Exploring Virtual Worlds
I recently attended the Virtual Worlds Conference & Expo held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. If you had to read that sentence twice or do a double take (the what conference?) then you probably aren’t one of the millions involved in the virtual world phenomenon.
Virtual worlds (VWs) have become so big that there is a dedicated conference complete with panels, keynote speakers and a trade-show style expo. Currently in its second year – but in LA for the first time – the conference attracted such big names as Academy Award-winning writer and producer, Jon Landau, and one of our clients, Steve Parkis, Senior Vice President of Disney Online. You can check out a video of Steve’s keynote here.
The research presented represented the diverse offerings already out there with virtual worlds divided into 8 sectors – education/development; TV/films/books; sports; casual gaming; socializing/chat; toys/real world games; roleplay/fantasy/quests; and mirrorworld.
What I thought was most interesting was the 5 panel tracks – Hollywood VWs, Enterprise VWs, the future of VWs, Technology and results – AND an entire track devoted to kids virtual worlds. With over 16 virtual worlds (& 4 more announced to launch in 2009) for the 10 & under set and another 24 for 10+ and teens, virtual worlds have certainly made their impact.
The predictions for 2009 are even more staggering as the sheer volume of worlds being developed grows, the brands and companies that are getting into the game (for crying out loud – McDonalds even has a virtual world!) and the investments being made by large corporations.
And, in case you were wondering, I am one of the millions that have become quite taken with this phenomenon – although after witnessing first hand all of the folks gathered at the LACC I am less inclined to call it that. Virtual worlds are certainly here to stay and for all of you stuck in 1987 (yes, the first online virtual world actually came out 21 years ago!!!), you’d better become a quick study. And if you need to find virtual me any time soon, look for ‘bbopper’ wandering around in Hello Kitty world! 
Thanks for sharing Steve Parkis’ keynote Stacey. Virtual worlds were a hot topic at the Sandbox Summit held in New York this week too. The number of brands, including traditional play brands and new ones, launching virtual worlds is staggering. It’ll be interesting to see which ones have staying power and can attract critical mass. More from the Sandbox Summit soon!