Business Week has a new article profiling Nabi Studios' Toribash, an online community created by Singapore-based programmer Hampus Söderström. It's somewhat like a virtual world version of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots -- with social and community features added, like message boards, chat functionality, a group wiki, and even a virtual goods market that Business Week points out is doing quite healthily. Recently, a rare blood color (well, it's a fighting game) sold for $500.
From the article:
In the last two years, Toribash has become a virtual community with more than 42,000 members. Its members even flip-kick one another as they chat, exchange ideas in a public forums, and give direct feedback to the game's developers. On meticulously maintained wiki pages and discussion boards, players collaborate, designing complex fighting moves and sharing combat tips. To date, the game has received almost 30 official updates while gamers have played Toribash more than 3 million times on the official servers, with top players racking up 20,000-plus games.
Business Week also has some interesting facts on how Nabi got started up with Toribash, including how the free-to-play biz model helped accelerate the company's growth. Moreover, it reveals Nabi's next product, a car racing game with user-contributed features that launches in May.
