Breathing Second Life into Business

Breathing Second Life into Business

先日はメディアとSecond Lifeの記事を書きまして
昨日BlogTVの番組でも紹介させて頂きましたが
今度はビジネスのお話。

Toyota,AdidasやSun MicrosystemsなんかはみんなSecond LifeをPromotionに使い始めています。

11 Reasons why massively multiplayer games are going to change the way business works

Once we accept that the media is more than paper and airwaves it becomes clear that games like Second Life are part of the media. The main point of difference is that the media used to be a tool for business whereas this media encapsulates business and becomes an environment rather than a mediator.

Second Lifeのようなゲームはメディアになりうると。
しかも通常のメディアはビジネスにとってツールにすぎないけれど、
Second Lifeのようなものだと環境になりうると。

Provided massively multiplayer games remain populated there should be no reason why the worlds can’t scale infinitely and never suffer the risk of environmental depletion.

膨大なるゲーム人口はまさに"unlimited"であると。

The economies are as real
Second Life is perhaps one of the most poignant examples of a thriving virtual economy that has a real-life corollary. There have been several success stories, particularly in the area of property development, and the key driver of this type of economy is in its extension into the real world.

経済がリアルワールドの延長線上にあると。

ただ、一つ指摘しておきたいのはリアルワールドの延長にあるんだけど
環境がSecond Lifeとかに変わることにより
国力の差をぶっとばせてしまうこと。
だからWoWでは中国で地下に何百人と安い労働者を雇って
ひたすらゲームをさせるというビジネスがあって
ゲーム内ではchinese farmersと呼ばれて通常のゲーマーから不評を買っている。
私も何度も会った。。。

つまり、貧富の差をぶっとばして下克上できちゃうってことだと私は思う。
そうか、がんばれば私もお金持ちになれるかしら :P

Outdoor advertising is back in fashion
If the real world were safer to walk about we’d probably have much better outdoor advertising. In new worlds like Second Life and outdoor advertisement can be interactive, have embedded functionality like a direct link to a call centre, or ordering capability, and you seldom have to worry about muggers or vandals interrupting you.

Proximity matters again
The Web made proximity and location irrelevant. There is no such thing as “closer” on the Web, although this could change with the net neutrality debates going on right now. In 3D worlds, the value of being closer to where a character lives or works is significant, much in the same way it is in real life.

ゲームだとギルドもあって「緊密な人と緊密でない人」がすごく分かれる。
だから私はゲームにログインするとたいていすぐに誰かが「やあ！」と声をかけてくれる。
それはギルドのメンバーだったりそうでなかったり。
リアルで会ったことがない人がほとんどで、アメリカにいたりシンガポールにいたりするけど
でもすごくcloser on the Webな友達たち。

だから命と時間とお金をかけて一緒に戦ったり手伝ったりしてあげたりしてもらったりする。

People spend more quality time in the game
Even if you spend less time interacting with a virtual world, it will probably seem like quantitatively “better” time than the time you spend in your real life because you have chosen to spend it that way. By implication there is something there that appeals to you more than your current real life situation. Some people watch TV, others play sports, some inhabit strange worlds that don’t really exist. The point is that for many in the game it is a time spent feeling good, which is the best time to transact.

そうね。。。
ずぶずぶになってしまうので、私は自制心フル活動で
もう２ヶ月ぐらいWoWにまったくログインしていないのだけれど
はまってしまうとずぶずぶです。

There are new and unimaginable markets opening up
Because the physics of these new worlds and they way they work are flexible and subject to change, the potential range of needs or desires is significantly different to those of the real world, some won’t have a real word equivalent. This means new markets will develop where there weren’t any before for things that have never existed before.

Everyday mundanity can now be part of an escape
Going to the bank or shopping for groceries is a drudge in real life but put it in a virtual world and suddenly everything seems like fun. Companies that understand this will be able to increase their customer base by making their products interesting to find and buy.

毎日必ずオークションハウスに行って価格をチェックする人とかすごいいるいる。

Customer service can be personal again
As customer service has been migrated from interpersonal to telephonic to email, the quality of the service has become worse even though rapid responses are more available. With avatar-based customer service some of the interpersonal aspects of human communication can be reintroduced and some others will continue to be automated.

God is present (to fix bugs and release new versions)
Game and world developers are keeping an active eye on the way the virtual worlds are operating. This means that critical changes can be made quickly, that the community of users can influence the direction of the development and that things will not remain stagnant for hundreds of years at a time.

This is just the beginning
The world of massively multiplayer games is in its infancy now. The economic, political and cultural impact has only just begun to become apparent and then only on a small scale. Whatever the impact is, it will be significant. The question is, for how many and what happens to those who either don’t have access or the interest.

やっぱ先日も書いたけど、デジタルデバイドですよ。
インターネットやってないとデジタルデバイドなののごとく
ゲームやってないとデジタルデバイドでおいてかれちゃう日がいつか来るに違いない。

今は単におたくと思われてるかもしれないけどさ。