firm hosted a job fair in the Second Life virtual world “with employers such as Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and Sdexho Alliance SA” and there’ll be another one in August. it’s now possible to meet with recruiters without actually showing up for a job interview.” So a ZDNET blogger decided that, with “future job prospects in mind,” it might be prudent to revise some earlier statements about Second Life, for example, changing this comment… “Second Life has gone from zero to cliche in record time as people sit around admiring their avatars. The dirty little secret: It’s a productivity drain”… to this view: “Second Life is great. I love my avatar, which is some rabbit type thing if I recall. It’s a great productivity tool.” Not that I’m suggesting we parents need to do any backpedaling from comments about teen time spent in virtual worlds. But a little open-mindedness might not hurt.