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Friday, November 21, 2008
End of the (virtual) world for Google
Google is giving up on its virtual world project, shuttering its not-so-lively site called Lively at the end of this year, the company announced.
The short-lived virtual world, where users could create animated avatars like the sad little guy on the left and dance and play and compete against fellow fake beings, never really got a foothold in the universe of online make believe.
Lively isn’t alone. Many virtual world sites for grown-ups - from the vaunted Second Life on down - are seeing real-world problems, even though kid-focused sites like Webkinz and Club Penguin are doing pretty well.
According to Austin-based research firm Virtual Worlds Management, more than 150 virtual world sites have popped up on the Internet over the past few years, most targeted users under age 18.
Do you ever visit virtual worlds? Ever been on Lively - and if so why do you think it’s dying?
