The power of the virtual worlds business was demonstrated recently when Vivendi announced a plan to buy Activision, a publisher of video games for consoles like the Sony PlayStation 3. Vivendi owns World of Warcraft, a virtual world for adults with more than 9 million members and revenue of more than US$1 billion.
Still, the long-term appetite for the youth-oriented sites is unclear. Fads have always whipsawed the children's toy market, and Web sites are no different, analysts warn. Parents could grow tired of coughing up the fees, while intense competition threatens to undercut the novelty. There are now at least 10 virtual worlds that involve caring for virtual pets.
Privacy and safety are a growing concern, particularly as companies aim at younger children. Some virtual worlds are now meant to appeal to preschoolers, using pictures to control actions so that reading is not required.
And critics are sharpening their knives. "We cannot allow the media and marketing industries to construct a childhood that is all screens, all the time," said Susan Linn, a Boston psychologist and the director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a nonprofit group that made noise this month when it complained of ads for movies on Webkinz.com.
Operators shrug off worries about fads and competition. "Are features like creating an avatar a long-term advantage for anyone? Probably not," said Paul Yanover, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online. "The viability and sustainability of this business comes from the shifting behavior of kids and how they spend their leisure time."
As for privacy and safety, companies point to a grid of controls. For instance, Neopets restricts children under 13 from certain areas unless their parents give permission in a fax. Several Neopets employees patrol the site around the clock, and messaging features are limited to approved words and phrases.
"Parents know they can trust our brand to protect kids," said Steve Youngwood, executive vice president for digital media at Nickelodeon. "We see that as a competitive advantage."
RSS