LL Confirms Private Island Price Hikes
by prokofy on 29/10/06 at 8:38 pm
By Prokofy Neva
In an announcement on the Official Blog this evening at 6:02 PM SLT, Linden Lab confirmed recent rumours reported by the Herald of island price hikes.
New islands purchased after November 1 will cost $1675; the tier on them will cost $295.
Mainland sims and previously-owned island sims will be grandfathered with monthly tiers remaining at $195.
No comment was made on the issue of early tips to privileged insiders, but zee Linden had this comment to make on the Blog:
“We have shut the land store down to give this information time to reach everyone. We are offering a limited amount of inventory at the old price when we reopen the land store at 1pm SL Time on November 1st.”
A number of island-owning customers reacting to the news in the Concierge Group by stating they planned to stop expansion, stop building projects, and tier down.
Crissa
Oct 29th, 2006
Links or attributes to tiering down, please?
Urizenus
Oct 29th, 2006
Good scoop Prok. It just goes to show, “Herald Readers Fear it First!”
Dan
Oct 29th, 2006
As usual… screwed over by phil & co. crash and burn…
J
Oct 29th, 2006
I currently own four islands and with the extra tier I cannot afford to buy the extra two my partner and I were planning. This (for me) was never about profit, just break even.
There is no point in expansion now. Seriously LL you have screwed up now, we are leaving … 60 days till close.
Thanks for the ride.
J.
Ange
Oct 29th, 2006
That just killed our business expansion…
So long and thank you for the fish. Don’t get me wrong, you will still get my money… but that’s it… One island now is profitable… but I hate being fucked over…
Until something bettter comes around
You bunch of greedy idiots… This is your death knell.
Ange
Prokofy Neva
Oct 29th, 2006
>Links or attributes to tiering down, please?
Watch the comments in the Concierge list if you’re that curious?
Oh wait…just watch the comments here?
alphgeek
Oct 29th, 2006
Dugg, for what it is worth. Good on ya Prok, glad someone is keeping an eye out for the little guys.
http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Cost_of_islands_in_Second_Life_increases_dramatically_residents_outraged#c3626106
Betty Boop
Oct 29th, 2006
Typical. Being a SL’fer for over two years it doesn’t supprise me that LL screws over the people that keeps it going. We have one island at the moment and were just going for another one until LL closed their store (upgrade crap… honestly you guys are full of shit)… I still make more from Entropia, but I (used to) really love SL.
Another one gone… (wankers)
Leni
Digital
Oct 29th, 2006
Well this ruins my plans in ever being able to purchase an island I have been saving up for a long time and was going to be able to do the 195 a month tier now thats screwed
I will not be investing in any land in second life
Desmond Shang
Oct 29th, 2006
This is a very, very bad development for regular, non-business folk interested in having their own island sim.
Compare a private island to a car loan. For 1675 USD down, and 295 USD a month you can be driving a fairly nice car. The difference: eventually you’ll own the car, but never the private island.
Beyond that, the discount private island rentals will have some serious problems growing their business. A real shame, because there are a lot of customers who will lose out because of this.
However, super-premium rentals are likely to actually *benefit* – there is a significant segment of the market that is willing to pay another 5 USD a month to have land in a fast sim.
As such my personal plans for expansion are unchanged, but I count myself among the lucky few and fully appreciate the pain that many must be going through. I have many dear friends whose dreams are now demolished.
Desmond Shang
Caledon
Prokofy Neva
Oct 29th, 2006
>However, super-premium rentals are likely to actually *benefit* – there is a significant segment of the market that is willing to pay another 5 USD a month to have land in a fast sim.
>As such my personal plans for expansion are unchanged, but I count myself among the lucky few
Yes, the burghers of Second Life always come out on top, no matter what the painful changes for others. But it’s likely to be more than $5 as island landlords will have to pay much more for new islands and much more for their tier — they can’t just charge new customers, they will likely start to up the rents of customers on older sims too.
Random Writer
Oct 30th, 2006
And lots of the big land barons are already hiking prices on sims that aren’t even affected. If you owned a ton of sims before and rented them out, you now can justify raising the prices for those who have no clue what’s going on, even though that sim is grandfathered in with the old prices.
And lots of insider info has helped these people get even bigger now.
*huggles her 4096*
Bluesapphire
Oct 30th, 2006
You know, SL has gone been through a lot of commercial changes over the years. Whats interesting, the people who have made all the money, in this case the landbarons, are now bitching about the price hike.
Is it me, or has Linden Lab kept the same pricing for around 3 years? I think they’ve done us all a favor for keeping it so low and below any inflation for so long. It would also seem people who have sims will be unaffected. Why are people bitching now, oh right its because Prok’s business will have to redo their pricing. Also, so many external business are making real $$$$ can you blame them for wanting a share?
Any business (land) should have an alternative revenue stream to keep themselves viable in any business climate. Too be honest Prok, will the community at large will be worried? No, they will get on with their SL lives as usual. As history has shown us, the world adapts and changes to change. In this case, a price change. Land Baron’s have traditional been loathed in SL, Prok is a land baron, she’s a master of deception and managed to play this ‘the people’s spokesman’. lol.
Are Prok’s eggs all in one basket? If I had land I with him I would be worried I have noted that the more professional ‘land barons’ are yet to complain.
Second Life is evolving, its changing.
If Prok is serious, he should vote with his credit card and leave. But hey, thats not going to happen, even at these prices he will make a slue of $$$$$.
Prok, adjust or die. As someone someone said, the metaverse is happening, get out of the fucking road. Talk to your ‘customers’ and adjust your pricing, everyone is in the same situation (land barons).
Ordinal Malaprop
Oct 30th, 2006
There’s also the question of uncertainty. LL seem to leave the mainland relatively alone (with all of the detrimental factors that come with that of course) whereas this sort of change raises the possibility of further changes to private islands. One does wonder whether one should invest in a mainland plot as well; even if surrounded by crap and lagged down, it can still be a consistent base of operations where one and one’s goods can always be found.
Ordinal Malaprop
Oct 30th, 2006
> As someone someone said, the metaverse is happening, get out of the fucking road.
Bluesapphire – we are the metaverse. The metaverse is not just something that other people do and our only choice is whether to consume it or not.
For that matter, Prok doesn’t even have any islands IIRC, so I’m not entirely sure what it is you are talking about.
Random Writer
Oct 30th, 2006
>Is it me, or has Linden Lab kept the same pricing for around 3 years? I think they’ve done us all a favor for keeping it so low and below any inflation for so long.<
It’s just you. You see the cost of technology goes DOWN over time. They are upgrading to servers that are availble to people at 1k USD. 4 sims to a server= 2400 profit right off the bat.
The cost of maintaining a server stays the same (electricity and bandwidth regardless of class), so not only island increase, but tier increase results in them not only paying less for servers, but jamming them full and increasing profits to an ungodly amount for a game that’s about as stable at a lopsided upended egg. If the game were more stable, and they actually put guards in place that worked, then it might be worth it, but they aren’t even testing some content causing unstability.
In the end, you pay this new amount and all the fees and they can snatch it right back and sell it to someone else. Or if LL goes under, then your screwed there too, as you agree that you may not get anything in the event LL takes your stuff or goes under losing everything.
Prokofy Neva
Oct 30th, 2006
Um, Prok’s business doesn’t have to re-do pricing lol? Because I’m mainly providing mainland rentals, and not many island rentals. It’s not clear yet how the mainland will have to adjust but I imagine mainland wholesale land prices will go up and retail prices will go up and that means eventually this decision will impact mainland prices, too — hard to say because there are an awful lot of individual island parcels for sale now that have sat there for ages without buyers — perhaps they’ll find them now.
No, you’re incorrect, LL has not kept the same pricing for 3 years, not on your life. Nor should they, even given the industry’s pattern of reducing the cost of hardware and not increasing it. That’s because they don’t just sell computers, they sell land in a world on those computers.
They increased the cost of islands from $995 in the old days to $1250 in June 2005 or so, when they also moved to an auction where only whole sims would be supplied fresh at bids opening at $1000, and only used, recycled abandoned part sims would be provided occasionally. So both island and mainland costs went up substantially ($1200-1500 for wholesale sim auction on the mainland), and the Lindens glutted, and that affected the dollar/Linden value. This is all amply recorded in news and blogs throughout this period.
If it costs them $1000, as they used to say, then they’re charging of only $1000 at times (when auctions had no competition due to their glutting) wasn’t very well managed, eh? So sure, I don’t mind if they charge more for their costs.
My beef isn’t that a capitalist company in a capitalist country sells things at a higher price to make a profit over expenses. Good! My beef is:
a) sticker shock — giving 2 days notice only — unfair and unnecessary
b) insider trader — letting a special privileged list know in advance so they could both profit and also position themselves and plan better
That’s wrong! That’s not capitalism, that’s state socialism and oligarchism.
Will people beyond the “hated land baron Prok” be affected? Of course they will. Content creators often favoured by types like the author of this nasty post have to have land under them in some fashion — they can’t all live out of sandboxes and SLB stores. Most have an anchor store and that means tier. Most want non-laggy island sims to show their wares and that means huge new costs. Clubs, content-makers, even non-profits now will all have to pass these costs on to customers — the world’s tiny microeconomy is easily affected by abrupt and harsh moves like this and always has been.
Land barons are complaining bitterly — perhaps not as publicly because they don’t want to harm their Linden connections and they don’t wish to appear weak and worried to their clients who might bolt from them to others who don’t appear weak.
In Second Life, people love to play at being professional and love to hate amateurs, and everybody is always trying to one-up the next guy and show how much cooler and savvy they are.
But…In Second Life, it’s absurd to make plans like “Oh, I’ll diversify my portfolio” or “oh, better not have my eggs in one basket” because it is a complete roller-coaster ride and like nothing in real life or previous MMORPG life.
As it happens, in my business, I have a wide variety of parcels on 50 sims, including private island sims. Most land is mainland because that’s what I preferred and built up, but I have island land too. I also sell content which I make or commission, and for non-profit projects, I solicit tier and contributions. I try to have a range of sources of income to tide over the inevitable ups and downs. Most big land barons (I’m not one of them) try to diversify their portfolio but some dumped the mainland entirely.
Some of them are now bitching that the mainland is now ostensibly being favoured now, so hey, perhaps the one-basket eggsters were in the know and now will reap rewards?
Except nobody in the land business ever makes as much money as content makers and metaversal consultants. Land is too risky and goes through too many changes. It has to be a labour of love and is for most land barons. Only those with a huge volume of land and sales could probably say that their sheer volume makes them a decent profit, but it’s one that is always at risk due to their equally great need to hire help, stay a step of the Lindens on the auctions, and recover from everything the Lindens constantly throw at us.
When the grids crash, people still buy content on websites or come shopping again the minute the doors open again. Landlords meanwhile suffer horrendously sometimes with days of grief-ball clean-up, move-outs from people upset in general at SL and blaming it on their rental, and even having to repair destroyed buildings from forced returns. Three weeks after the October 12th disaster, I am *still* cleaning up and still recovering from losses. Hello? Get a grip.
SL has evolved and changed dramatically in the two years I’ve been on it. I’ve hung on for the ride. I’ve increased my business and have tripled my customers and land supply. What on earth is your problem that you have to lob in a hateful, nasty post like that which amounts basically to accusing a reporter of reporting bad news just because it allegedly harmed his business? That’s stupid. It didn’t. And even if it did, it would still be right to report it.
But…wait a minute…first I’m supposed to be making a slew of money…then I’m supposed to be adjusting or dying…which is it?
Bluesapphire, adjust or die yourself. Critical thinkers and speakers like me will be around for a long time to come.
Prokofy Neva
Oct 30th, 2006
Ordinal, I'd caution you to think about this seriously because it is not the case. On islands, the owner can restart the sim when it has problems. I never hear of lost inventory on islands -- though no doubt it happens.
On the mainland, the Lindens refuse to restart the sims over lost inventory and builds. Of course, the have mini restarts all the time and also "silent crashes" as Joe Linden just called them, and this causes rollbacks in time, destroying builds and returning content. There is loads of lost content, that sometimes returns as much as 7 days after the fact. Bug-hunting Lindens can sometimes locate the item if you have a file name. But it's a chore, and they are backlogged. It's a serious problem. In the last year, I've had 3 sims lose their builds and return tenants and my inventory. While most of it was in lost and found, sometimes it wasn't. Those 3 sims seemed to be vulnerable and then did that *again* 2 more times. So perhaps that's not a huge percentage of my sims, but still, it's very unsettling. I have to pay for builds to be put back out again, etc.
Nothing in this Second Life is certain except log-outs and tier payments.
Prokofy Neva
Oct 30th, 2006
P.S. Burns was one of those sims that just lost all its builds and returned the vendors after that slew of grid-crashing that happend around Oct. 12, so while it’s cheap and plenty trafficked, don’t consider going back there. I just got done having it rebuilt and having the tenants put back their stuff.
Nacon
Oct 31st, 2006
As a Critical thinker myself, you’re just whinning like a sad school girl.
The real truth… you’re whinning because SL has more people and it’s becoming too much for Linden Labs… thus they are hiring and expanding their grounds. Money don’t come from trees… and there’s no such things as camping chairs in Real Life. Grow up.
Random Writer
Oct 31st, 2006
I’m certainly not a land baron, but this is silly in all terms. I’ve been loud about it because it’s ridiculous increase. Phasing it in over time, maybe, but more than 60% increase and their own admitted statement of ‘we know companies that want to come in can afford it’ is what’s really burned many people.
Labors of love for beautiful sims with no income, but to merely have something nice, now is entirely out of reach as seen by those sims dying out. It’s going to be all commercial and all clubs before long. Even resi run info places will soon take a hit and that’s just too much to ask for the common person who gets nothing out of being helpful in SL.
Random Writer
Oct 31st, 2006
I’m certainly not a land baron, but this is silly in all terms. I’ve been loud about it because it’s ridiculous increase. Phasing it in over time, maybe, but more than 60% increase and their own admitted statement of ‘we know companies that want to come in can afford it’ is what’s really burned many people.
Labors of love for beautiful sims with no income, but to merely have something nice, now is entirely out of reach as seen by those sims dying out. It’s going to be all commercial and all clubs before long. Even resi run info places will soon take a hit and that’s just too much to ask for the common person who gets nothing out of being helpful in SL.
Ordinal Malaprop
Oct 31st, 2006
I’m not talking about myself, I have well-priced property on a nice fast reliable sim where I know the landlord and the neighbours are great. I’m not planning to move. Certainly not to Burns, ech. But if I was just starting out it would be something I would consider.
Prokofy Neva
Oct 31st, 2006
I wonder who you imagine is whining like a school girl “Nacon,” not the people I see in this thread. I personally work my ass off in SL and don’t use camp chairs. I dunno, criticism is often mistaken for whining and jealous in this milieu, it’s a cheap shot.
I fully realize that the Lindens can’t go on subsidizing or breaking even on their tektopia. That’s fine. But you don’t run it for 3 years privileging only a certain group to enable them to make a fortune off it, then usher in big business and dump off the tier-payers in a mere 2 days. It’s truly shabby behaviour.
Swythe Armistice
Nov 4th, 2006
This will nearly halt my plans for a community on my sims.
Anyone have any ideas on how to stop this?