Last week’s Virtual Worlds Expo 2008 in Los Angeles has come to a wrap with bits and pieces of news floating around here and there.  When you pack a few hundred industry insiders all in once place at the same time, opinions and trends are bound to blossom.  CEO and Co-Founder of Frenzoo, Simon Newstead gives us his view the Virtual Worlds Expo 2008, and what we should be watching via freetoplay.biz.

Covering the top five immerging trends, Newstead covers everything from ‘The War on Geekiness’ to ‘Taking Virtual Responsibility Seriously’.  Kotaku’s interested in the reverse transition starting to happen from Virtual Worlds going retail, but WeeWorld’s position on Branded Items: Not Free For Long reveals a growing trend in Marketing and diversified revenue streams:

WeeWorlds head of marketing, Lauren Bigelow, explained the plans of the 25 Million strong WeeMee community: to date, all branded items had been free, but some items will soon cost money, such as premium branded items like an upcoming Paris Hilton.

Why? Charging money for branded items increases exclusivity – and therefore buzz – driving the marketing campaign’s objectives. Obviously a revenue stream is a happy side effect as well.

Used well, it sounds like a win-win. Expect experimentation on branded item pricing to happen in coming months.

As Newstead states, driving a marketing campaign and generating buzz via exclusivity is a great way promote in game sales, AND the happy side effect of a revenue is an added plus.

While WeeWorlds was featured here by Newstead, if it works for WeeWorld, we will certainly see an increase in similar revenue models in the future, as publishers and developers still wrestle with the Sweet Spot question, and aim to please all.

To read more about Newstead’s top five trends coming out of the Virtual Worlds Expo 2008 in Los Angeles, visit freetoplay.biz.