Framing Questions (Virtual Worlds)

I am really interested in the topic of virtual worlds. In recent years, with the rise of World of Warcraft and Second Life, we have seen a greater advancement in the environments themselves that have allowed for greater immersion of the user. Some of the questions that I have for this week are:

1. The free virtual world program, Second Life, was supposed to be the next big thing for advertisers desperate to break out of the mold. However, the buzz has died down as it has become apparent that the Second Life user base was not growing the way it was first projected too. What is the future of advertising in virtual worlds? Have advertisers found more success in non-MMORPG games such as Madden or Nascar console games?

2. Will we ever see a virtual world game (like Second Life) that appeals to a much wider and diverse audience than these programs have in the past? What changes will have to be made and what benefits will have to be added to a virtual world program to make more people want to utilize it?

Tags: virtual worlds