In early 2003, the Penguin Chat 2 beta test launches. The previous version (Experimental Penguins) was quite expensive to run considering that most internet users were using dial-up internet still from 2000-2002.
This changed after the first Penguin Chat gained more and more awards and visitors. In 2002, RocketSnail games were played closed to 1 million times. This newfound exposure helped make a new version of Penguin Chat possible.
Some interesting things about Penguin Chat 2:
- The new penguin debuted here! Check out this great primary source article about Carrara Studio: https://rocketsnail.com/blog/2003/02/25/penguin-chat-interview-with-eovia
- This famous little avatar was the main avatar all the way up to December 2012. There were tweaks and technology upgrades along the way to make this model work with multiple clothing items, but stye-wise, this penguin continued for many years
- Version 2 added the famous penguin blue color, and you could create a permanent account for the first time
- You could reset your password
- The famous blue UI debuted here, alongside emotes, throwing snowballs, dances (including a little hop), ‘tooting’ and more.
See the video footage about Penguin Chat 2 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oByBX2WcxQ
Penguin Chat 2 “launched in full” a month later on February 3, 2003. That said, this was a time before “LiveOps”. In today’s gaming industry, games are updated continuously more like a website.