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Look out Second Life, here comes IMVU

gigaom.com — Out from under the media radar, IMVU posts big numbers about its user base, revenue, and virtual goods catalog.

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  • d1gg3r1, on 06/25/2008, -8/+24Second life = fail; IMVU = to be determined....
    • drdave1114, on 06/25/2008, -4/+8no, if it is compitition to second life, it will still fail, because it is just a copy of original fail. now I am going to go play habbo hotel with my friends down at Six figs fagot mansion.
    • RetroRufio, on 06/25/2008, -9/+2I've used Kaneva - www.kaneva.com
      It's definitely a big competitor to Second Life.
      Sometimes they actually stream live (real life) DJs into a 3D dance club, it's pretty cool.
      • Verz, on 06/25/2008, -1/+17You know what's cooler? Going to an actual dance club, where they actually -have- live (real life) DJs.
        • RetroRufio, on 06/25/2008, -0/+10But my Avatar can dance a lot better than I can :(
        • Verz, on 06/25/2008, -4/+2A video game isn't a replacement for your lack of dance skillz/motor functions. The only thing that's keeping you is your self-consciousness telling you not to (or that you can't) have fun. ***** your self-consciousness and go dancing! It'll make life more interesting for you.
        • mourne, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3I love dancing. Real dancing. That ***** people do at dance clubs is retarded.
    • quasipolymath, on 06/25/2008, -0/+6It's funny that Second Life get loads of attention from academics. Just about every research group I was in wanted to do something with it. But, at the end of the day, relatively few people actually use it. The ones that do use it don't tend to stay long.
      • ericrous, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2The novelty wears off the first time you see a raccoon wearing a dominatrix outfit.
    • dood, on 06/25/2008, -0/+7In my view, Second Life and the rest will only be really cool when we can plug our brains in to it. Until then they're just toys with limited appeal.
      • LiquidShield, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3.hack//
        • drdave1114, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0and then the comas start, and people get trapped inside the game forever.........or at least until they break it by dividing by 0
    • MxM111, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Well, if Second Life fails when compared to IMVU, then IMVU fails when compared to Skype. See what I mean? The simpler the program, the more users will use it.
    • Charlotte_Web, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3And don't forget Webkinz.com, which has an estimated $750 million annual revenue.
    • nitesoIja, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1to be determined = fail , therefore second life=to be deterpenis
  • WhereAmI, on 06/25/2008, -2/+9I've used this for awhile on and off. Neat, like Second Life but just for chatting. Not for me though, don't care enough to put visuals to text, I don't even have smiley's enabled half the time.
  • rednaxela825, on 06/25/2008, -0/+34IMVU has been around for a while. Its used for chatting only, so not a great threat for Second Life.
    • justice7, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1what ELSE is second life used for?
      • MortVent, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4Star Trek and Star Wars role play sims...
        Cyberpunk role play
        World of darkness role play (Vampire, Werewolf)
        Fantasy role play
        Steampunk role play

        Building with the tools, creating things that can't exist in the real world.

        Education and fund raising

        lots of reasons
        • madmccoy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Furry sex.

          You forgot about the furry sex.
    • skrowl, on 06/25/2008, -0/+5Yiffing, duh.
  • Fangsinmybeard, on 06/25/2008, -9/+13Oh crapola, another diversion that leads people to lead unproductive, unsustainable lives.
    • Murdats, on 06/25/2008, -4/+25get the hell off of digg and go back to your job in the mines, you are being unproductive.
    • lolcat23, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1ive tried it once, hated it.

      BUT, there are ppl who actually earn theire living in there. so dont say its unproductive.
  • deltron, on 06/25/2008, -4/+1I'm trying to find a program like this that's good. I've tried Kaneva, Second Life, etc. Just downloaded this, we'll see how it goes.
    • mhender, on 06/25/2008, -4/+3Are you THAT sad about your current life?
  • nailPuppy, on 06/25/2008, -1/+48They don't advertise a single furry on their homepage. How can they possibly hope to take Second Life's position?
    • Technohamster, on 06/25/2008, -0/+7They have plenty of furries tho once you try it.
      • mllawso, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1So wait, are the PN going to attack this game too?
      • keviniskool, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1And you know this how?
  • theaceoffire, on 06/25/2008, -3/+18IMVU used to rock, back when you could buy an adult license and have all kinds of naughty animations/parts/scenes.

    Then they basically deleted all that stuff (no refund for the license), started deleting things even remotely bad/possibly annoying/not nun-like, and loads of the developers left.

    *sigh*
  • sTiKyt, on 06/25/2008, -0/+28Look out IMVU here comes habbo hotel :)



    -_-
    • mllawso, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Can you script in imvu?
      • DMDekoth, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1You can attach songs that blare loud, low-quality unstoppable music (you must mute your computer or end IMVU process...) with everyone you're in a room with .. does that count?

        Closest thing to scripting is .. um.. word activated sound/music/animation.
    • deltron, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Habbo back in the day was the best.
  • tripledjr, on 06/25/2008, -4/+12IMVU is for people too lazy to open their front door and live the life they'd seemingly rather play on a computer.
    I'm going to go ahead and say that, that's probably not healthy.
    • peaceninja, on 06/25/2008, -5/+3Hi Gramps, I didn't know you surfed digg. Anyways, if you remember, 15 years ago, email was for people too lazy to send snail mail.
      • revjustin2, on 06/25/2008, -1/+4I would like to introduce you to the concept of "limits".
        At what point do we stop the virtualization of our everyday lives? I personally am willing to accept the consequences of sending e-mail vs snail mail, but I am uncomfortable replacing face-to-face interaction. I understand that this kind of thing doesn't replace anything by default (it can supplement, indeed), but, like Second Life, it can enable people to withdraw from real society in a manner that is much more dramatic than what can be done with something like e-mail or even IM. I am all for fantasy and play, but I am not in favor of people preferring fantasy and play to the determent of their ability to function in the world they actually inhabit.
        • pensivewombat, on 06/25/2008, -1/+3Guess what? Before the internet there were people who would withdraw from human culture and obsessively watch TV all day. Before that, there were people who would listen to radio serials at the expense of making real connections. It used to be that people who chose to READ were considered weirdos who replaced reality with fantasy. There are people who will limit their ability to function in the world regardless of what medium is available for them to use as an outlet. There is no reason to think others will do the same, and no reason to rant about normal people who use the internet, or to blame the technologies themselves.
        • peaceninja, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2yeah i guess my joke was missed...i agree completely with pensivewombat. you shouldn't blame new technology advancements just because there are lazy people who will misuse it. i used second life once and it seemed really corny and everything, but i am really excited at its potential (ie, a new way to learn about new bands or new books). but using second life as an alternative to a fun night on a friday is not only ridiculous but i personally would never consider it.
        • revjustin2, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2@pensivewombat - You're right. My concern, however, is not about the technology per se, but our acceptance of it. If you look at how media have developed over the years, they have become more and more immersive, which is powerful in terms of fun, but also in terms of impact which makes me hope that people take this potential impact into consideration when using new media/technology. Older media had some built in "saftey nets" in that it was somewhat harder to sit around all day and interact with a fantasy world. The degree of control over that fantasy is also higher with things like books in that the ride you're on is pre-defined. Interactive media introduce a higher level of variability and have less end-user control over the outcome thereby making an undesired or unexpected experience more likely. This is one of the reasons why people are wary of drug experiences. Like with drugs, I believe it is possible to use media without detrement, but as you use more and more "potent" forms, it becomes easier to become an addict.
    • Stevethegreat, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Every major breakthrough in societies come out of laziness though (not FROM laziness but FOR laziness), let's see how virtual worlds would pan out. I for one see that they would grow huge and most possibly would be the future of social networks, until then I'm not going near the thing of course, let the guinea pigs with no life to try them first.
  • GhostFreeman, on 06/25/2008, -4/+17they both suck.
  • DeePsix501, on 06/25/2008, -5/+34The pool is closed due to AIDS
  • CDoug03, on 06/25/2008, -4/+8Cool another game no one actually plays
  • WayGroovy, on 06/25/2008, -5/+1Dang, and I just deleted my account.
  • gamersedge, on 06/25/2008, -10/+4Second Life does not equal fail, they do not both suck, and yes, the pool may be closed to AIDS>
    “Look out SL” my eye. 550,000
  • MalDON, on 06/25/2008, -2/+7How was this under the radar? They have only been advertising it like crazy over the last few months.
    • lamiaconfitor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3ABP...
      • widgetmaker, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Doesn't work on flash game preloads..
        • lamiaconfitor, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Ah, I see. Haven't been playing flash games for a while.
  • mconnors, on 06/25/2008, -2/+11No installer for macs, if you are a mac user, don't bother registering.
    • lamiaconfitor, on 06/25/2008, -9/+5If you are a mac user, dont bother trying to have fun on your computer.
      • licnyc, on 06/25/2008, -7/+3yes PC users will be able to spend hours with virtual women (who might be guys) while mac users will go out and meet real women.
        • signalwarfare, on 06/25/2008, -0/+10Neither of you are going to meet women because you are dorks.
        • thescotty, on 06/28/2008, -0/+1lol...
    • christor, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Their webpage inspires confidence:

      "Can I use a MAC with your service?
      Last Update: May 15, 2007
      Unfortunately, we do not currently have a version of our program that is compatible with Macintosh computers. We are not able to give you an estimate of when this will be available, but we hope to offer the option very soon. Please continue to check back with us for news on this release."

      So a year ago they hoped "very soon" to offer a "MAC" version. (Media Access Control?) Probably no big loss, as others have pointed out. But there's little reason to hope for any, much less decent, software from a company who refers to Macs as MACs. I'm not nitpicking - I don't care what they call it. But I'm saying that no one actually calls them that unless they don't use them - and usually only if they hate them.
  • Funkleft, on 06/25/2008, -0/+25Absolutely nothing NEAR second life. Not even a comedic amount of threat. It's just an IM client.
    • D14BL0, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3I absolutely love having to open up a 3D avatar application to IM all of my friends in a virtual world.
  • williane, on 06/25/2008, -3/+7Club Penguin > both
  • svensksvamp, on 06/25/2008, -1/+17Look out Second Life, here comes Live Messenger
  • Verz, on 06/25/2008, -2/+8This is actually getting dugg? IMVU is the biggest load of crap I've ever tried. It's just a chatroom with 3D avatars that you can't even move.
  • BlackTye, on 06/25/2008, -1/+17"Oh god, not more of them." Anyone else thinking that?
  • Mannyy, on 06/25/2008, -2/+5Can i has sex?
  • gamersedge, on 06/25/2008, -7/+1Mannyy in SL: Yes. In IMVU: No. @funkleft and svenskvamp lol, exactly.
    • feanix, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3What is this gibberish?
      • HolyChimp, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1He's informing Mannyy that you can have sex in Second Life but not in IMVU. He then goes on to agree with funkleft and svenskvamp that if this is a competitor to second life then so is every other IM app out there.
  • lamiaconfitor, on 06/25/2008, -4/+8Second life will never catch up to the amount of spyware offered in IMVU.
    • egometry, on 06/30/2008, -0/+2There is no spyware in IMVU. I believe there's none in SL as well.
  • gamersedge, on 06/25/2008, -4/+2SL doesn't have ANY spyware...
  • username484767, on 06/25/2008, -1/+6Does ever female look like a whore like in SL?
    • MortVent, on 06/25/2008, -1/+0believe it or not.... but no

      Most do go for the supermodel body forms, but others go the complete opposite

      And well there is more than just skank wear, actually a lot of formal outfits and such.

      though the sexy stuff tends to be more numerous, everyone wants to look hot.
      • username484767, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1"everyone wants to look hot" if they have poor self esteem irl? That's always puzzled me about the online world, the "gotta have a hot avatar", why not be creative?
        • MortVent, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1It's more society trains us certain things are fashionable.

          Many do go for the grotesque or different.

          But the fact is clothing and avatar makers know the basics of humanity : sex sells
  • michaelzhao, on 06/25/2008, -1/+13IMVU?

    I see their crappy ads with some skanky bitch that looks exactly like that POS Bratz toy everywhere on the internet...

    I didn't even know people actually used it...
  • blah247, on 06/25/2008, -3/+7I don't understand the draw to second life. I'm a big tech fan, computer gamer, ect... I play about every MMO out there... 2nd life to me just seemed like a avatar based chat client. Sure you can do all sorts of crap and spend real money on worthless pixels but seriously whats the draw? It seems just like a socially inept training ground.
    • zephc, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4I have enjoyed architecture most of my life (since ~age 10), and SL gives me a chance to build, and I've met a number of very talented (IRL) artists through it. I'd say probably 90% of the stuff in SL is a mess (sometimes called prim litter) but the stuff that is there can be really well done.
    • catfoodgood, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0I think you just nailed it!
    • MortVent, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2Same could be said of digg or the internet in general

      It's what you make of the tools given i guess.

    • str1fe, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Perhaps that's what it's meant to be, for the homeschooled kids who didn't have any other social interaction like sports, etc.
  • drdave1114, on 06/25/2008, -4/+3 Sir, I think you have the wrong topic to put this under, saying that Second Life/IMVU are games is insulting, games are fun and interesting, this is crap, mindless crap. The people who do it only do it out of lack of better things they know of to do, but I do understand that that the mass population is corrupted with a plague of stupidity here is a short list of things off the top of my head to do instead of play either of these games:

    1.Hitting your head with a blunt object in hopes to forget anything you know of these games
    2.Laughing at people who play them in hopes to make them sad(we can do this together and it would be fun!)
    3.Playing something that requires Skill as opposed to time of mindless nothing

    This list could go on forever, in the future people will add to this list as new things are invented. If you waste your time with this crap, you should feel bad about yourself,
  • AuSSi3Styl3, on 06/25/2008, -5/+0What a great way to make some cash. Genius really, $1 million a month in revenue WTF. So minus total expenses there doing pretty F%#$ING good.
    • TinternAbbot, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3$1 million a month revenue is nothing when you consider the cost of maintaining servers, paying programmers and IT folks, and flooding the internet with ads.
      • Verz, on 06/25/2008, -3/+1The genius thing is that they're probably not spending much more money than it'd take to develop and maintain a regular chatroom. They just added in a 3D rendering engine.
      • AuSSi3Styl3, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0I'll quote what I said "So minus total expenses there doing pretty ***** good." No ***** they gotta pay I.T staff and maintain some servers, I would the bandwidth of those would be a huge bill also. That's what I meant by total expenses. I'm sure there not making that much not even close.

        They may not be making profit but they are definitely putting they makings back into the system. Like making the paid cards to be include major retailer stores.
    • VgRasta, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1I have a hard time pronouncing words with symbols.
  • blackdude, on 06/25/2008, -0/+4With all of those Adsense campaigns they ran, they'd better see some results. Besides that, Second Life is not even the same type of software as IMVU, they can't be really be compared.
  • TinternAbbot, on 06/25/2008, -3/+7www.getafirstlife.com
    • MindTrigger, on 06/25/2008, -3/+1I please. This website was probably made my some ***** who either:

      A) Plays WoW 8 hours per day.
      B) Watches sports on TV 8 hours per day.
      • TinternAbbot, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1Yeah but at least WoW, as I understand it, is a game that is very different from real life. Second Life, as I understand it, is supposed to be exactly like real life. Plus, it's difficult to watch 8 hours of sports a day, even on weekends, unless one counts NASCAR as a sport.
  • gamersedge, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2Correct, Blackdude

  • michaelzhao, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2I wonder how many of the girls on IMVU are actually guys...
    • etx313, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1Dude...
    • m0laria, on 06/25/2008, -0/+1i think we all know the answer to that.
    • theduckchaser, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Well, the main appeal seems to be accessorization. And finding fellow lesbians. From my brief experience, anyway.
  • Takfam, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1Both of them will fail when actual face-to-face conversation makes a resurgence. The selling point is that unlike SL and IMVU, a face-to-face conversation may end in real sex.
    • Zounas, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2Oh man, don't you just hate when that happens with guys?
  • gamersedge, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2Yeah, the only reason that SL has an unsatisfactory BBB rating is because Linden Lab isn't the one who operates SL, it's Linden Research Inc.
  • MindTrigger, on 06/25/2008, -0/+5These services are not even remotely the same. Second Life lets the users create most/all of the game content, and has a complex scripting language for creating all kinds of neat projects. IMVU is a freaking 3D chat room.
  • AlZuben, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2do yourself a favor, stay away from IMVU.
  • Duggan360, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2IMVU sucks, It's full of characters which look like whores and man-whores =|
  • AuSSi3Styl3, on 06/25/2008, -2/+0"So minus total expenses there doing pretty F%#$ING good."

    Even if there making $200,000 a month that still good. I'm sure the Ads are paying for them selves
    • sat0shi, on 06/25/2008, -0/+2The article says they are not yet turning a profit.
      • mugicha, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Can someone explain how they're making 1 million a month and not yet turning a profit?
        • sat0shi, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1You don't know much about business do you?

          See, they probably spent a ***** of money on initial investments which they are now trying to make back. This, coupled with the monthly costs of supporting millions of users (could easily be 100s of thousands of dollars a month), paying employees' salaries, etc.... It all adds up and 1 million a month for a business isn't really all that much.
        • mugicha, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1No, I really don't know much about business. That's why I asked if someone could explain it to me. Um, sorry for not know everything...?
    • Zounas, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Did you just fail to reply to your own comment?
  • Monkiest, on 06/25/2008, -2/+4Second Life is full of weirdos who want to have pretend sex. I should know.
  • Remmiz, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2ActiveWorlds for life!
  • djdole, on 06/25/2008, -1/+1I've tried it about four months ago for a few minutes, and it's really not all that impressive.
    Too many furries and yiffers IMO. O_o
    So not really worth the time unless you like 'hairballs'.
    • 4madeus, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0As far as I know there are a few sims that are stictly for furries only, and generally they stick to themselves.

      This "omg SL is full of furries" fallacy is just more ignorant banter used to try and discredit Second Life. There are alot of humans in SL too. And elves, demons, whatever the hell you want to be, it's out there.

      I'd be less concerned about furries in SL as I would underage avatars engaging in adult activities, griefers and cyberterrorists and stalkers. Furries are the next to the LAST thing on my list of things that annoy me.

      Really, though. if you're that concerned about furries, why not just hang out in establishments where furries are forbidden? Or better yet, build your own? ;-)
  • sw1ft, on 06/25/2008, -4/+6How about go outside and enjoy your First Life.
  • FlyingPhotog, on 06/25/2008, -2/+460 percent of IMVU users are females?

    Riiiiiiight...
    • drdave1114, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0yes, the cake is indeed a lie
    • theduckchaser, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I'd believe it. The main appeal seems to be accessorization. And finding fellow lesbians.
  • Andrwmorph, on 06/25/2008, -1/+2Look out Second Life, here comes real life.
  • AllYourBase3, on 06/25/2008, -3/+2I don't know a single person who plays second life and I've never heard of this ***** either
  • dafragsta, on 06/25/2008, -0/+3Why the ***** do they make this ***** so "cutesy" How about a more realistic looking world with... you know... GAMES and ***** in them. I've always said that the only way anything like Second Life would work is if it were closer to how PS3's Home thing looks to be. You need some structured activities added by third parties at regular intervals. No one wants to fly around or ride their hoverboards all day. It would be awesome to walk into monorail station that takes people to another game, like CoD4, GTA IV, and obviously LOTS of casual games that you could do within the same world engine.

    The trip could be used as a way to hide the loading of all that other content and I'm sure somehow you could even tie in different game engines and just use some basic XML data exchanges to create a more robust and involving world with a sense of continuity from one game to the next. Basically, like Xbox Live with achievements and matchmaking, but much more relevant because it would also be a social network of sorts. This would only increase the value of the social areas and the in-world real estate because more of the users' leisure time would be tied to the same infrastructure.

    The person who does this wins the internet. I have met up with a lot of old acquaintances on Facebook, but it's awkward because I haven't talked to most of those people in a while. If you are actually doing things in real time with your network, it would be much more endearing and it would tighten up the distance that I feel is ever-present on static web-based social networks.
    • MortVent, on 06/25/2008, -0/+0There are role play sims.

      Ranging from fantasy to cyberpunks and everything in between.

      Many of them use the same RP tools and your character can travel between the areas and interact.

      But that don't sell ratings so you'll never see it in the news
      • 4madeus, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0There's also cool minigames in SL, i found one that plays like an RTS. There's also this fishing game, and there's also several gambling opportunities if you think you can win, as well as more games I haven't found yet.

        Plus, clubs have contests daily for best dressed and similar things. Putting together nice outfits is a big part of SL, and the cash you win from contests like that is VITAL to your survival. Think of it as a day's pay for working hard on your avatar.
  • insanebrain, on 06/25/2008, -1/+6What the ***** does IMVU stands for ?
    • exium, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0It stands for nothing, people used to think "instant messaging virtual universe" but it's really just "M + View".
  • rmmcclay, on 06/25/2008, -3/+3Not even close. And Second Life haters. Get a life. lol!
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