Asia, Isn't It Wonderful?A Review of Second Life® 's Virtual Asia

Built in less than two weeks, Virtual Asia® had just kicked off officially earlier today,August 25th with a huge Tokyo fashion show produced by ProFashion Productions though it has been open to the public for quite a while now.

Video of the Virtual Asia Fashion show (provided by Roe Woodford):




Virtual Asia,Owned by Javabox Kawanishi, is a commercial sim with a Tokyo-styled theme. The streets are lined with popular SL® stores handpicked by the Virtual Asia staff. Java says, "We are very selective with the designers that we bring to the city. One of the conditions of being a designer in the city is to be part of our monthly meetings where we discuss business trends, sales and marketing. There are wonderful great designers here. The reason they are here is because our designers strive to collaborate."



Pro Shot of Javabox Kawanishi by OI Magazine Photographer Angeli Optera

Mr Kawanishi remarked that when he had been searching for new ideas and opportunities for his real life company, Virtual Adventures, he came across Second Life as he was conducting research for a client in RL regarding a 3D shopping center. He remarked that although it wasn't the first time he had heard about the game, having seen it before on a Dutch television, he got a little more than curious especially when he saw that he can fly and build in-world. Deciding to try it out was only the first step in the launching and organizing of Virtual Asia.

When asked how do they attract customers and traffic to the sim, Mr Kawanishi had this for an answer, "Our focus is not to attract customers, but rather is to interact with the community by offering something of value. Value is given by things like free apartments, a movie cinema, several cafes/lounges, a nightclub and some great photo opportunities that we offer. We also have many creative events that keep the community active. By serving the community well, our residents will bring others to the city. "

They normally don't get troublemakers at the sim as the residents there are generally peaceful, but the biggest setback they have encountered at the moment is the prim count limit and the limit on the number of avatars they can have on the sim. Though handling any businesses is hard, he says that, "Such as in real life, you have to have a business plan and a clear focus on a vision. If you do not have that, then everything you set up is doomed to fail. It is also critical to never give up". He also stresses out the fact that as an entrepreneur, you have to be always open to new ideas and knowledge. You should always maintain open channels to fellow entrepreneurs so that there's exchange of information you can use later on for your business. Listening to the community and customers is always a must too. Figure out what they want and what's the current trend.

Handling a business can often be tiring and disheartening, but according to Mr Kawanishi, "I strongly believe in the vision that I have in my mind. I accept that failing comes with building a successful company. I have made several attempts previously. I will continue trying until I succeed with the vision behind Virtual Asia."

Visit Virtual Asia now or you can check out their site for more information about the sim and it's projects. Currently, they have ongoing events such as The Face of Virtual Asia contest, music events in Club Chica Boom, jazz events in Zo Restaurant, and street parties. A lot more are in the works as they are always looking for new ways to set up creative events.

VIRTUAL ASIA SLURL:http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MaxStudio/208/150/4000

VIRTUAL ASIA BLOG: http://virtualasiasecondlife.blogspot.com/

Promo Commercial for Virtual Asia on Youtube:  

Pictures of Virtual Asia:

virtual asia picture 1

virtual asia picture 2

virtual asia pic 3

My name is Luc Fray, thank you for reading my review of Virtual Asia and like to thank its creator Mr Javabox Kawanishi for his time to meet with me, feel free to comment as always!