2010 was our most productive Engage! Conference and Expo ever, providing attendees with a range of new opportunities.  There were a lot of firsts with this particular show, primarily our co-location with Toy Fair.  Conference recordings (MP3 audio files) are now online.  They can't provide you the full value of being there of course but they provide some great insight. (Photo: Will Wright delivering his opening keynote address)

Welcome to the Virtual Worlds News Wrap-Up for the week of February 5, 2010. The Wrap-Up is where VWN spotlights stories that we didn't get to cover individually, but still make for interesting reading about the virtual worlds industry.

• Disney's World of Cars Online is moving to open beta, reports Massively. 
• Raph Koster, of the late Metaplace, opines that while virtual worlds are changing and games like Farmville are growing while There.com is shutting down, it doesn't mean that virtual worlds are over, but they won't look like what we've been working on. More info at RaphKoster.com.
• But with plenty of worlds popping up on Facebook, Hi5 wants to get in on the action. This week it announced support for Facebook-compatible APIs. 
• With There.com going the way of the Dodo, Frenzoo is one of several worlds trying to pick up the newly homeless creator community as well as general users with specials to entice them to join through March 31. More info at Frenzoo.
• The Sun--so take it with a grain of salt--is reporting that a Korean couple let their child starve to death while raising a virtual toddler in the game, Prius. The paper compares Prius to Second Life offhandedly, so there may be more hubub to come. 

Welcome to the Virtual Worlds News Wrap-Up for the week of February 5, 2010. The Wrap-Up is where VWN spotlights stories that we didn't get to cover individually, but still make for interesting reading about the virtual worlds industry. Disney's... Joey Seiler

China-based Radiance Digital Entertainment announced today that it will be releasing its Beach Volleyball Online virtual world in May. Omniverse Games will oversee operations here in North America and provide marketing and customer support. Radiance describes its free-to-play volleyball world as allowing users to compete in virtual beach volleyball, but go beyond the game and explore a full virtual world. It sounds like Football Superstars in that the attraction and governing theme is the sport, but there's more to the activity than just competition.

"We are pleased with the support and dedication Omniverse Games has shown during the localization phase of development, and we are looking forward to seeing these games make a splash in North America" says Montgomery Singman, CEO of Radiance Digital Entertainment.

China-based Radiance Digital Entertainment announced today that it will be releasing its Beach Volleyball Online virtual world in May. Omniverse Games will oversee operations here in North America and provide marketing and customer support. Radiance describes its free-to-play volleyball world... Joey Seiler

BigWorld Technologies announced today the roll out of three new pricing structures for independent and small development studios and academics looking to experiment with virtual worlds or MMOs. For as low as $299 a year, casual developers and academics can create their own worlds based on the BigWorld development platform.

BigWorld Indie and Academic differ only in licensing terms, but otherwise allow users to purchase, for $299 a year, the ability to install copy-protected tools on 25 machines and create a world for up to 10,000 subscribers. BigWorld Indie Source runs $2,999 annually, but includes source code for the client and tools as well as the ability to install plugins.

“This announcement comes as a bona fide boon for students, indie and prototype developers who have previously been unable to gain access to BigWorld’s premier, complete and proven MMOG solution," commented John De Margheriti, CEO, BigWorld. “Many developers have been placing solutions for Indies and making available prototype builds for emerging game companies for quite some time. BigWorld has kept its focus on the fully commercial marketplace and to date, there are over 40 commercial licenses in development or launched on BigWorld Technology. We are now well positioned to expand our product offerings to include academic institutions and mod and indie developers, who are in our belief, stronger and more capable than ever to take advantage of virtual or graphical social worlds and MMOs."

You can find a full list of what comes with each package here.

BigWorld Technologies announced today the roll out of three new pricing structures for independent and small development studios and academics looking to experiment with virtual worlds or MMOs. For as low as $299 a year, casual developers and academics can... Joey Seiler

Sony announced today that its casual MMO, Free Realms, had registered over 9 million users. That's up from the 8 million the company announced at the beginning of February. As a bit of history, Free Realms registered over 1 million users in its first 17 days, 2 million within its first month, and over 5 million by September.

“With Free Realms, we’ve been able to reflect the needs and wants of our players by keenly listening to their suggestions and feedback,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “We believe the persistent exercise of capturing in-game research inside Free Realms has been a huge contributing factor as to why we’ve attracted over nine million players in less than a year. It truly helps us give our players a game where they can do and be whatever they want.”

Sony announced today that its casual MMO, Free Realms, had registered over 9 million users. That's up from the 8 million the company announced at the beginning of February. As a bit of history, Free Realms registered over 1 million... Joey Seiler

Comdex ran as a popular computer trade show in Las Vegas from 1979 to 2003. Since then Comdex has been sold around and existed as a website rather than a conference. Now Comdex is coming back to a virtual Las Vegas. From November 16-17, 2010, Comdex will reopen with an environment created by UBM Studios.  

The updated virtual expo will include:

• A Grand Hall of Masters to showcase the events keynote speakers.
• A Conference Hall offering technical, product, channel and business training for the sellers of technology through a wealth of content and conference tracks. Everything Channel journalists and analysts as well as technology industry leaders will present sessions.
• An Exhibit Hall for booths and pavilions where technology vendors can meet with technology sellers to communicate strategies, product value and programs.
• Hospitality Suites for private meetings, briefings and cocktail parties with customers, partners and media.
• A Media Room for registered journalists and industry analysts.
• A CRN Test Center with live reviews and demos of the industry’s most compelling and leading-edge technology solutions.

In other words, Comdex Virtual will offer all the aspects of a physical expo, but without the travel costs or expense of renting a venue.

“The technology sales channel drives two-thirds of technology sales worldwide,” said Robert Faletra, CEO, Everything Channel. “We live in a globally connected world and a virtual COMDEX gives us the ability to connect this powerful market which is now untapped. When COMDEX first launched it was positioned as a show for the technology sales channel, we are pleased to bring it back to its initial mission.”

Comdex ran as a popular computer trade show in Las Vegas from 1979 to 2003. Since then Comdex has been sold around and existed as a website rather than a conference. Now Comdex is coming back to a virtual Las... Joey Seiler

Monumental Games has announced that it is restructuring its business into three divisions. Monumental Online, headed up by Gylan Hunter, will focus on the Monumental Technology Suite and its themed virtual worlds, Football Superstars and Hunter's World. Michael Delves will tackle future-oriented research, like augmented reality, at Monumental Conversion and Emerging Technologies. Andy Norman will head up Monumental Racing. Earlier this month, Monumental CEO Rik Alexander hinted at plans for a future of MMOs on consoles.

“Basing our business around our three core competencies reinforces our commitment to these key areas,” said Alexander. “This approach puts us in a strong position to capitalise on growth opportunities in each area, improving internal focus and providing a clearer representation of our business.”

Monumental Games has announced that it is restructuring its business into three divisions. Monumental Online, headed up by Gylan Hunter, will focus on the Monumental Technology Suite and its themed virtual worlds, Football Superstars and Hunter's World. Michael Delves will... Joey Seiler

Katalabs, a new virtual world studio, is devoted to the Web. Grown out of Stanford researchers working on the open-source Sirikata platform, Kata is working on creating virtual worlds that can be embedded in websites and accessed through any browser that has WebGL installed. Katalabs isn't calling its work "virtual worlds," though. The preferred description is "real time, synchronous communication web applications." 

According to New World Notes, the start-up is led by Henrik Bennetsen,  a  former director at Stanford's Humanities Lab and organizer of the MetaverseU conference series. Bennetsen has a background working with Second Life as a resident academic at Linden Lab, but he sees the future in bringing the collaboration power and richness of virtual worlds directly to the browser and combining it with other tools.

"3D is becoming a web technology, the way that video became a web technology. The web's continuing away from a document delivery platform to a fully-fleshed application environment," he told New World Notes. "What we call virtual worlds now will be a subset... I predict our terminology around virtual worlds will change." 

[via New World Notes]

Katalabs, a new virtual world studio, is devoted to the Web. Grown out of Stanford researchers working on the open-source Sirikata platform, Kata is working on creating virtual worlds that can be embedded in websites and accessed through any browser... Joey Seiler

Today the teen-oriented virtual world Meez announced that it would be promoting the Red Cross through the month of March with a virtual blood bank area in its teen-oriented virtual world. Users who visit the promotional area with their avatars and donate virtual blood will receive a limited edition Red Cross virtual t-shirt. The virtual blood bank will contain links pointing users to the Red Cross Web site if they want to make actual donations or learn more about the organization.  

Meez has reached top four in terms of engagement time on Web sites according to Comscore, with session times longer than those of the average YouTube or Facebook user. Average Meez users spend about ninety minutes on the virtual world per session, with the average user engaging regularly with the virtual world for a nine-month period. The Meez company is five years old, but transitioned from an avatar service to a virtual world service about two and a half years ago. 

According to Meez CEO John Cahill, the virtual world is looking to do a special "awareness" promotion like the Red Cross tie-in once per month, with limited edition virtual goods attached to each. The idea is to help keep stickiness and engagement high for Meez users by letting them do things in the virtual world that engage with real world problems. The decision is driven in part by Meez's success with brand advertising promotions like their recent Hot Pockets campaign. 

Meez's users like seeing parts of the "real" world appear in their virtual world. Meez is also uniquely well-suited to building campaigns around teen-oriented brands and issues, since the virtual world's demographic is overwhelmingly young and American. Roughly 65% of users are teenagers and 91% are US residents. 

Cahill describes these users as "brand-friendly and media-friendly," into collecting virtual goods aggressively so they can use them to express status while socializing with friends online. Users give Meez immediate feedback when new brands or items are promoted in the virtual world. Combining virtual goods revenue and brand sponsorship revenue helps keep Meez's business thriving.

"Sponsorship revenue tends to be a little lumpy, but it tends to be very, very high. Virtual goods are lower but very steady and predictable. Virtual goods can grow slowly month-on-month. Sponsorship tendsto be spiky," said Cahill. "What's great about having [brand] items parallel with currency-based virtual goods, is that users willing to watch ads but not to spend money can still acquire goods." 

This post by Alicia Ashby originally appeared on Virtual Goods News.

Today the teen-oriented virtual world Meez announced that it would be promoting the Red Cross through the month of March with a virtual blood bank area in its teen-oriented virtual world. Users who visit the promotional area with their avatars... Joey Seiler

enVie Interactive announced the beta launch of its new virtual world, Vie. The announcement says that the virtual world is aimed at "cater[ing] to women looking for an engaging online game that speaks to them," but its Facebook fan page positions the world as a place for "mature adults" of all genders to "indulge in exclusive shopping, fun entertainment, intriguing and mysterious episodic adventures – or, if they so choose – erotic fantasies."  Set on a virtual tropical island, Vie is set to launch later in 2010.

"VIE is an online playground for adults that offers stunning graphics, unique customization and the ultimate entertainment experience to a market that has been virtually ignored by the gaming industry," said Philo Northrup, President and Co-founder of enVie Interactive. "The concept for the game is the brainchild of Viktor Kalvachev, and together we have created a virtual world where adults will want to come, play and indulge in whatever they desire."

enVie Interactive announced the beta launch of its new virtual world, Vie. The announcement says that the virtual world is aimed at "cater[ing] to women looking for an engaging online game that speaks to them," but its Facebook fan page... Joey Seiler

Today ad offer network Peanut Labs announced three major new partners for its platform: browser-based virtual world Meez, MMO publisher IGG, and the virtual currency payment service Zeevex. All three services will be incorporating Peanut Labs's full suite of products, including traditional CPA offers, market research surveys, and Cherry Deals local discount offers. In all, Peanut Labs currently serves about 200 clients with a total reach of 110 million users. 

While it is typical for MMO portals like IGG's to monetize through ad offers, Peanut Labs's partnerships with Meez and Zeevex are more unusual. Meez is a top four Internet site in terms of engagement time, bucking a trend toward decline in virtual worlds, and a partnership with Peanut Labs seems like a direct attempt to help grow the site further. 

Zeevex's system lets users pay for virtual currency in participating games with the universal Zeev Tokens currency, previously obtainable only through prepaid card. Allowing users to obtain Zeev Tokens through Peanut Labs could drive monetization for both Zeevex and its partners. 

Peanut Labs is currently the only ad offer platform that lets users obtain virtual currency in exchange for buying physical goods from local retailers at a discount, through its Cherry Deals subsidiary. Previously Peanut Labs emphasized its market research survey component, which made it exclusive ad offer network serving the the many youth-oriented MMOs published by Acclaim. Peanut Labs also partnered with Frogster America, which publishes the family-oriented Runes of Magic MMORPG.

Meez serves a predominantly teenage demographic, while Zeevex is designed to serve young and unbanked players. Peanut Labs's cachet as a safe and trusted ad offer partner is probably worth a lot there, indicating that the ScamVille scare of a few months back is ultimately not going to hold back the growth of the ad offer industry.

This post by Alicia Ashby originally appeared on Virtual Goods News.