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Second Life real estate gets price hikes

Posted Nov 1, 2006 at 7:02AM EST by Karl B.

Listed in: Titles, News Tags: General Motors, IBM, Linden Lab, Sony

A dollar sign. What did you think this is?

With the popularity of Second Life, it's kinda hard to imagine that Second Life creators Linden Lab would be in the red. Imagine, the game already has 1.2 million registered users, and even big real-world companies like Sony, IBM, and General Motors are clamoring to buy some virtual in-game real estate.

But then again, maybe it's not so hard to imagine. With the recent surge in Second Life's popularity, Linden Lab's cost for servers, bandwidth, and engineering talent have risen significantly. According to John Zdanowski, Linden Lab's new chief financial officer, those factors were involved in the company's decision to raise land prices.

That's right guys, the price of virtual land in Second Life is getting a hike. Before - and until now, actually, since the hike hasn't been implemented yet - anyone could buy a small 16-acre private island for US $ 1,250 and a monthly maintenance fee of US $ 195. On Wednesday, though, the company plans to bump those fees up to US$ 1,675 and US$ 295, respectively, for all new sales.

Existing islands or land on the Second Life mainland would not be affected by the fee hikes, however. Additionally, Linden Lab plans to take a final inventory of 150 islands available at previous prices. After those islands are gone, all subsequent sales will be at the new prices.

Looking back a few weeks ago, this isn't Linden Lab's only pricing move. Earlier this month, the company also began charging US$ 9.95 for users' second accounts. The company also even thought about charging for technical support, which has so far been free. This idea, which was posted on a blog by Linden Lab VP of community development and research Robin Harper, was promptly blasted by some community members.

And what does the Second Life community think about the price hikes? Well, right now, most Second Life users don't own islands. The ones who will be most affected by the price fee hikes will be small business owners and those who rent space on islands, and at least one Second Life landlord, Hiro Queso, has seen fit to close down his business.

Not everybody's jumping ship, though. Alice McKeon, who runs d'Alliez Island Rentals in Second Life and rents 39 islands along with partner Tony Beckett, said that they will have to increase their rental prices accordingly in order to recoup their investments on new islands. "We'll have to see what supply and demand is (for islands). We will not grow as fast as we have in the past," said McKeon.

In light of these issues, McKeon maintains that she bears Linden Lab no ill will for the price fee hike. "Let's face it, they're a business," McKeon said, "and they have to operate as a business. I'm in their ballpark and either I believe in them and I stay, or I don't believe in them and I leave. And I plan to stay."

Via CNet

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