{"id":918,"date":"2023-07-18T15:17:32","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T15:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/virtual-pet-website-neopets-plans-4m-comeback\/"},"modified":"2023-07-18T15:17:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T15:17:32","slug":"virtual-pet-website-neopets-plans-4m-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/virtual-pet-website-neopets-plans-4m-comeback\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual pet website Neopets plans $4m comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual pet website Neopets plans $4m comeback<\/p>\n

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\"Various<\/picture><\/span>Neopets<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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By Tom Gerken<\/div>\n
Technology reporter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Virtual pet website Neopets is planning a comeback.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Launched in 1999 by British developers, the site let users care for cartoon pets, chat and play games. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But after Viacom bought it, for $160m (\u00a3122m) in 2005, the site failed to keep up with the times and many elements stopped working.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Now, Neopets is promising a “new era”, with $4m of funding to remake the site and bring back 50 classic games on 25 July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At its peak, in the mid-2000s, Neopets had 25 million users, rivalling the popularity of Tamagotchis and other virtual pets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But by 2017, that had collapsed to just 100,000 daily users, according to then chief executive David Lord.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Apprehensively excited<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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In a way, Neopets was an early form of social media, encouraging community conversation long before Facebook and Twitter existed – but much of the website relied on Adobe Flash.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Modern browsers do not support Flash at all. And Apple never supported the technology on its iPhones or iPads.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But will the promise of new funding and functionality tempt people to return to their neglected pets?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Krista, a fan who runs the YouTube channel Neopian Lore, is apprehensively excited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We have gotten announcements in the past and they haven’t followed through,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“But I’m most excited for the conversion of games. That has been something the community has been asking for for a while.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s the thing that draws you back – you can go and play a game for two minutes and then carry on with your life – it’s a nice feature to return.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"An<\/picture><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Neopets said a management buyout deal meant the website was now an independent business without a large corporate owner.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Free from the corporate baggage that existed in the past, the newly united [Neopets Team] has now been entrusted with the decision-making and overall brand strategy of Neopets, enabling them to work solely on the betterment of the entire Neopets game and community,” it said in a blog post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The Neopets Team is, for the first time in over a decade, equipped to make meaningful changes in pursuit of a Neopian renaissance.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Comfort food’<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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It plans to begin the “new era” with a refreshed homepage, on Thursday, 20 July.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Five days later, it will bring back 50 of the website’s classic games amid plans to fix “many of the most beloved games” in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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And Krista believes a resurgence is possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s not going to be a bunch of middle-schoolers anymore, though there still will be be some younger kids,” she says. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“People want nostalgia. People want to go reminisce about the glory days. That’s why there’s so many reboots in the world – bringing back those nostalgic features that are like comfort food for people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m really excited for it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Related Topics<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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