Virtual Goods News

ractive. There.com's Bleach line comprises 20 different pieces of apparel items and the in-world launch of the Bleach specialty store drew a crowd of 200 people.

The Bleach line is a direct response to what VIZ sees as the needs of its primarily consumers, younger people who spend lots of time socializing online in virtual worlds.  The company is moving its content offerings into more digital channels in general, offering episodes of Naruto on sites like Hulu and releasing popular creator Rumiko Takahashi's latest project for free online.

"If you try to categorize the virtual goods in the traditional business way, it probably falls into Merchandising Licensing category. But the digital world is becoming more and more seamless, so we hope all these initiatives can generate synergies for overall branding of our properties," says Lundberg.

Lundberg promises that more VIZ properties are likely to move into virtual worlds in branded good form, it's simply a matter of working out the rights and making sure the world is a right fit for the property in question. The company would consider extending its brand lines into virtual worlds beyond There.com, too, when the right deals could be worked out. Lundberg mentions that the Japanese origin of most of the hot VIZ properties can sometimes complicate product licensing arrangements.

As for what the right deal is, There.com is coy on specifics. Duong mentions that not every brand that comes into the world gets the same sort of licensing deal. Some include revenue share, some don't. She would confirm that the users hired on to help create the branded lines are paid as contractors, rather than getting revenue share on their individual creations.

In effect, There.com uses the brand partnershi