No Go for SL Go in Second Life

 The greater cantle of the world is lost

With very ignorance, we have kissed away

Kingdoms and provinces.

Shakespeare

 

           Sometimes it takes me a while to get around to things and because of that I miss an opportunity. (Significant Other nods in agreement.)

          Like I’d blogged a while back about the new mobile app, SL Go, which permitted Second Life (SL) users to interact inworld as they went about Real Life (RL), and I had been critical about its initial launch.

          Subsequently, a few of my beefs were corrected and folks spoke well of the tool.

          I planned to do a follow-up since there was now a decent free trial period.

          Well, things changed.

          Sony recently announced its acquisition of certain patents and intellectual properties of OnLive, the online gaming service that owns SL Go and as a consequence the app will be shut down on April 30,^, 2015.

          Guess I won’t be writing that story any time soon now!

          Hard to believe that it was just over a year ago that SL Go was first announced.

          So, what happened?

          Why is Sony buying some parts of OnLive and not others?

          Does this give us a hint into the future of SL itself?    

          OnLive’s sale of selected assets is probably just part of the normal buying and selling of products and services by larger global companies in the mistaken belief that somewhere along the line “Synergy will create added value!”  (Yes, I know, I must sound terribly cynical.  If you had the wounds that I have from these deals, you’d be cynical too!)

          But, there is that nagging question, why not SL Go too?

          Let’s think about this for a moment. (Significant Other starts to worry.)

          Sony is a fairly astute corporate player.  (Notwithstanding it’s recent email problems.)  They know how to handicap the winners from the losers.

          Could this decision to not purchase SL Go now be a sign of some doubt on their part about the long term viability of SL?

          Or, are they worried about SL 2.0?

          Linden Lab’s new and improved version of SL that they don’t anyone too much about except for “Trust us!”  (Yes, yes, I know!  I’ve already admitted to being cynical,)

          Does the sudden demise of SL Go mean the clock is ticking for SL?

          How come no one ever tells the residents of SL anything until it’s in the news?

          As I’ve blogged before, the Lindens remind me of the ancient Greek gods.

          Legendary, remote on Mount Olympus, interfering in the affairs of humankind as it suited their whims, and nobody ever met one! 

          Let’s see what the rest of the year brings! 

          As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

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On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!