“ Rosedale said one of the biggest surprises he had building SecondLife was how when given total creative license, most of the houses just looked like ones in Malibu. Most people just covet the things they know, he says. And in the US, perhaps that life is attainable enough. And for those who can’t attain it, there are already well-trod ways to escape into it, through television, music videos, or RomComs set in Manhattan where everything winds up okay. Perhaps they want the culture that’s already built for them, not the responsibility to build it themselves.”
PandoDaily covers a talk by Philip Rosedale of SecondLife. Rosedale cites the phenomenon above as a possible reason Second Life’s growth flatlined.
Lending credence to this theory is the parallel success of The Sims, which focused on the simulation of ready-made items rather than the creation of the items themselves. The Sims is one of the most successful videogame franchises ever, selling over 150 million units worldwide. Not only did players not have to build items, the economic engine of The Sims was based on the sale of ‘stuff packs’, expansion packs featuring more pre-made items.
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