There are a dozen of these virtual worlds that get less press that SL that have more users. I think people will continue to develop these platforms and I think the new ones will be more and more successful.

I have some ideas on how this will evolve but it is all theoretical and each of those theories do not have a place for banks or credit unions.

As an aside I think that Microsoft or Sony will develop a virtual world where each of their games are linked in like old world gladiator arenas. Then the “Life” environment would run through the console on a subscription basis and allow gaming teams to create “Pubs” or “Blacksmith” shops for arming players prior to game play. That is my theory. I think it will take gameplay to really drive this environment.

I see a partnership between the platform and one or two primary FIs. Maybe a solitary service like paypal for payment processing and currency conversion and a P2P lending program for “in Game” investments.

I do not believe that this is a place for CUs to plant their flag. But CUs could prepare by offering purchase cards for minors linked to an adult account (allowance cards so to speak) that these kids could use in game play. Then grandma and grandpa could just send money to the card easily through a facebook widget or something like that.

Those are my thoughts

I’d choose to spend time on your setup (the HD and PS3) over SL any day.

One of my problems with virtual worlds is the clutter. Unlike a well-written traditional video game, many of the participants are just, well, boring (or seeking topics not fit for description on an upstanding blog like this one).