The credit crunch and the consequent meltdown in the financial system over the past month seems sure to have consequences in virtual worlds. No country has been hit harder in this financial crisis than Iceland, with many key banks in dire straits. It's no surprise, then, that speculation has been building up about whether Eve Online, an Icelandic MMO (see my interview with Arend Stuhrmann from last week), can survive the tough times. Today, Hilmar V. Pétursson, CEO of CCP (Eve Online's creators) has addressed concerns on his blog.
In a nutshell, Pétursson argues: "CCP is fortunate enough to be well isolated from the current banking crisis we see around us on both sides of the Atlantic (and here in the middle of it, of course). Not only do we enjoy the privilege of a global customer base bringing a diverse array of cultural influences into our single shard world of EVE Online, but that same diverse nature inoculates us from short-term fluctuations in sentiment or economic turbulence."
The whole of the Icelandic economy is sure to suffer the aftermath of this crisis, and it seems inevitable that Eve will be totally immune from the impact. But Pétursson is probably right; Eve has a global user base (so global consumer spending, for example, will be more relevant than Icelandic consumer spending). I would argue that virtual worlds are, structurally, a strong prospect for growth, even if that is slowed by the economic cycle somewhat. Where the impact of economic troubles might be felt more acutely, though, is in-world economies. It will be fascinating to see whether a measurable slow-down occurs in conjunction with the real-world slow-down.
0 comments