Second Life Flops in Korea

"Kim, the local head of Linden Lab, said major local firms Samsung, Hyundai, KT and LG experimented with the service last year, but haven't benefited much because only 110,000 Korean users have so far signed up."

``Second Life is a service that requires patience to maneuver, but domestic users prefer things quickly,'' he explained, adding that it will take a few years for the business to mature here. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/123_32740.html

IRC-Galleria Sold to Sulake for 12,5 Million Euro (in HABBO paper)

October 1st 2008 Antti Vilpponen blogged about Sulake's aquisition of IRC Galleria, the only part of Sulake that makes any money http://www.arcticstartup.com/irc-gallerias-price-to-sulake-125-million-euro/

IRC-galleriaKauppalehti reports that according financial data published into the government files, the price Sulake paid for the acquisition of IRC-Galleria a while back is 12,5 million euros. The company behind IRC-Galleria is Dynamoid, where the Finnish serial entrepreneur Taneli Tikka has also gathered some experience. The price was 6,6 times their annual revenue which at that time was 1,89 million euros and 25 times their earnings of 500 000 euros.

But the key deal point here is that the price was paid in Sulake stock. Silly silly IRC guys! You should have taken the cash money not the HABBO paper.

If only Habbo made $100 million ...

This Aussi article on virtual worlds must have been written by Crocodile Dundee. I do not know who this guy interviewed at Sulake if anyone to state:

"Habbo, owned by the Finnish company Sulake, generated about $100 million in revenue in 2008, 75 per cent of it from teenage users buying virtual furniture to deck out their private rooms in the Habbo Hotel. The remainder comes from advertisers." 2008 is not even over yet dude. And HABBO revenue has been shrinking since Japanese VC SoftBank's 5% purchase in 2006. HABBO revenues peaked in 2005 and have dropped steadily since then http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/virtual-playgrounds-for-kids/2008/10/09/1223145499071.html

Interestingly, the article quotes Aussie HABBO Chief Jeff Brookes; "Habbo is looking to expand its global teen reach - it has about 9 million users - to older audiences although it is acutely aware of start-ups looking to poach its users.

"It's the brightest star in the online sector in terms of development and where people see the future," Sulake's Asia-Pacific regional director, Jeff Brookes, says. "For Habbo, once our users hit 17 they pretty much drop off. It's why there are 200 virtual worlds in development .. everyone is trying to get another one going that will catch them at 17 and catch them again after that."

ClickandBuy no longer an international payment system

ClickandBuy may be an alternative payment method for German merchants to supplement credit cards, bank transfers, prepaids and sms. But the wallet service is no longer a viable international payment method given their complete retreat to and focus on their home turf (Germany). Just look at the news coverage. Totally German. So much for internationalization.


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LifeGen.de® ist eine Publikation der

Lifegen.de (Abonnement), Germany - Oct 7, 2008
Alternativ können Sie auch den Service von ClickandBuy nutzen und die Texte einzeln bzw. im Rahmen des Jahres-Tickets erwerben. Die kostenlose Volltextsuche ...