80% Of Active Internet Users To Have Virtual Lives

Steve Prentice, vice president and analyst at Gartner, said: “The collaborative and community-related aspects of these environments will dominate in the future, and significant transaction-based commercial opportunities will be limited to niche areas, which have yet to be clearly identified.

“However, the majority of active Internet users and major enterprises will find value in participating in this area in the coming years.”

Gartner said that meaningful corporate use of public virtual worlds/platforms will lag considerably behind individual consumer use as enterprises struggle to develop appropriate and relevant business models.

Prentice added: “Growth in virtual worlds is significant but lower than it appears; the overall population of non-game virtual worlds is still small compared to massively multi-user online games (MMOGs) and the totality of community-oriented and niche-targeted environments.”

Gartner said that many commercial companies have established a virtual world presence, but none have converted it into an effective, profitable sales channel.

It adds that while there have been a limited number of individuals who have earned more than $5,000 per year from their virtual world businesses, most corporations will see minimal revenue gains in the market at this time.

Prentice said: “Do not expect to undertake profitable commercial activities inside most virtual worlds in the next three years.”

Gartner recommends that enterprises should experiment with virtual worlds, but not plan massive projects, and look for community benefits rather than commerce.

“Find enthusiasts within your enterprise and support them. Understand the implications for access to open virtual platforms from within the enterprise and the risks involved,” Prentice said. “Despite the concerns within companies, don’t ignore this trend. They will have a significant impact on your enterprise during the next five years.”

A recent report from Screen Digest said that the market value for massively multiplayer online games in the West hit $1bn for the first time in 2006, with the European subscription market worth $299 million (see Multiplayer Online Games Market Sees Value Grow).

Meanwhile, Nielsen//NetRatings said that the British online games audience grew over 16% in 2006, over four times the rate of overall internet growth (see Youngsters Fuel Growth Of Online Game Sector).