VIRTUAL WORLDS MANAGEMENTS YOUTH WORLDS ANALYSIS - APRIL 2008

MORE THAN 100 YOUTH ORIENTED VIRTUAL WORLDS NOW LIVE OR IN DEVELOPMENT

Virtual Worlds Management, the leading media company tracking the virtual worlds industry, has announced the VIRTUAL WORLDS MANAGEMENTS YOUTH WORLDS ANALYSIS, based on comprehensive research available through Virtual Worlds News. The new research states that there are now more than 100 virtual worlds now operating live or are currently in development (see list below) that have at least a general focus on the under-18 market. The news comes on the heels of the Virtual Worlds Conference that took place April 3-4, 2008 in New York City (see recap here). 

The VIRTUAL WORLDS MANAGEMENTS YOUTH WORLDS ANALYSIS provides details on more than 100 worlds. In all there are 60 youth worlds currently live. Another 53 are in concepting, development, or testing phases. The general tween category (here looked at as 8 to 12) has the most interest with 62 worlds live or in development, followed closely by kids worlds (7 and under) with 52 worlds live or in development and then teens (13-18 years old) with 44 worlds live or in development. The complete list, including the operational status, demographic focus and detailed news coverage on each virtual world can be found below.

The table below groups all of MTV's worlds as one, and counts most of Disney's plans as 1 entry for simplicity's sake. It's probably also worth noting that, especially for this demographic, the lines between what many consider a virtual world and MMOG (massively multiplayer online game) start to blur.

Read Virtual Worlds News analysis here (complete with charts).