Did anyone see this article?

Interesting.




http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070927/ap_en_ot/virtual_tokyo;_ylt=AnFsC2zRKVbRxMd7PTcmDCVxFb8C

"Japanese are so well-behaved and conformist, he says, they would prefer a more predictable and secure virtual environment over the free-spirited anything-goes of "Second Life," created by San Francisco-based Linden Lab."

Anyone who's seen Tokyo wage slaves after they've drunk a $30 bottle of Scotch might think otherwise. Then again, the conflict between ideal and reality has given the Japanese one of the highest suicide rates - for both adults and children - in the world. Japan is a very odd place indeed. Fascinating but odd.

If you Youtube 'Chinese Second Life' you'll see a product similar to Second Life being put out by the Chinese--ummm...duh, right? Anyhow...

It doesn't look nearly as polished, and they didn't showcase the build tools at all--I'm not sure how much freedom over content creation there is. It's China...so, I'm guessing there will be a bit more 'control.'

One really cool thing about Chinese SL is its inventory system--when you click on an inventory item, it is displayed in 3D, and rotates slowly around. It's a very nifty augmentation.

Other than that...I wasn't impressed.

It's funny, this article. I mean, it's not like Japanese can't come to SL and have their own sims and societies like the "Meet Me" thing. They don't HAVE to go wandering around in the Great Unknown. I personally welcome and embrace the new Japanese designers; such FUN stuff! There's an entire huge mall for Nekos out there and I wandered around in it for a while. I loved it because it really did remind me of Japan, even down to the drink machines. I think the developer of "Meet Me" underestimates his countrymen.

I agree... Tokyo at night is one of the wildest places I've explored... and its closer to SL than anything I've seen in San Fancisco.

/me laughs

There are plenty of Japanese computer games around that make Second Life look tame.

I think the main reason LL doesn't regulate the behavior of SL residents that much is not to create a "free" society as much as simply saving the money it would cost to enforce the rules. Even a generally well-behaved passive culture might become a little more wild in an anonymous online setting.

I agree with the part about underestimating his countrymen. I also feel that he "looks down" upon Second Life as being nothing but evil and sexual. There is that here, of course....it's in RL, how could it not be in SL, too. But I honestly don't see tons and tons of that. Well....sex...yeah, but sex sells. It will be interesting to see how quickly "Meet Me" meets it's goal of 1 million users within a year.