Linden Lab have announced that as from April 2nd, 2013, Creatorverse, the first in their new range of products to be released in a “full” version, is available free-of-charge for the Apple iOS (iPad, iPod Touch and iPhone) – however, “advanced tool” packs will now be sold within the application itself.
The announcement of the move reads in part:
SAN FRANCISCO – April 2, 2013 – Linden Lab, the makers of shared creative spaces including Second Life®, PatternsTM, and dioTM, today announced that CreatorverseTM for iOS is now available for free. Previously, Linden Lab had offered Creatorverse for iOS for $4.99, and Creatorverse Lite for free, but now Creatorverse is available for iOS as a single, free app. Creatorverse for Android and for Kindle Fire will soon follow the same model.
The announcement goes on:
For more complex creations, packs of advanced tools like teleporters and motors, are now available for purchase within the app. In addition, a new capability for Creatorverse, thrusters, are now available in the Rocket Tool Pack, which will allow users to easily add rockets, jetpacks, and more to their Creatorverse designs.
The the first of the “advanced tools” packs will be an “Advanced Creator Pack” priced at $4.99 However, all those who have purchased Creatorverse for iOS prior to the pricing model change will receive this pack free of charge – and it is assumed the same offer will be extended to Kindle / Android users when these versions also switch to the new pricing model. Whether or not other “add-on” packages will be offered at the same price remains to be seen – but it appears likely.
It’s been hard to gauge how Creatorverse has faired since being launched; while initial interest was high, it did appear – within the Android market at least, to tail-off very quickly, with downloads plummeting rapidly. Today, downloads appear to be so low, they are no longer graphically represented on Google Play
As I commented on the launch of the “Lite” version of the application, it’s hard to judge the move on LL’s part – is it a clever marketing ploy or a further attempt to bolster an application which isn’t actually making much headway?
Doubtless, there will be many who see the move in terms of the latter.
However, offering the app free, but holding the more advanced tools back as a purchasable option could actually be a canny move – and it is possible that downloads of the Lite version of Creatorverse have encouraged LL to think in these terms. These appear to be running at a somewhat higher daily average compared to the full-price version – which is suggestive that there is a market for the free version of the app out there, and that the marketing additional features and capabilities in “advanced” tool packs could be a tidy way for LL to continue to generate revenue off the back of that popularity, and to maintain interest in the product as a whole.
In this regard, the idea of generating income from “expansion packs” isn’t new – it’s something those at LL with a background in games will be very familiar with. What’s more, it is putting Creatorverse in the same marketing model as Versu.
Related Links
- Creatorverse for iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch)
- Creatorverse for Android (2.3.3+)
- Creatorverse for Kindle tablets
- Creatorverse website
- Rod Humble would like you to meet Second Life 2.0 – Giant Bomb, October 11th
- My look at Creatorverse on a Galaxy S2
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