Posts Tagged ‘club penguin’

Educational virtual world SecretBuilders wins NAPPA Award

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Billed as a virtual world “ powered by a web 2.0 community of children, parents, educators, writers, artists and game developers” SecretBuilders have been secretly building a massive following and winning some high praise.

Specifically not targeting the SecondLife demographic of 30-40 somethings, SecretBuilders is aimed at the 7-14 year old market, thereby putting it in the same genre as Club Penguin and ZooKazoo, an already boiling hot market. However, SecretBuilders have set out to introduce a new standard to kids’ virtual world experience. Instead of just another “do this, play this mini game, go do that” format, SecretBuilders focuses on teaching through interactive learning.

In the virtual world children live and play with significant historical figures. Players may complete quests alongside the likes of King Lear or Galileo. Naturally, these NPC’s will aid a player’s quest – as well as provide some historical facts about themselves along the way. Likewise, kids can tour through Frank & Stein’s art gallery, or order up some slimy treats in the Weird Brew Café (as inspired by the weird sisters from Shakespeare’s MacBeth).

This commitment to learning through fun is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the National Parent Publications Awards (NAPPA). SecretBuilders were selected earlier this month as a 2009 NAPPA honors winner in the Children’s Products competition.

“Being chosen a 2009 NAPPA winner is a high honor for SecretBuilders,” said Umair Khan, CEO of SecretBuilders and parent of three. “It goes a long way to validate what we at SecretBuilders have been working so hard to achieve: a website that parents want their children to visit that children also want to go to. And it is especially gratifying that the NAPPA award selection includes the opinion of children.”

With eMarketer placing 53% of all kids involved in one virtual world or another (or several) by 2011, bringing home an award like this only further validates SecretBuilders’ commitment to educational excellence through fun.  Currently, SecretBuilders is averaging around 180,000 unique visitors per month, with an average of 450,000 visits per month.  And again, their commitment to a quality educational experience has been validated by the 1000+ schools and libraries around the world that have SecretBuilders installed at their institution.

“Typically, children’s web sites offer pure entertainment but little nutritional value – ‘chocolate fudge’ – while educational sites sugar-coat skills-building programs but lack real appeal – ‘chocolate-covered broccoli’,” says Bob Brattesani, VP of Creative Design. “SecretBuilders is neither ‘chocolate fudge’ nor ‘chocolate-covered broccoli’ – it is more like Cheerios, both appealing and nutritious. And we are delighted that NAPPA agrees!”

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Uncle Walt merges with Marvel – what does it mean for video games?

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Announced just prior to the trading floor bell yesterday morning, the announcement went out that two of the largest entertainment players in the industry are merging. The Walt Disney Company is offering $4 billion in stock and cash for the ownership rights of Marvel. As boards of both firms have signed off on the deal, this was clearly a non-hostile take over, and the deal is now in the hands of shareholders and federal regulators.

dismarvTo this end, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, and Goofy just inherited over 5,000+ iconic Marvel characters as siblings. Marvel continues to crank out comic books, and license these IP’s out for multimedia usage. Some of these licensees include THQ, Sega and Activision, and perhaps most importantly, Gazillion’s upcoming Marvel Universe MMO, a 10-year licensing deal.

So what does this merger mean for the heavily licensing dependant video game industry? While Disney has been ramping up in-house game development, according to an investors call, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger doesn’t see the need to take over all future Marvel based game development. “On the video game front, (Marvel) have some smart licensing agreements with some of the best video game manufacturers in the business. While we have been steadily moving in the direction of video game integration, we don’t rule out the blend of licensing and self-produced and distributed video games.”

This statement in itself demonstrates that Disney has just added another notch in their “we’re sitting pretty in the video game industry” belt, but it’s Iger’s caveat to this statement that closes the deal, “As these licensing deals expire we have the luxury of considering what’s best for the company and the products.” In other words, once the agreements are up, Disney can do whatever they want/makes the most financial sense. These deals, however, are quite a ways off. Marvel’s deal with Activision, which includes the Wolverine and Marvel Ultimate Alliance games expires in 2017. As mentioned above, 2019 will see the end of Gazillion Entertainment’s deal with Marvel. Marvel’s signed papers with Sega includes a games deal based on the Marvel movies, and was described only as “multi-year”. Likewise, THQ’s Marvel deal includes video games based on the Super Hero Squad franchise.

If Disney’s Club Penguin is to be used as any sort of yardstick, it’s fair to say that a Marvel based virtual world must certainly be on the big Mouse’s mind. Officially, and obviously too soon to start making any type of announcements, Disney hasn’t pointed to any original creations involving their new character acquisitions. However, according to the New York Times, the company does see immediate leveraging opportunities through the Marvel name; Characters such as Spider Man, X-men, Iron Man, and Captain America will be added to Disney theme parks as soon as feasible. Likewise, consumer products, i.e. toys, merchandising, etc., will be significantly factored into Disney’s international business plans.

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Over 100,000 happy campers worldwide at CampFu

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

NYC based Rebel Monkey has recently announced that they’ve surpassed the 100,000 registered players mark in their Casual MMO CampFu.  Launched only in February of 2009, clearly CampFu is on to something special, not only attracting, but engaging and retaining users.  Rebel Monkey reports that they have users from every continent except Antarctica, encompassing 110 countries around the globe, with users spending on average over 60 minutes on site both playing games and socializing with other users.

logoNaturally, as will most virtual worlds, CampFu offers users a wide variety of online activities and features including a virtual CampGround, chat, hundreds of virtual goods and avatar costumes, but what truly sets them apart from the crowd is their innovative real-time co-op games.  This co-op gaming experience leads to a natural formation of teams and alliances that carry over outside the games and into the social area, the CampGround.

“CampFu is a fun and fresh online hang-out that is different from anything else out on the market,” said Margaret Wallace, CEO of Rebel Monkey. “Players have really responded to the look of our avatars and that you can actually use your avatars inside of the games in real-time – unlike a lot of online multiplayer sites out there where avatars are usually relegated to the sidelines.”

Another interesting aspect of CampFu is the user demographics.  It’s very difficult to call CampFu a ‘youth’ virtual world, but it’s also not quite a ‘hardcore’ gamer virtual world.  Spanning the masses is one of the keys to CampFu’s success.  Some arrive headed straight to the games, while others simply enjoy the social networking and community aspect of CampFu.  Globally, there are an estimated 231 million casual gamers worldwide, with 180 of them estimated to partake in virtual worlds such as Club Penguin or Habbo Hotel.  Given these numbers, and CampFu’s wide reaching appeal, Rebel Monkey and CampFu stand at a very interesting crossroads that could eventually see them skyrocket to the top of the virtual world scene.

Powered by the company’s own Monkey Wrench multiplayer gaming platform, CCO Nick Fortugno states, “if you want to play as a group with your avatars inside of a real-time casual gaming environment, you are really only going to find that at CampFu.  Expect more kinds of real-time co-op games to come – exploring deeper levels of team play and collaboration.”

Rightly so, Rebel Monkey is doing a bit of celebrating this week, and sharing the love with these 100,000 registered users.  They’ll be launching new parts of the CampFu CampGround, along with a full site re-design.  If that wasn’t enough to keep current and future users coming back for more, Rebel Monkey has also slated a number of new co-op games, social networking features, and avatar and cabin customizations later this spring.

If you’ve not done so already, head on over to CampFu.com and see what’s got over 100,000 registered users entertained and coming back for more.

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Disney’s free-to-play Pixie Hollow drives online growth

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Along with launching DisneyXD last week, the big mouse also announced that recent ComScore data reveals that Disney Games takes third place among all online gaming destinations with 13.4M visitors in December 2008, a 13% increase yoy.  Reaching one further, ComScore’s January 2009 data sees Disney leapfrogging EA Games and grabbing the number 2 spot.

Disney’s not-so-secret ingredient?  Their free-to-play, virtual world Pixie Hollow.  According to Virtualworldsnews.com, a Disney representative explains the surge in traffic as, “largely driven by our virtual worlds, and specifically by the popularity of the new Disney Fairies Pixie hollow virtual world.”

And while Disney’s corporate policy dictates that no concrete numbers could be released, the rep also adds that Club Penguin has been a consistent driver for Disney, “but that the recent spike in Fairies traffic helped boost Disney last month.”

These numbers might seem large and impressive, but keep in mind that back in October Senior Vice President of Disney Online Steve Parkis stated, “More than 7 and a half million Fairies have already been created and, until now, have been all dressed up with no place to go. Now, in Pixie Hollow, Fairies can join their friends, take flight and live their very own Fairy adventures.”

To this end, it’s fair to say that Disney did they due diligence in ‘pre-loading’ the site with over 7.5M players that were ready and waiting for the magical world of Pixie Hollow to roll out the welcome mat.

The game itself is free-to-play, but similar to Disney’s Club Penguin, players may buy into a $5.99/month membership fee that gives them exclusive access to a number of game features.  Also noteworthy is Disney’s ‘real-world’ tie-ins to the online virtual world.  When played in the real-world, the companies’ Clickables Fairy collection rewards players with a number of special content unlocks that allow them to add unique clothing, accessories, and décor to their virtual world collection.

Disney may have taken the number two spot in online gaming destinations, but not all is well at Disney’s Interactive Studios.  Earlier this month in an earnings call, DIS made it quite clear that they’re in a similar bind as a number of other games publishers: falling prices.  Disney CFO Tom Staggs says that DIS sold more units last quarter, but ended up with less coinage in the bank due to, “a competitive and difficult market put pressure on pricing.”

Despite recent DIS layoffs, Staggs says that Disney expects to “continue to invest in… videogames, websites and virtual worlds.”

Given the problem facing the folks at DIS, combined with the massive growth in their free-to-play Pixie Hollow, I’d be interested in the revenue numbers Disney’s virtual world product sales are generating.  Is it time for Disney to seriously rethink how they’re monetizing the online and/or gaming space?

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Free-to-play Maple Story ranks among top moneymaking MMO’s of 2008.

Monday, February 2nd, 2009

DFC Intelligence is gearing up to publish a comprehensive study of MMO worlds next month, according to GigaOm.  Wagner James Au got a special preview of the report and shares some initial estimates.

DFC’s David Cole says that the 2008 numbers are on the “very conservative” side, indicating that the 2008 numbers are still being crunched, and more exact numbers will be reflected in the February 16th reports.  “We indicate ranges because these numbers are estimates for 2008 based on where we think these products will end up,” said Cole.  And while the numbers are still being tallied, Cole estimates that the rankings should stay more or less the same, with “maybe a slot here or there” changing.

And while it shouldn’t come as a shock that the Blizzard powerhouse World of Warcraft takes the number one spot, Cole believes that if viewed from a pure profit margin, WoW wouldn’t be taking home the gold.  Asian MMO’s, which are traditionally developed at far lower budgets, have a much higher profit margin.  “Profit margin on Asian games is incredibly high,” says Cole, noting that Asian MMOs charge on or around 5-6 cents per hour with prepaid usage cards, a business model that has yet to proliferate the western gaming market.

What’s interesting to note in this projected report is the high ranking of Nexon’s free-to-play Maple Story (supported by microtransactions, prepaid cards, and international licensing), and the catalogue of Shanda’s games (Virtual item sales, prepaid cards, and freemium subscriptions).

1. World of Warcraft, launched 2004
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG; client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Monthly subscription, retails sales, prepaid cards (in Asia)
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $500 million-plus

2. Fantasy Westward Journey, launched 2004
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Prepaid cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

3. Maple Story, launched 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG for kids, client install with 2D graphics
Revenue sources: Microtransactions, prepaid cards, international licensing
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

4. Shanda (company, includes Legend of Mir and World of Legend series), launched 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5 graphics
Revenue sources: Prepaid cards, virtual item sales, freemium subscriptions
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

5. Lineage I and Lineage II , launched 1998 and 2003
Genre/Platform: Asian MMORPG, client install with 2.5 graphics (Lineage) and 3D graphics (Lineage II)
Revenue sources: Subscription, prepaid cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $150-$500 million

6. Runescape
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG for kids, web-based with 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Premium subscription, prepaid cards, real-world advertising
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

7. Club Penguin, launched 2006
Genre/Platform: Virtual world for kids, web-based 2.5D graphics
Revenue sources: Premium subscriptions, prepaid game cards
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

8. Lord of the Ring Online
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

9. Warhammer Online
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

10. Age of Conan
Genre/Platform: Western MMORPG, client install with 3D graphics
Revenue sources: Subscription, retail sales
DFC estimated 2008 revenue: $50-$150 million

Wagner continues his conversation with Cole around the most popular, in terms of active players, MMO of 2008.  To answer this question, we’ve got to go even a bit further out on the speculation branch, but Cole points out that Fantasy Westward Journey registered 2-3 million concurrent players back in August.  And although Warcraft likes to beat it’s own drum regarding their estimated 11 million+ players, “You’re lucky to get 5-10 percent [of them] playing at the same time,” says Cole.  Minho Kim, developer of Maple Story said in December that the title has 87+ million registrations, but wouldn’t comment on how many of these registered users were/are active monthly users.  Joost van Dreunen from DFC’ estimates the number to be more in the 13 – 17.4 million regular Maple Story players, roughly 15-20 percent of Kim’s estimation.

Cole admits that this year’s list looks remarkably similar to the 2007 list with Conan and Warhammer being released in 2008.  And while only 2 of the top 10 contain some type of microtransaction support, I’d estimate that this list might look very different one year from now with a number of highly anticipated (think Free Realms and Battlefield Heroes) free-to-plays coming online in ’09.

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New concept virtual world SecretBuilders seeks to engage and educate

Friday, December 5th, 2008

In case you missed it a few weeks back, it looks like Google’s attempt at a virtual world competitor to SecondLife: Lively, wasn’t so lively at all, and is about to go down the tubes.  While it’s a sad day anytime we hear of a game/world/concept go sayonara, how’s that expression go…there’s a silver lining in Tokyo?  Or something like that.

Now entering the ring in the white corner, weighing in with StoneSoup magazine and The Huffington Post, hailing from Northern Californiahhhh…..Secretbuilders!

SecretBuilders is another new entry to the virtual world sector – but with a new an innovative twist.  Specifically not targeting the Lively/SecondLife demographic of 30-40 somethings, SecretBuilders is aimed at the 7-14 year old market, thereby putting it in the same pot as Club Penguin and ZooKazoo, an already boiling hot market.  eMarketer places 53% of all kids involved in one virtual world or another (or several) by 2011.

But hold up there Mr. Naysayer.  SecretBuilders has an interesting twist.  Fun AND education.  Players can create their own 2D avatar and play approximately 30 mini-games throughout the different areas of the virtual world.  Kids can talk to each other within the world with offensive language filters in place.  Nothing new to see here, but….this is where things get interesting.  Let’s say a player approaches a man by the name of Galileo and wants to talk to him.  Here they can find out a number of things regarding Galileo, when he lived, what he’s famous for, etc.  His profile will also reflect these teaching tools.  Likewise, players can create pictures via their mouse cursor, but what they may not realize is that they’re painting over, or mimicking a painting done by a famous artist – learning tools included.  The world also includes a plethora of writing and art contests to enter, a kids magazine and room customization/personalization tools.

So far we’ve got a new Virtual World with an innovative concept – but how about some support?  Well getting a nod from Arianna Huffington at The Huffington Post isn’t a bad way to start.  On December 10th, SecretBuilders will launch a contest titled “Dear Mr. President” where users can submit a photo including a caption addressed to president-elect Barack Obama.  The Huffington Post will publish the winning entry on President’s Day.

The site membership is free for now, but plans to introduce premium subscriptions and microtransactions in the coming future.  SecretBuilders is open to product placement and in-game advertising, and currently has join ventures with Art in Action, The Monterey Bay Aquarium, WildPlanet Toy Company, and StoneSoup Magazine.

This new entry to the virtual world space is the brainchild of Umair Khan, who founded the company in January 2007.  14 programmers based in Bulgaria also support the Menlo Park based team of 7 US programmers.  After a short testing phase of only a couple of months, the world now has approximately 5000 members in 27 countries around the world – all via word of mouth marketing.

Khan has raised $2.4M in tow rounds of funding via Angel investors Scott Hassan of eGroups and a founding member of Google, Carlos Cashman founder and CEO of CourseAdvisors, and Ken Morse, co-founder of 3Com, Aspen Technologies, and professor at the MIT Sloan School.

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KinsIsle Entertainment brings microtransactions AND subscriptions to Wizard101

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008

Want to plunk down your monthly fee and play as much as you want?  That’s fine.  Want to use microtransactions to buy individual pieces and areas of the game?  That’s also fine.  Texas based KingsIsle Entertainment has set out on an interesting experiment whereby they’re now offering players of Wizard 101 the option to play via a subscription payment OR utilize microtransactions to purchase additional areas of the game.

The game’s main features will remain free-to-play but players may now either pay a monthly fee of $6.95 – $9.95 per month to access additional gameplay, or pay as little as $1/ transaction to open smaller, bit sized portions of the game.  Here’s a perfect example of players with plenty of time to play (subscription players) AND casual players that don’t want to commit to a subscription, but still want to enjoy the same level of gameplay (microtransaction players).

“We looked at our feedback and found that half the people liked subscriptions and another group wanted micro-transactions,” said Elie Akilian, chief executive of KingsIsle

Wizard101 is a spell-casting adventure and card-style game.  The game has family focused play style (lining up perfectly between parents and teens), a chat system with a number of options and a character name selector.  The game contains no blood, and characters do not die if defeated in a duel of spells – they are simply returned to a safe area to regain health.

In a recent interview with Dean Takahashi at VentureBeat, Akilian said that the teen niche hasn’t been well served by the game industry.  He points out that games such as World of Warcraft feature plenty of blood and gore, where players can run rampant, while on the opposite side of the spectrum, there are other games with much tighter controls, Disney’s Club Penguin for example.  Wizard101 is rated for everyone 10 and old, and KindsIsle has seen a number of families playing together.  The switch to a flexible pricing model shout increase not only the number of teens playing, but also the number of overall players.

Wizard101 currently features approximately 300 hours of playtime in four worlds.  KingsIsle plans on expanding this content over time.  The game currently features 170 different spell combinations, but has limited pvp combat; presumably do to the kid/family friendly rating.

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IMVU earning $1m per month with micro transactions

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

IMVU has been flying under the radar for the past few years, while quietly amassing a small fortune with micro transaction and embedded banner ads.

Since April 2004 IMVU has gathered 20 Million accounts with 600,000 of those functioning as active monthly users.  To compare this, Second Life managed to acquire 550,000 active monthly users over 5 years.

IMVU generates 90% of it’s revenue via micro transactions that focus on spending in game currency, and 10% from banner ads.  CEO Cary Rosenzweig commented that this averages out to around $1.66 a month per active user.  VC Jeremy Liew estimates that market hotspots Habbo Hotel and Club Penguin average around $1.33 – $1.66.

What’s for sale in IMVU?

With a demographic of 60% female/60% US based users, most of the top selling micro transaction based articles focus around avatar clothing, accessories and other character objects.  Participants make the items themselves with tools like Maya and Blender, and then make them available via the IMVU online shop.  .  IMVU then takes a small percentage cut of these sales and the rest goes to the seller.  IMVU is also a bit more relaxed about users selling items on third party sites, as it ultimately drives traffic and usage back to the MMO itself.

A block of 1000 in game credits cost the end user $1.

With user created items, IMVU is never short on a fresh supply of unique and new content.  “It’s my personal belief there’s maybe in the order of dozens who are doing this for a living,” Rosenzweig said. “Perhaps hundreds who are doing it for spending money.”

While IMVU is clocking these impressive numbers, they still remain in ‘beta’ since 2004.  Perhaps they’re just taking queues from Gmail?

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