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UPDATE: Electric Sheep lays off 22

Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:44am PST

(Adds information from the Electric Sheep)

SECOND LIFE, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The Electric Sheep Company, one of the premier consulting and development firms within Second Life, said on Tuesday it has laid off 22 people, equal to about one-third of its total staff.

The move comes after Electric Sheep clients AOL Pointe and Pontiac ended their presence in Second Life, as Linden Lab’s virtual world faces increasing competition from new offerings.

ESC Operations Chief Giff Constable told Reuters the company is increasingly looking outside Second Life for future business opportunities. “We expect growth in 2008 to come from a number of different sources and expect to see larger projects on a wider range of platforms,” he said.

Constable said ESC was keeping its software team intact. “One of the areas that took a big hit was our events group, we didn’t see that as core,” Constable said. ESC will move towards contractors for jobs like guiding new residents through a custom orientation experience, such as October’s CSI tie-in.

“Events are sporadic, that’s a not a constant thing,” Constable said.

Electric Sheep has created the OnRez shopping service and an alternate viewer for exploring Second Life. The company designed a variety of corporate builds, including CBS, Sony BMG, and Reuters.

Got a Second Life scoop? You can meet the reporter in Second Life! Eric Reuters holds office hours in the Reuters Auditorium on Tuesdays at 8:00 am SLT.

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3 comments

Please note that comments should not be regarded as the views of Reuters.

Darryl wrote:

Usage droping, ESC lays off 1/3 of its force, LL CTO fired…. This sounds a lot like the begining of the end. Bonk! Down goes SecondLife…
Sun Dec 23, 2007 11:12pm PST
Skip wrote:

I disagree. I think it’s just a short-term problem due to the effects of the loss of gambling. I’ve already seen a small rebound in usage. It’s far from dead and you’ll see a comeback soon.
Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:12pm PST
Rook wrote:

And I disagree with you both, I think it is a mark of the maturation of the sector, that SL is beginning to see legitimate competition, and companies are looking for real returns on their investments instead of pie-in-the-sky.

That said, this is all good for SL, in the long term. More people becoming involved in the sector, even if through competitors, will ultimately bring more use and relevance for SL.

But, this process is rocky and difficult, and will have ups and downs. SL will continue to meet these challenges, in my opinion, because it has one of the better designs and implementations, and therefore can continue to compete with alternatives.
Thu Jan 17, 2008 5:01am PST