Second Life population slumps in June
By Adam Reuters
SECOND LIFE, July 10 (Reuters) - The number of active Second Life users declined 2.5 percent to 495,000 in June, and the growth in total user hours slowed to its lowest rate in six months, according to data released on Tuesday by Linden Lab.
It was unclear if the decrease in active users reflected a seasonal slump or a broader downturn. The company defines active users as those spending at least one hour in Second Life in a given month.
The number of hours spent in Second Life climbed 5 percent to 21,815,700, the lowest percentage increase since December, 2006. The 30-day and 60-day login figures have also been essentially flat for several months.
New signups remained strong, with 850,000 new users (excluding alternate accounts) in the month, for a total of 5.2 million uniques and 7.7 million overall. Linden Lab warned, however, that it planned to cull the accounts of more than 700,000 users who had registered payment details but never actually signed in to Second Life, creating a risk of fraud.
There was also evidence that the decrease in active users and total hours spent in Second Life was the profits of in-world businesses. The number of individuals with monthly cash flows of more than US$2,000 declined by 5 percent in June, to 405.
Brazil leapfrogged the United Kingdom and France to third place in the percentage of active users by country, with 7.35 percent, from 4.82 percent in May. Ahead of a launch of a Japanese-language Second Life client, Japan climbed to sixth place with 5.46 percent, from ninth place (3.70 percent) a month earlier.
More details are available in a spreadsheet from Linden Lab and on the company’s economic statistics page.
