Virtual Worlds Forum

We reported earlier this week on plans to release a Club Penguin themed game for Nintendo's DS, but it's not the only virtual world looking to make such a leap. One of the buzz games at the E3 show has been Neopets Puzzle Adventure, which uses Nickelodeon's virtual world as the basis for a mixture of puzzling and RPG-style character development.

Nickelodeon's Kids and Family Group has released the latest comScore Media Metrix figures for the performance of its websites - judging by the scramble last time they did this, we expect Disney to hit back with its own press release imminently. Anyway, the Nick figures show good growth for its Neopets virtual world, which increased its unique visitors by 22% in June, while average time spent on site per user grew 19% to 173.6 minutes.

When Disney recently reorganised its virtual worlds and gaming activities into one division, I speculated that it might mean more cross-platform activities, such as Club Penguin making the leap to games platforms. Now, the company has provided confirmation, with plans for a dedicated DS game called Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force.

Most of the virtual worlds for kids are tightly controlled, with restrictions on user-generated content - as you'd expect, given the age of their target audience. However, Shidonni is a new service that takes a different tack - letting kids create their own virtual worlds, create animals for them, and then share them with friends.

The big guns of the media world are certainly training their sights on the virtual worlds space, resulting in intense competition between the likes of MTV, Disney and Nickelodeon. Turner subsidiary Cartoon Network is in the fray too, and has just announced a new virtual world developed by its Cartoon Network New Media division. It's called Mini Match, and it's got a clear focus around gaming.

Buried down the press release for a new extra-healthy Burger King kids meal (it “boasts an exceptional nutrition profile” apparently) is news that the fast-food chain is getting into the online interactive entertainment business with the help of one of the biggest games brands around - Nintendo's Pokemon.

Crisp Thinking describes itself as an 'online child protection specialist', so it's not surprising to see it setting its sights on the virtual worlds sector. Its NetModerator chat-monitoring technology has just been signed up by virtual world Xivio.

We've reached the point where companies are launching new projects having to promise they're “not just another virtual world for kids”, hinting at the potential saturation of the market. So, Kiwi Heroes is... not just another virtual world for kids. It's an MMO due for release later this year.

Meez has been around for a while now: it styles itself as a 'social entertainment community', which means more than seven million people creating 3D avatars, playing casual games, and generally interacting with each other. Earlier this month, the company launched a dedicated virtual world, Meez Nation, with several virtual neighbourhoods for users to explore, while customising their own 'Roomz'. We put some questions to VP of marketing Michael Lehman to find out more.

Teen-focused virtual world Habbo has announced an impressive milestone - the 100 millionth avatar created by one of its users. The lucky user (a Brit) won a customised room with rare items, a big sack of Habbo coins, and a real-world MacBook Air for their trouble. However, Habbo has released some other stats showing how it's growing...

Nickelodeon has signified its intentions in the virtual worlds market by forming a dedicated Virtual Worlds group, which will sit within its Kids and Family Group division. Neopets general manager Kyra Reppen will head up the new group as SVP, reporting to Steve Youngwood, Nickelodeon's EVP of digital media.

Mattel has revealed that its Barbie Girls virtual world has now signed up nearly 13 million registered users, which it claims makes it the fastest growing virtual world ever. Meanwhile, the company claims more than 85% of those users are older than eight years old, which it says plays into its strategy of keeping older girls "engaged with the core play experiences of the Barbie brand".

Disney is launching a localised version of its Club Penguin virtual world in Australia, on the back of strong growth for its wider Disney web portal, which has seen visitor numbers double to 800,000 since the end of last year. Club Penguin isn't part of that site yet, but Disney plans to hire a team by August to manage the localised virtual world in Sydney, according to the company's Duncan Orrell-Jones.

As more teen and tween-focused virtual worlds launch, their business models will inevitably come under scrutiny. Advertising is a touchy subject for many parents and campaign groups, yet premium subscriptions or micropayments could also strike the wrong note. On the plus side, parents may be willing to pay a monthly subscription for a world that they feel their child is safe using. All of this is being explored, not least by Mattel, which has just launched a subscription offering for its Barbie Girls world.

Topps is well-known (in the US, at least) for its collectable baseball cards. However, the company is now stepping into the virtual worlds arena, with a spin-off world called Toppstown - tagline: "Where your cards come alive".