I’ve never heard of Second Life until reading this article, but it seems to have a lot of similarities to the Sims. I think games like this can become extremely addicting and it can definitely distract people from the real world. I think in the future, we’ll still have games like this around. They may not be the same games that are here now, but there will definitely still be a market for these type of games. While these games can be extremely addicting, they also get old really fast. Say someone plays for a month straight and that’s all they do. People reach this point where they don’t like the game anymore, for whatever reasons, and they just stop playing just as quickly as they’ve started. But then there’s always a new game right around the corner and that person will jump to the next game.
For now, membership to a community like Second Life is free. It appears they make their money with in-game purchases. I don’t feel this is the best way to keep a company alive. There is no guarantee that people will purchase items from the stores once online. Because you can technically play for free with no need to buy anything. The only way you need to make a purchase is if you want to buy a custom house or new clothes or something similar for your avatar. I think if a company like this really wants to guarantee monetary success, they need to charge a monthly fee. But I know this brings the game to a whole new level if you are charging to play a game.
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