Linden Lab CEO Addresses Second Life Virtual Land Bubble, Suggests Successor Sansar Will Monetize With 5% Sales "Tax" UPDATE: Linden Lab Disputes El Pais' Story

Update, 4:15pm: Linden Lab's Peter Gray says the El Pais report inaccurately quoted Altberg around the 5% claim -- see his full statement below.

SL blogger Canary Beck (who'll soon be blogging for New World Notes as well!) has a great scoop, translating a recent interview with Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg in the Spanish paper El Pais:

Altberg said (and I paraphrase / translate from the Spanish original) that Second Life has suffered from its own real estate bubble, where residents can rent a 256×256 metre plot of virtual land for $295/month, and that this business model was not intended for the average consumer. Renting virtual land is an expensive hobby or for those who want to run a virtual business.

Sansar, he said, will offer land for less, and Linden Lab will take a commission on any purchase or sale that occurs. “But only 5%”, he added, “which is extremely low compared to the usual 30% for this type of thing.”

More thoughts from Canary here. 30% is pretty clearly a reference to the commission Apple and Google charge developers for selling content on their app stores, which further suggests this is going to be how Linden Lab monetizes Sansar, or at least one of the ways. (I'm checking with Linden Lab in any case.) What's also notable is this:

I think this is the very first time a Linden executive has publicly admitted that Second Life's virtual land revenue model is unsustainable - Ebbe's predecessor wouldn't even discuss the topic at SLCC -- something I outlined in 2011, and something that everyone in SL watching private sim after private sim go away has known. Good for Second Life users to know this now -- and good for them to know a much fairer, much sustainable revenue model is planned for its successor.

Update: Peter Gray says this about the El Pais story:

I think that unfortunately the El Pais journalist didn't quite get Ebbe's comments in that section. In the interview, Ebbe was explaining that currently, we take 5% on transactions on the Second Life Marketplace. 

He also explained, as we've spoken about elsewhere (like his comments at VWBPE, which Canary nicely quotes), that with Project Sansar we want to monetize less on "land" and more on transactions - in general, we want to lower the barrier to entry for creators, while sharing in their successes. What the numbers and percentages will be is still TBD.

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Comments

[Interesting]

For how much do you suspect Linden Lab will try to flog their little HTML5 pages? More details following in the near future I suspect.

[A.J.]

Now that they admit that there is a land problem in SL, couldn't they try to do something about it?

Please get a little creative.

Give us something... at least with mainland. I am surrounded by tons of abandoned land. Why not offer some kind of incentive to redevelop all of that dead space.

I'm sure Sansar will be awesome and problem free. After all, it's being created by people who seem unwilling and incapable of running the business they have right now.

[Better then Ezra]

@ Ebbe Linden

Quote
"where residents can rent a 256×256 metre plot of virtual land for $295/month, and that this business model WAS NOT INTENDED for the average consumer. Renting virtual land is an expensive hobby or for those who want to run a virtual business"

Lies.lies & more lies!

"this business model WAS NOT INTENDED for the average consumer."
If true then playboy Philip would have never went out and created high fidelity a virtual replacement for second life for the average consumer. an open garden.

"256×256 metre plot of virtual land for $295/month"
Well full regions started off at $75 then $150 then $200 then the big land grab at $300 + $350 skills regions.
Infamous atlas land program is proof your world,your imagination is a lie.muh

What will a perfected second life be? in the new platform "soulless" like a communist planned commune were all attempts to met the residents wants and desires kills it..it will be too perfect.the flaws people complain about second life are the same flaws that allowed it to last this long.

[zz bottom]

So true and sadly i start real to think that LL future for Sl feels like none at all, while sansar feels all but what i need or wish.
More reasons to start really looking for open sim options, cause Hf is still on a long way to go.

[zz bottom]

And while they are really trying to be more in touch with some Sl users, they kill all that makes so many enjoy it and instead offer us Dinosaurs???
When does LL truly realizes that they are not dealing with retards or children but adults, and by Ebbe words,rich and privileged ones.

[Carlos Loff]

Either LL makes an amazing new apealing worls in Sansar that allows FULL inventory transfer from SL or it is going down the drain

Let's see - OpenSim became as goo as SL, some grids gone really pro and stabe, but is much much cheaper.

Now the only reason why folks dont abandon SL and flock straight to OpenSim is their SL attached inventory and their community/friends

But Sansar wont allow inventory transfer, first becaus mosy SL content cant legally be transfered to use and secondly because if full content transfer and usage was possible that would mean the new platform would not be a new thing different from SL it would be just another SL with different name and few twicks

So, this means LL, by forcing or attracting people to move to Sansar will kill the only 2 main reasos people still stick with LL/SL - Inventory and Community

With OpenSim offering so much land and so cheap with some grids offering great customer service and srability/development - Why the hell would SLrs migrate to Sansar for more expensive prices than opensim and steep learning curves and just not have their dream worlds on Opensim ???

[irihapeti]

@Carlos

the inventory wont transfer bc the content (our stuff) is incompatible

Sansar is a completely different product

content-wise, Sansar has as much in common with SL, as SL does with WoW

[Carlos Loff]

If people have to leave SL, witch is the only way Sansar develops, people will go to a place they now how to use and orices are ridiculously low and many SL creators are already selling their finest stuff - Kayaker Magic is a great example at Kitely Market - People may open an account at Sansar for curiosity, who wont ??? But thise will be free accounts, not the land investors and revenue bringers

[irihapeti]

@Carlos

I think you maybe should consider also that Sansar is being developed in a way so that it also appeals to people who have been in SL (and other virtual worlds, incl. OpenSim) and found that those offerings did not meet their own requirements/needs

+

that people who are in SL now will have a go at Sansar is pretty much a given. Even if they have to start over content-wise

+

also as well. If it was just about price of lands that drive virtual business then OpenSims would be teeming with virtual businesses and customers

+

many people open accounts in OpenSim worlds now already. They just dont stay. The question is: Why not?

+

just add. I got accounts on all the main opensims. I never go on them much. Mostly bc I find it more personal rewarding to play on my own sim server with my friends which we set up together

same way we also play on our Minecraft server which we set up for pretty much the same reason

[Metacam Oh]

Sounds like the same business model where they charge less than SL now and just take more % of control of content inside. This company has not learned a thing.

[Issa Heckroth]

I agree that now they admit there is a problem with land price in SL they could at least do SOMETHING about it. ANYTHING.

Surely all that mainland sitting abandoned is better generating SOME cash rather than a big fat ZERO. They just dont have the guts to take any sort of decision that could adversely effect the bottom line.

To not do anything about it does not fill one with any sort of confidence for the new platform. Nobody wants "Mismanaged Life 2.0"

[Issa Heckroth]

"many people open accounts in OpenSim worlds now already. They just dont stay. The question is: Why not?"

Thats pretty much true of all VWs, SL included.

[A.J.]

I've had some time to think about my question, "couldn't they try to do something about it?".

Of course, the answer is obviously "No". I can only assume that they've made too many land deals with the devil and now that devil calls the shots on logic.

I really hope that LL has learned their lesson about making deals when they bring their beloved Sansar online. I hope that they avoid making "content" deals with certain creators to entice them to begin production in a more expensive environment. Ugh, the last thing we need is a world controlled by content barons.

Imagine having virtually no choice but to shop in a white hell of confusion to buy your body or a virtual WalMart to buy your clothing.

Do I trust that LL has learned their lesson? No. They play favorites in every aspect of SL and I think they are addicted to doing business in that lazy fashion... they don't even broker their own information directly to customers and have created media barons. No, I don't think that they will allow Sansar to develop based on a truly free market.

[Hamlets Mistress]

@ A.J.

Ebbe let other know how rich slink is getting so when the best builders who use Maya try the new world it will not be for beta but a job interview to be a content baron.

[Hamlets Mistress]

@ Carlos Loff

Ok to be a fanboi but look after almost 8 years open sim has little appeal.
few to little developers and a bad reputation for lying to SL Residents to get them over only to be disappointed!

High Fidelity once in beta will be replacing Open Sim with better everything.

[MH]

Looks as if this new boss is the same as the old boss.