Google kills its 'lively' virtual world
Google has, this morning, taken the rare step of closing down one of the services that it runs. It’s ‘Lively’ virtual world was launched earlier this year, but recently it’s been anything but lively, with extremely low visitor numbers compared to its competitors like Second Life.
Google is recommending that anyone who’s created anything that they desperately want to keep should take some screenshots and capture video of their creations before they’re rendered inaccessible at the end of December. All team members assigned to the project will be moved elsewhere.
It’s a pity but Google’s foray into virtual worlds was, at the time, seen as a bit of a strange move. This shuttering is to be expected, considering the low population in the world, and the lack of synergy with any of Google’s other offerings. Right now, Google’s got more important things to focus on.
Lively (via the Official Google Blog)
Related posts: Google makes good on virtual world promises, launches Lively | World of Warcraft hits 11 million active subscribers worldwide
2 comments
Too bad this is happening đ I had so good time there! My rooms!! my Friends!! all gone. Why google dont care about us?? Please other company buy lively. Google only good at the engine, but always fails. Google video google questions now this. Google dont try to do what you cant!!!
Sorry to hear about that, aliveuser. It’s always a shame when virtual worlds get shut down, particularly ones which have so much creativity put in. It’s just a pity that Lively never really took off in the same way that other worlds like Second Life have.
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