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RL T-Shirt Store Opens Branch in Second Life

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the get-your-red-hot-shirts dept.

ches_grin writes "The (very real) t-shirt maker American Apparel has opened a virtual store in Second Life, becoming the first major retailer to set up shop in the SL universe. Though items cost only $1, the company hopes to bolster real life sales. Article includes some screenshots of the store and clothes." From the article: "The amount of money American Apparel has made so far on Second Life is probably not as much as they would make in a day at a single store ... But the idea meshes existing Korean online game models in which players can buy accessories for their avatars in micro-transactions, with the idea of the social Web--an online, virtual community. American Apparel's store suggests a new form of videogaming only starting to be explored in the U.S."

17 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Like they say, by Clockwurk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A fool and his money are soon parted.

  2. Made in the USA? by Golias · · Score: 3, Funny

    So, are these virtual T-Shirts created by American gamers on their payroll, or in East Asian sweatshops?

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    1. Re:Made in the USA? by Otter · · Score: 3, Informative
      American Apparel's two big selling points are:
      • American-made, non-sweatshop products
      • A creepy pervert owner and creepy, sleazy advertising
      So ... err, I forgot what point I was going to make.
      --
      What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
    2. Re:Made in the USA? by Minwee · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So it's a perfect match with Second Life.

  3. Next... by DaSenator · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...we're going to see Abercrombie. Now your 'hard earned' Linden Dollars can be used to buy a $25 not real t-shirt, instead of a $50 real t-shirt!

    I for one welcome our new virtual overpriced fashion masters.

    --
    Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
    1. Re:Next... by Descalzo · · Score: 2
      My question is: how long until someone cuts a deal with blizzard and makes +5 Boots of Speed, Armor, and Fashion by Dr. Martens?

      I guess the signature soles of Dr. Martens would be hard to reproduce, but you could have Tommy Hilfiger Whale Plate Armor of the Gods with the logo on it.

      I wonder if I could make a Swoosh-shaped scimitar... Dibs on that one! I'm calling my patent lawyer!

      --
      I cried real tears when Li Mu Bai died.
  4. Lots of opportunity... by subl33t · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...for Fredricks of Hollywood. There are a million overweight males in basements looking to kit out their hot online female personas.

  5. Shoplifting? by neonprimetime · · Score: 2, Funny

    Purchasers can outfit their online avatars with digital renderings of slim-cut T's and dresses modeled after real-life merchandise.

    So is their going to be a way for real-life shoplifting to occur too? If so ... I'm in! Otherwise, there's no way I'm paying real $$ to outfit an avatar.

  6. Think Geek? by miller60 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Where's the Think Geek boutique? All those Second Life folks need to get themselves some Slashdot T-shirts.

    --
    RichM
    Data Center Knowledge
  7. Can you do it yourself? by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't know much about SL, but I have heard that people have an unprecedented amount of freedom to create their own items. Does this extend to player-created clothing? If so, how long until someone bootlegs the $1 t-shirt for 50 cents, or even better, for free?

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  8. doomed for failure by crossmr · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It'll never sell. Most clothing in game is extremely cheap. Especially things like basic Ts. Most people either give the stuff away or charge very cheaply for it. I've seen boxes of Ts like 50 for L$25. They want to charge L$150 for a pair of socks? Good luck with that.
    This is probably why the store is devoid of any traffic, and the only person there is some linden who appears to be trapped in the floor.

    1. Re:doomed for failure by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Funny
      the only person there is some linden who appears to be trapped in the floor.

      That's odd. Usually Lindens just have their heads trapped up their asses.

      -Eric

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  9. RL Advertising by blueZhift · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This actually looks like a nice advertising move. Imagine if your first encounter with the Gap was in some game like SL and later you discovered the real thing in RL. It might be amusing/cool enough to make you more likely to buy something at the RL store. It's probably too soon to tell, but American Apparel might just see some RL store sales from this. Heck, this /. story about them won't hurt either. The only real problem here is that SL is not the most popular MMO around. Now if they could open a shop in Azeroth, then they'd be talking!

    --
    To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
  10. What's the appeal of Second Life? by BigZaphod · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This may be slightly off-topic, but I have to ask.. I tried Second Life once a few months ago and it seemed like a huge, slow, disorganized mess with bad graphics and a terrible user interface. (I was using the Mac client - which may not be as good as the windows one, I don't know). What's the appeal there? I have this sinking feeling that it is a success for the same reasons MySpace is - but I'd really like to think I was just missing something. :-)

    --
    Hexy - a strategy game for iPhone/iPod Touch
    1. Re:What's the appeal of Second Life? by vadim_t · · Score: 2, Informative

      It's sort of IRC with graphics. Only you get to an avatar and to build stuff.

      You want to be tiny, huge, furry or a robot? No problem. Want to live in a huge medieval castle, or a futuristic home? Can be done. There are games, gambling, damage enabled zones where you can use weapons and kill people, lots of places where to hang around, and a world that would take months to fully explore and keeps growing.

      You can use it as a platform too. For example, there's an artificial life simulation somewhere, with an energy cycle, plants that grow and reproduce, etc. If you wanted to code that yourself you'd need a graphics engine and such, and SL already provides it.

      Of course, some people will find it completely pointless, and some really fun.

    2. Re:What's the appeal of Second Life? by spyrochaete · · Score: 2, Informative

      I love the idea of Second Life but I hate the implementation. I have a fairly beefy PC but the game runs like ass unless I kill the draw distance. There are menus upon menus upon menus that I just can't find my way around. The lag is so bad sometimes that I don't move for seconds after I press a key.

      I much prefer There, not that I play these pseudogames any more. SL is the winner in content but There is superior in accessibility.

  11. This isn't such a bad idea by NexFlamma · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The demographic for this kind of thing is probably larger than you'd think.

    Think about the number of people who go to great lengths to personalize their avatar in a game like WoW which has very limited customization options. With a game like Second Life, where your character IS YOU, the desire to "pimp your toon" is HUGE.

    Also, this business model, has almost no overhead costs. Sure, advertising factors in, but you only need to design the items once, and never actually need to manufacture them.

    Sadly though, because of the smaller populations of a game like Second Life, I dont think it's going to be a huge cash cow any time soon. However, once a game like Second Life that's more of a Life Sim than a game like WoW (which is a murloc-killing sim) becomes the top MMO, the profits could be amazing.