Linden Lab Q2 land report: lower sim pricing, new continent
Jack Linden has weighed in with the belated quarterly Second Life land supply and pricing report. Longer than the usual report, here's your key takeaways:
New simulators: US$675 cheaper sometime this month.
Opening auction prices dropping by US$500.
New continent on the way to lower mainland prices.
Got your attention yet? We thought it might.
While you might easily miss it in the text, land prices on the Linden estate (aka the Mainland) have risen to an average L$11.5/sqm -- the median is sort of waved at in passing there, and while it is the more useful figure than the average we only know that it is below 10 -- and that accordingly April and May new mainland supply will be 10+ sims per day, with a new continent in the works.
So, new continent, more mainland rollout to reverse inflation of land prices.
But we know you're really more interested in that simulator price cut, right?
Sometime later this month, Linden Lab is launching the new version of their land store. With it comes a price drop on the initial fee for new simulators, down from US$1,675 to US$1,000. Monthly upkeep fees will remain the same at US$295.
If you just bought one at the old price? Ouch. We feel for you.
Likewise the opening auction price for new mainland regions will fall from US$1,250 to US$750. When? "Shortly" apparently. We'd say that is likely to coincide with the launch of the new land store and the reduction in new sim prices.
Jack promises more detailed information on all of this, including land-recycling and land taken from ad-farms in an upcoming post.
