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February 21, 2006
MMO Erotic Worlds - The Natural Evolution of Match.com?
"I met him online, you know, on Match.com. Don't tell anyone, okay?"
Back in the late 1990's meeting someone online or through an online matchmaking service like Match.com wasn't exactly something people liked to talk about. In fact, it was often viewed as a last gasp, somewhat desperate move. Many viewed it as frankly dangerous.
Now, online matchmaking is an acceptable and increasingly normal way to meet people, possibly due in part to its amazing financial and emotional successes stories like this one about Match.com.
eHarmony.com even boasts around 33,000 marriages a year.
Are MMO worlds that fascilitate love, relationships and social development (and, yes, online sex) poised for a similar cycle and similar success? It's not unthinkable. Meeting in a cyber world is as likely (as well as easier and safer) than meeting at a coffee shop. Whether developers of these games actively design for and encourage such interactions still remains to be seen.
Posted by BrendaBrathwaite at February 21, 2006 10:27 AM | Discuss this post on our forums