Second Life Mass Growth Won't Raise Premium Prices (Probably)

Lots of interesting conversation around Linden Lab's new (and still active) job search for a senior product manager to help grow Second Life into "millions of customers" as the virtual world expands to mobile.  Kaylee West understandably worries if this growth will impact the long-term existing community and the rates they pay for premium subscriptions:

My concern is that as they grow they are going to start charging more for premium and premium plus (and whatever the next new tier will be). SL has always been the "every-person's" VR platform. As much as I would love to see and welcome newcomers, I'd hate to see those of us that have been in SL nearly two decades squeezed out (not even sure what I mean by that)...

Historically the high end for virtual world premium subscriptions tops out at around $15/month, and I don't see average SL Premium rates ever getting higher than that -- though platinum Premium plans will probably start including larger and larger land allotments, or even whole sims.

The real thing for long term creators to think about is planning for a virtual world economy that has millions of users, most of them coming in via mobile. As Ryann Palianta comments:

I don’t think bringing more people would raise prices, in fact I think it would do the opposite. They’d have millions of people more to pay premium so they could charge us all less and make the money needed to hit their target goals and beyond. It’s kind of like how Walmart or Amazon can be the cheapest prices, it’s because they have millions of buyers.

Also think about being a creator or having things on Marketplace to sell. Your going to make a ton more money!! Millions of new consumers buying into things like bloodlines breedables and animations/gestures etc.

That all sounds right. And the creators who figure out to optimize their content for the mobile app will probably be doing best in a year or two.

Comments

[Dave]

You’re right. The risk isn’t millions of users causing prices to rise. The real risk is that an ambitious expansion fails and LL goes bust. Those of us who treasure SL will be rooting for it to succeed.

[sirhc desantis]

Shifting a million units at 10 cents a crack and the Lab takes a cut - yep I could live with that. They could even up my premium cost at that rate, no worries:)
The only problem is while the SL engine can scale to run for all these toy 'computer' users - I have been playing for a year with making stuff for the idiot trackers people call 'phones' and its amazing what they will pick up - the rest of it is woeful. Imagine all these news finding the SL marketplace...