The Metaverse: Signs ups VS Users

by on 5 August, 2008 - 08:51

by: Rick van der Wal

For many the metaverse is linked to Second Life. Not surprising as Second Life is of course, a metaverse. However, many are surprised to hear Second Life is not the first, not the only, and by far not the most popular metaverse.

I’d say its the most promising of all because of unique features such as the user generated content, but in raw numbers it doesn’t even make the top 10 of Metaverses out there (it finishes 13th). This is because you have to look at the actual number of people involved rather then the media attention Second Life has gotten. What I mean by actual numbers is:

1. The percentage of the sign ups that becomes an actual participant rather then someone who leaves after a day or two (Second Life has admitted to losing about 80% of the sign ups int he first 2 weeks).

2. The number of unique persons creating an account. For World of Warcraft for instance, if I wanted another avatar I could create one within the same account, Second Life requires you to make a new account.

On a website its comparable to the number of hits VS the number of visitors. This means Second Life would rank far lower with its 10 million ‘residents’ (Linden Labs misleading term for sign ups) then World of Warcraft with 9 million users. To get a more accurate view on the situation (its still an estimation) Dan Taylor compiled a top 10 Virtual Environments at the moment:

World of Warcraft http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/ Blizzard Entertainment Launched: 2004 Approximate no. of users: 9m Habbo Hotel http://www.habbo.com/ Sulake Launched: 2000 Approximate no. of users: 7.5m Nicktropolis http://www.nick.com/nicktropolis/ Nickelodeon Launched: 2007 Approximate no. of users: 5.1m Runescape http://www.runescape.com/ Jagex Launched: 2001 Approximate no. of users: 5m Club Penguin http://www.clubpenguin.com/ New Horizon Interactive / Disney Launched: 2005 Approximate no. of users: 4m Knight Online http://www.knightonlineworld.com/ MGame Corporation / Noah System Launched: 2004 Approximate no. of users: 4m Barbie Girls http://www.barbiegirls.com/ Mattel Launched: 2007 Approximate no. of users: 4m Coke Studios http://www.mycoke.com/ Studiocom / The Coca-Cola Company Launched: 2002 Approximate no. of users: 4m Gaia Online http://www.gaiaonline.com/ Gaia Interactive Launched: 2003 Approximate no. of users: 3.5m MapleStory http://www.maplestory.com/ Wizet / Nexon Launched: 1999 Approximate no. of users: 3m

For a complete listing visit Fabric of Folly, who deserve all credits for compiling this excellent list.

Original Post: http://digado.nl/the-metaverse-sign-ups-vs-users.html