Following beta testing, the bunnies went "live" on 9 January 2010. Bunnies were priced at L$595 for a starter pack, comprised of one male and one female nest. It soon became evident the bunny market would prove to profitable for many, and word spread.As a result of more and more folks jumping on the bunny bandwagon, bunny markets began to spring up like...well, like the prolific little critters themselves.Bunny breeding commenced in earnest across the grid and soon the market became flooded with breeders, bunny nests and bunnies. This happened in only 6 weeks' time from the bunnies going live, much more quickly that anyone ever thought. Amidst this accelerated market growth, Ozimals, creators of the bunnies, were working hard behind the scenes identifying issues and "squashing bugs" that they became aware of with the bunnies. A version update for the bunnies was developed and a free update totem was provided to bunny owners at the Ozimals Main Store.One of the updates included the institution of "expiring" nests. Prior to now, nests lasted until they were birthed. Nests produced after the update have an expiration time of 45 days. If not birthed prior to then, they vanish in SL limbo. Retrospectively, Ozimals issued an open letter to the Ozimals Community, acknowledging that the market growth was originally expected to take several months to expand but happened in a much shorter time than originally anticipated. In addition, announcing the creation of expiring nests would lead to people snatching up and collecting "grandfathered" nests, thereby increasing the bunny market explosion. As such, no announcement was made by Ozimals prior to the updates. Another update was the lengthening of the "generational cooldown" period, or the time between nest production and the ability to produce another nest. It was expected that this would create more of a stir than the nest expiration would, but it might slow down the growth rate of the market. Ozimals now plan to "revise the nest expiration and implement controls from the game mechanics side."In the meantime, however, the over population of the grid with bunnies and the overindulgent enthusiasm of breeders has led to the slow and systematic destruction of the once viable bunny market. Many have invested thousands of lindens in their bunnies and their upkeep and are now finding it next to impossible to recoup their losses. Many have been forced to sell well below market value to free up prims and weed out stock. This is undercutting the market for those individuals who price their inventory according to value, based on breed, fur, eye color and ears (upright versus full lop or half-a-lop).As more individuals jump off the virtual bunny bandwagon, those left, who have been steadfast in their values and who have not devalued the bunnies, might have a competitive chance. Only time will tell.Shellie Sands
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