Amsterdam sims re-sold to Dutch media firm
By Eric Reuters
SECOND LIFE, June 20 (Reuters) - The Amsterdam sims, a popular Second Life destination famous for its detailed recreation of the Dutch city and virtual red-light district, has been sold to 3dutch.com, a division of Netherlands-based media company Boom BV.
Last March the Amsterdam regions, a creation of Second Life adult-products mogul Kevin Alderman (Second Life: Stroker Serpentine), was sold to Nedstede Groep for US$50,000 on eBay. The deal later collapsed in a dispute over intellectual property rights.
“The investor did not have any web/SL experience,” Alderman said of the previous buyer in a Second Life interview. “They were not pleased that they could not have IP rights to everything on the sims, not just objects belonging to me.”
Boom BV was interested in the Amsterdam sims ever since the March eBay listing, said spokesman Wijnand Rijkaart in a phone interview. Negotiations between Boom BV and Alderman began almost immediately after the sale to Nedstede Groep fell through.
Boom BV plans to use Amsterdam as the base for a custom orientation experience primarily targeted towards Dutch residents, Rijkaart said. But the orientation itself will likely be in English to reach the largest possible audience.
“We want to attract as many companies that are interested in Amsterdam or located in Amsterdam to build in the Amsterdam Second Life sim,” Rijkaart said. “We’re going to make that very easy to do.”
Alderman wouldn’t comment on the new sale price for Amsterdam, but confirmed the figure was “in the ballpark” of the previous deal, a statement echoed by Boom BV.
Alderman plans to re-invest the proceeds of the sale into new Second Life ventures. “I’m in SL for the long term,” he said.
