近年来，FarmVille等社交游戏已实现从玩家购买虚拟商品的小额付费中获取利润，但与Second Life企业家Jonty Glaser相比，社交游戏开发商们还有待学习如何提高商品的价值。Glaser的虚拟高跟鞋奢侈品牌商店Stiletto Moody自2007年开业以来收入已突破100万美元，Glaser也因此被昵称为“Second Life的Jimmy Choo”。

Stiletto Moody

Glaser销售的数字版手工高跟鞋平均每双的售价是4.5美元，其中大部分款式的价格超过10美元，堪称是虚拟世界的奢侈品。Glaser正是利用人们对身份地位、与众不同的追求实现了虚拟商品的高端价格。在Second Life虚拟世界中，Glaser的鞋子被认为是身份地位的象征，有款高跟鞋甚至在慈善拍卖中以650美元的高价出售。

对此，Glaser认为“人们热爱我们的品牌，因此价格并不是问题。”

在Facebook社交网站中，不仅用户所“Like”的事物象征着用户本人，他们所购买的、所拥有的东西也象征着该用户。与现实生活一样，在Second Life购买一件价格高昂的虚拟商品也能昭示用户在虚拟世界和社交网站的地位、财富和实力。这也就是Glaser认为Facebook和其他社交游戏或应用需要明白的道理。

迄今为止，Glaser总计销售了20万双高跟鞋。最近他还计划引进服装等不同产品的生产线。

尽管近年来虚拟世界的发展趋缓，但Second Life却仍然表现不俗。据今年1月该公司公布，其2009年的业绩同比提高了65%，总收入5亿6700万美元，其中排名前25位虚拟世界游戏盈利1200万美元。

Glaser表示短期间内Second Life将继续运营。近年来，业内都比较关注社交游戏在用户数量上的增长，Second Life也拥有一定的忠实用户基础。但更重要的是，Second Life用户更愿意在虚拟世界中一掷千金。（本文由游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译）

Social games like FarmVille may have some players paying nickels and dimes for virtual goods, but they could take a page from Second Life entrepreneur Jonty Glaser. Glaser’s luxury brand of virtual high-heel shoes, Stiletto Moody, has sold more than $1 million since it began in 2007, earning Glaser the nickname the “Jimmy Choo of Second Life.”

Glaser sells his digitally hand-crafted shoes for about $4.50 on average, but many pairs sell for over $10 — the virtual-world price equivalent of a luxury item. He’s done this by capitalizing on the age-old desire among humans for status, and to have items or accessories that set them apart from others. Stiletto Moody shoes are seen as a status symbol in the virtual world of Second Life. One pair of shoes even sold for $650 for charity.

“People wanted our brand, it didn’t matter the pricing,” Glaser said.

People aren’t just what they “like” on Facebook, they are what they purchase and what they own. And just as in real life, purchasing an expensive virtual good can send signals of status, wealth and power within virtual worlds and social networks. This is a lesson Glaser thinks Facebook and social games and apps can learn.

In total, he’s sold more than 200,000 pairs of shoes so far. Glaser has plans to introduce different product lines as well, including a brand of cosmetics.

Though the shine is off virtual worlds, owner Linden Lab says Second Life is still doing well. In January, the company said its economy grew 65% in 2009 to $567 million (in real dollars), and that the top 25 residents of the virtual world collectively earned $12 million.

Glaser doesn’t think Second Life will be going away anytime soon either. Though social games are seeing most of the growth in number of users these days, Second Life seems to have a loyal, if stabilized, user base. More importantly, Second Life users are willing to spend lots of money in the virtual world. “It’s a high-spending user base, and they are here to stay,” Glaser says.

Glaser, a serial entrepreneur, founded the company Digital Pastry, creator of Stiletto Moody, in 2006.（Source: forbes）