Real money is going into virtual
worlds.
More than $184
million was funneled to companies that run
virtual worlds in the first quarter, according to a
new survey.
The study by Virtual Worlds
Management, an Austin, Texas-based trade show and research
company tallied $184.2 million invested worldwide, with
more than one-third of the cash infusions going to
youth-oriented virtual worlds.
By far, the largest investment
was a reported $100 million investment into 9you.com, a
virtual world run by Shanghai-based Everstar Entertainment.
That investment was made by Temasek Holdings, a $110
billion Singapore investment house that owns a majority
stake in Global Crossing and whose executive director
testified before the House Financial Services Committee in
March during an inquiry into foreign investment in U.S.
companies.
That second largest deal was a
$12 million round to Gaia Online from a consortium that
included Time Warner.
Another major deal was an $11
million investment in Outspark, a San Francisco-based maker
. The round was led by Chinese Internet firm Tencent with
participation from previous investors DCM and Altos
Ventures.
A $10 million round from
Norwest Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital went to
Unisfair, a Menlo Park, California, company that hosts
virtual events like business conferences.
Companies like Disney and
Viacom’s Nickelodeon unit have been diving into virtual
worlds as stand-alone properties and as adjuncts to
existing franchises.
Disney, for instance, bought
Club Penguin for $700 million in 2007 and has at least nine
more in development, including one based on its animated
movie “Cars.” Rival Nickelodeon, which has several sites
tied to MTV programming, has plans to build one for fans of
SpongeBob Squarepants.
Some of the most popular
online worlds are tied to real-world merchandise. Toymaker
Mattel has created a virtual home for Barbie and pre-teens
have been flocking to the online homes of their Webkinz and
Neopets stuffed toys.
