Reuter reports that IBM has created a virtual China’s Forbidden City that allows visitors “to dress up as an imperial eunuch and meet a courtesan.” (h/t Techcrunch)
It has been over three years in the making and cost over $3 million, provided by IBM as part of a community program.
Here is the problem with this corporate project, and others of their ilk:
- “Three years in the making” is a recipe for obsolescence.
- “$3 million” is a waste of money.
- Can’t build a community around the Forbidden City… I don’t think Chinese would congregate there.
- Virtual worlds are already mainstream, so there’s nothing ground breaking here.
It’s mind boggling to think this project got green lighted, unless it was part of some pork barrel deal between the Chinese government and IBM China. I guess they spent the money, and just had to release it by default.
BTW, I worked in the late 1990’s with Blaxxun, one of the pioneer virtual world platform companies where we were engaged in similar kinds of virtual world projects (that unfortunately I don’t believe can be accessed any more… they are virtual world relics):
- Virtual Paris – a re-creation of Paris developed together with French media company Canal Plus. The business plan was to sell virtual storefront space by subscription.
- Virtual BMW showroom – not only featuring a unrealistic CAD-like rendering of a BMW, but a receptionist, a sales guy with a script that replied canned phrases when you type in “how much” or “features”, and another car loan guy in the back room.
- Virtual bank – built with Deutsche Bank, avatars can talk about banking products, check the market on a bulletin board, and file into a conference room to hear live press announcements from its president, all while chatting away.
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