cyworld
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Korea loves games, except virtual worlds
WorldsInMotion.biz has covered a report from the Korea Times stating that the virtual world business over there is beginning to falter.While we're embracing technology like Facebook and MySpace, bringing these social networking sites into our mainstream culture, Korea is experiencing a slump in their business. Cyworld, the leading social network in Korea, has reported 6% loss in their service revenue. To cope, Cyworld is going to be upgrading to a fully functional virtual space, instead of the current "room system" that it has now, in an attempt to attract more users.In comparison, MySpace Korea's launch was almost disastrous, their opening week garnering 1/20th of what Cyworld gets a week in traffic. It's quite easy to say, perhaps the virtual bubble has burst?
New MMOSG: Sociotown
A new MMOSG (that's Massively Multiplayer Online Social Game, which I don't recall seeing before, but sure, why not?) has sprung up, and it's called Sociotown. Now, not to knock something before it's even been released, but when I hear 'socio-' anything, I immediately think sociopath. And that's not the image you want to send across for a virtual world.Regardless, from looking at the latest footage, there are a few things I need to comment on. Won't you follow along with me? First of all, point-and-click movement is awkward. I've never liked it, despite the fun to be had in Diablo and Mythos, and prefer WASD movement. Second of all, the look of this world is similar to a lot of other similar social spaces, so no innovation there. Third, there is some interest in not being able to immediately see another person's name, forcing you to introduce yourself to him/her. Fourth, 'Socio dollars' is just more awkwardness -- why not SoBucks?
