It seems one of the major land businesses in Second Life is about to change hands. A comment posted on the SLU forums quotes the following for a notecard apparently circulated to some Azure residents:
We’ve got some fairly big news for the residents of the Azure Islands, as of March 16th, the Azure Islands will be transferring from us, over to a new management team run by Metaverse Services Limited.
If accurate, this is newsworthy on a number of counts. For a start, “Metaverse Services Limited” appears to be the holding company for Anshe Chung (Ailin Graef) of Dreamland fame, Time magazine celebrity and flying penises notoriety. If Azure is going under Anshe’s banner, then it means that from tomorrow, MSL control a huge swathe of estates and land across Second Life and are potentially in even more of a position of power where matters of policy and behind-closed-doors discussions with LL on land benefits, etc., are concerned.
Secondly, it begs the question as to what is happening to the land business overall in Second Life. Adam Zaius (Adam Frisby), primary owner of Azure island has been staunchly involved in SL almost from the beginning – something that has earned him a reputation as being a “pillar” of the so-called Feted Inner Core (FIC) and the devil incarnate by some, whilst simultaneously viewed upon as a fair and committed land owner, businessman and pioneer to others (notably his residents). Whichever side of the coin one happens to view when looking at Mr. Zaius – it cannot be denied he has built a considerable business enterprise within SL – one that goes beyond Azure itself; and has given a tremendous amount to the platform as well.
That he is now apparently selling-off / transferring / pretty much bailing on the SL land business – and taking into account his growing interest in / commitment to the OpenSim environment, which may be playing a part in this decision – tends to suggest that the entire land business, which has for so long underpinned SL as a going concern, is in far worse state than even the most negative of speculations around it have suggested. Even with his preoccupation with OSGrid development, it is hard to see Mr. Zaius abandoning what must be a healthy revenue stream simply for the hell of it. If he really is a “pillar of the FIC”, does he know something other’s are not privy to? Again, Zaius is not alone in running Azure…What of his partner in the venture?
Of course, this all could be grist for the rumour-mill – but I’ll be quite curious as to what emerges tomorrow.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
I believe Prokofy Neva once speculated that LL will let big land owners manage all their land holdings for them eventually. But this would have been split between many of the big names. I don’t think even Neva thought that Anshe Chung would get it all.
I’m still sitting and quivering on my old mainland plot. I have a feeling I will be offered a swap to a larger “Linden Land” house deal or be urged towards the Chung Estates. Because old mainland isn’t ours anymore.
And this isn’t good for the smaller estate owners. How will they receive any advertising when Chung is the only real deal on the grid?
LikeLike
Proks isn’t alone – although she probably figured things out ahead of most of us.
My own view was that *if* LL keep to their original idea that Linden homes were supposedly a “first step” in home / land ownership for newbie residents – with the implication that such residents would be encouraged to move on – said residents would be filtered / siloed towards a mixture of both the larger pre-fab offerings from LL and the larger estate holders. In fact, I was pretty confident that the Azure MotD from last June was an indication that LL were only too prepared to funnel residents towards preferred – and no doubt compliant – estate owners.
I’m now not sure this is still the case. Leaving aside the implications of MSL taking over Azure’s holdings, one thing has become clear from the Linden Home situation – and that is that the homes will likely be anything but temporary for those who take them up. For one thing, LL are happy to keep rolling out regions with them so that that take-up continues to rise, with seemingly little in the way of fall-off. For another, we humans are remarkably lazy, and once settled, we’re pretty much content to stick where we are unless moving / change is necessitated upon us.
Of course, some will argue that that Linden Home venture is about having nicely homogenised and compliant residents – and I don’t necessarily disagree.
Like you, I do wonder at the future for Mainland and the smaller estates – and in the larger perspective – the future of SL. If you take the Linden Homes venture and this move by Azuare – if true – you can make a pretty strong case to say that TPTB both within and close to LL have written off land as a revenue stream worthy of any major consideration.
If this is the case – and assuming the “great influx” of new residents actually happens, and that they are all largely persuaded to take up Premium Accounts & Linden Homes – then where exactly is LL going to generate the revenue required to keep SL afloat. It’s pretty hard to imagine than Premium Accounts alone will keep the grid floating – and the idea that “big business” is waiting in the wings and dying to spend money here probably sits (to keep with the nautical theme) at about the same depth as the Titanic…
LikeLike
“It’s pretty hard to imagine than Premium Accounts alone will keep the grid floating ”
Yes, they can and could keep the grid afloat. A yearly subscription to SL is the equivalent of a six month subscription to Warcraft. Even games less popular than WoW keep afloat with a smaller subscription base.
The problem came down to opening up the platform to freebie status. That is a change they have since regretted. I see the Linden Home development as a way to re-introduce the subscription model.
Another problem was that they actively sought to destroy the land model and when it was so clear that players LOVED it. So the Linden Home seeks to make amends with previous bad decisions plus putting the land back under LL’s control. I really don’t see them putting old mainland off line. Its still valuable. Have you ever seen the prices for first sim land? I do see them handing large swaths of “historic” mainland to their business partners of the moment. And I expect that most of us will be upheaved unceremoniously. Probably around the time they connect the teen/main grids.
LikeLike
Premium accounts floating SL assumes there will be a large influx.
Annual account payments are unlike to be popular among first timers, simply because they represent an outlay that may well exceed interest level.
WoW succeeds as it has a massive active userbase compared to SL and it gives those people what they are seeking.
While SL is deeply innovative & can be compelling – the fact remains that for the average newcomer it represents “nothing to do” without a lot of hard work. This has been the major problem with user retention for a very long time – and things like Viewer 2.0 will do little to improve it.
Taken on their own, Premium Accounts may enable the status quo to be maintained, but I really do doubt they’ll be enough to keep SL afloat – as in viable – to those like Kapor, who are demanding SL “does something” to generate a better return for their investment.
Land-wise, I’m only too aware of prices. I used to own and run private sims. I’m also too aware of the mess LL made of Mainland. I still take an interest in land, despite having divested all my holdings bar the land I use as “home”.
Justin Bovington is already demanding that tracts of Mainland are effectively made no-go areas for us mere residents, and restricted for “business” use, as Prok and I both commented on last year. While I think Amanda is supportive – I actually doubt that there will genuinely be the demand to make this a reality.
As to the grid merger – the louder LL claim it’s “not on the horizon”, the more it seems that just maybe, it is….
LikeLike