Planet Calypso economy subject of academic study

MindArk subsidiary First Planet Company announced that it is working with a Florida State University doctoral student in the College of Business on a new study about virtual world industries and virtual economies. According to First Planet company, this study will help to determine if a player’s experience with a product in a virtual world influences their intention to purchase a product and how that experience can affect a brand.

First Planet Company and business scholars at The Florida State University and Stockholm School of Economics have partnered to develop answers surrounding buying habits in virtual worlds. The study being conducted within the upcoming Miss Calypso beauty pageant on Planet Calypso seeks to understand how the mental state of a virtual world user influences his or her attitude toward, and intention to purchase digital products within virtual worlds.

“Despite the increasing attention that virtual worlds have seen with respect to marketing by companies, little is known about the perception of products within virtual worlds. Even less is known about how a consumer’s cognitive state resulting from an experience with a product in a virtual world may influence his or her intention to purchase a product,” said Rob Hooker, a doctoral candidate who is conducting an independent study in the College of Business at The Florida State University.

The 6th annual Miss Calypso beauty pageant will take place on November 22nd, at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (Noon on the West Coast) in the MMORPG Planet Calypso. Results from this study will be available in Q1 of 2010.

Fifth series of U.B. Funkeys hit retail

Mattel’s Radica and causal game developer Arkadium have launched the fifth series of U.B. Funkeys toys. These toys are action figures that are used in conjunction with a kid friendly MMO style world where the toys unlock special characters. It combines vinyl toy collecting with the world of gaming.
The newest version transports players into the cross-section of technology and nature with four new zones:

- Old Green: Nature at Its Core (Autumn)
- New Green: Conservation, Recycling, Paper vs. Plastic (Spring)
- Old Technology: Industrial Revolution (Winter)
- New Technology: Eco, Nano, Clean and Green (Summer)

The new series of toys also introduces six new characters, new multiplayer games and user-generated games.

Recent research from Nielsen shows that over the past five years the kids Web universe has grown by 18 percent, versus just a 10 percent growth rate seen in the relative mature general Web population. As of May this year, the kids 2-11 audience had reached 16 million, or 9.5 percent of the active online universe. And time spent online among kids has soared by 63 percent over the past five years.

And on a related note, youngsters will be able to collect U.B. Funkeys toys through a joint promotional program with Wendy’s. Beginning this month U.B. Funkeys starter CDs, a back pack clip, a U.B. Funkeys bobble head and 3D board game will be available in Wendy’s Kids’ Meals.

Games in Education Symposium kicking off next week

A two day conference comprised of workshops and presentations revolving around education, computers, video games, teaching techniques using software and video game development is going to kick off next week at the Hudson Valley Community College campus in the Bulmer Telecommunications Center. In its third year, the conference is called Games in Education Symposium and runs August 5th and 6th.

The event is free to educators from early childhood to post secondary education interested in the use of games and technology to promote better ways of learning in the 21st century. This year’s it will explore the practical application of interactive technologies like video games, social networks, blogs and other media to inspire and promote learning.

This year’s topics include the exploration of virtual worlds like Second Life and World of Warcraft and how teachers are using the games successfully in schools, to Social Robotics experimentation aimed at getting kids interested in Computer Science, to analyzing the real world pressures teacher’s face.

The 2009 Games in Education Symposium is presented by 1st Playable Productions, WMHT public television (an Albany, NY PBS station), the Teacher Preparation Department at Hudson Valley Community College, the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium, and the College of Computing and Information at The University at Albany.

The event will run 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 5 and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thursday, August 6. For more information or to register, visit www.gamesineducation.org. Hudson Valley Community College is located at 80 Vandenburgh Ave, Troy NY 12180. Lunch and door prizes will be provided. More information on key sponsor 1ST Playable, can be found at www.1stplayable.com.

PlaySpan survey finds women buy more virtual goods

Research and consultancy firm, Frank N. Magid Associates, and PlaySpan today announced a new study that evaluates attitudes and behaviors of consumers on virtual goods spending. According to the study, 12 percent of the overall population surveyed reported that they had bought virtual goods in the last 12 months.

However, a closer look at the habits of virtual goods buyers reveals that virtual world visitors are the heaviest virtual goods buyers, with 46 percent of these consumers buying virtual goods (from virtual worlds, games or social networks) and nearly one third of iPhone owners buying from the same platforms.

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Former DIS technical lead joins Trilogy Studios

Trilogy Studios has brought on former Disney Interactive Studios technical lead Britt Morris, the company announced today. In this new role as technical director of Trilogy Studios, Morris will spearhead the technical vision, design and implementation of Trilogy Studios online initiatives.

Prior to joining Trilogy Studios, Britt Morris served as technical lead for Disney Interactive Studios, where he oversaw the technical design for all of the studio’s online projects. At DIS, Morris worked closely with Disney Online to help implement the DGamer community platform on the Nintendo DS and in select Nintendo DS titles. Prior to that, Morris served as chief of technology for bH Development, LLC and director of engineering for Sega.

Founded in 2005 by Michael Pole and Rick Giolito, the Sherman Oaks, CA-based company is developing virtual world and next generation console games. In 2007, Trilogy designed and launched MTV Networks’ most popular online virtual world to date, Virtual Pimp My Ride.

Second Skin coming to select theaters, DVD

Liberation Entertainment and Pure West bring the first feature length documentary about virtual worlds and the gamers who live in them, Second Skin, to DVD August 25  and select theaters around the U.S. Second Skin takes an in-depth look at how virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest and Second Life have affected a group of gamers - for better or worse. The subjects of the film include a couple whose lives have changed since meeting online, a player whose life spins out of control due to his addiction and disabled players who find a voice and mobility in the virtual world.

The film also looks at the controversial world of Chinese gold farming and presents astonishing facts about online gaming related to what many consider sweatshops dedicated to this exploitation of people and virtual currencies.

A DVD release is planned for shortly after a limited theatrical run in select cities. Second Skin will be screening in NYC, LA, Austin and Boston in mid-August, then coming to DVDs on August 25th. You can check out a clip right here.

Lively is Murdered

How quickly Google has put this one to bed. The company has already put a bullet in the head of Lively, the company’s MMO-like space that it launched only a four and a half months ago - according to TechCrunch.

“..despite all the virtual high fives and creative rooms everyone has enjoyed in the last four and a half months, we’ve decided to shut Lively down at the end of the year,” Google said in a statement.” It has been a tough decision, but we want to ensure that we prioritize our resources and focus more on our core search, ads and apps business.”

They encourage users to take videos and screenshots to commemorate the rooms they created. Users do not find this solution very pleasing and are gathering in rooms called “Lively is Murdered.” They probably will not go quietly, but at some point, it will not matter.

I wasn’t convinced that Google was really behind the whole idea of Lively in the first place, and its short life span convinces me that my first impression was correct..