“Disney shut [Toontown Online] down last year amid a shift away from subscription-based games. Now, it’s getting a second life thanks to fans who have created a knockoff version without the company’s permission.”
Source: Bloomberg
External
Club Penguin’s translation system will make language barriers vanish
“British children will soon be able to chat online in Spanish, French, Portuguese and German without knowing a word of those languages, as part of an upgrade to [Club Penguin].“
Source: The Telegraph
Half-Price Deal?
Club Penguin, the subscription-based online community acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2007, has failed to meet profit targets that were tied to $350 million in payouts to the Web site’s creators.
Source: New York Times
Newspapers need to be more like Club Penguin?
“Wired editor and author Chris Anderson told the Guardian that they need to find a “pet for their penguin” – things that they can charge for to support journalism.
When he talks about pets for penguins, he is referring to… Club Penguin.“
Source: The Guardian
The Guardian Lists Club Penguin in Top 100 Websites
It’s cool to see Club Penguin listed in The Guardian’s Top 100 websites for the year ahead! In great company along with Runescape and Moshi Monsters.
Merry Christmas to us!
Source: The Guardian
Disney Buys Club Penguin
“Virtual worlds have arrived?”
Source: TechCrunch
Club Penguin Music Video – Bad Day
It was common for fans to make Club Penguin music videos. And it was just as common for the Club Penguin Team to watch and share these music videos internally. Many of them had the classic “Unregistered HyperCam 2” watermark, of course. Legend.
This is one of the videos we would show executives and other folks to show off the Club Penguin community.
“Bad Day” came out in 2005, the same year as Club Penguin. The song was written by Daniel Powter, who was born in the Okanagan, the same area where Club Penguin was born. Of course, the person who made this music video didn’t know this. Nor did they know that so many senior executives would have seen their little Unregistered HyperCam 2 music video.
Raph Koster on kids’ worlds
“Of course, by and large, the gamers and gaming industry will likely blow these [kids’ worlds] off as “not counting” or “shallow” or something.“
Source: Raph Koster
Sony in advanced talks to buy Club Penguin?
Interesting speculative article from Gigaom about Sony attempting to buy Club Penguin.
Source: Gigaom
BusinessWeek: MySpace For The Sandlot Set
A BusinessWeek writer takes a look at the significance of social networking on children’s chat based websites, highlighting Club Penguin as a leader in providing a safe environment for fun while online. MySpace For The Sandlot Set Social networks like Club Penguin are quickly catching pre-tweens’ attention `I bought a flat-screen TV and a stereo … Read more