Club Penguin

Childrens' Online Virtual World

Published 06/27/2012 and rated 4 out of 5 stars
by Adam Brown

Club Penguin is an online game which is aimed at children between 6 and 15 years old. Because parents worry about the safety of their children, especially when letting them on the internet, the site puts a lot of effort into making sure that it’s a safe environment to play in. There are a number of features that improve safety of children, including an Ultimate Safe Chat. This software filters out personal information, and swearing. There is also a team of moderators that police and make sure that the game is as safe as possible. There has been some criticism that the game encourages consumerism and also some players will cheat. Club Penguin is based in a virtual world, this world has a number of different things to do including various online games. The penguins are avatars, users of the site are free to waddle around, talk to other users, play games, and do various other activities. Club penguin was officially released on 24th October 2005, before which it was in private beta testing. The site was sold to Disney for $350 million in 2007.

Club Penguin was founded in November 2005 by Dave Krysko, Lance Priebe and Lane Merrifield. The site is huge and very popular; by late 2007 the site reported that it had over 12 million user accounts. Because Club Penguin became so popular this resulted in The Walt Disney Company purchasing New Horizon (The Company that owns Club Penguin) for $350 million in August 2007. If certain targets are met in 2009 then an additional $350 million will be paid.

There are a number of similar applications on the internet; however the main difference with this one is that it’s now owned by Disney. This immediately makes the site much more appealing to parents and children alike. Club Penguin also has its own in game currency which can be used to buy all sorts of things, including clothing and pets for your penguin.

Club Penguin is designed to be easy to use for children from 6 to 14 years old. This makes the site very easy to use and also very attractive for children. The site is also very safe and secure and well suited to children. Many of the chat rooms are moderated which ensures that your children are safe and sound. The site has a very nice, clean and easy to understand design which makes using it a real pleasure.

Signing up is easy, however if you want a free account then it can be a little confusing. For the free accounts simply click on the play link and then create a new penguin. If you want to register for a paid membership then you can do this using the membership link at the top of the screen. You can choose to pay per month, for 6 months, or for a whole year. It costs $5.99 per month, and $57.95 per year. You will then have to enter a name for your penguin, password and payment information if applicable.

It is possible to create a free account; however most of the sites revenue is generated through paid subscriptions. Most players, up to 90% of them in fact are thought to use the site for free. Paid members have a number of benefits, including being able to buy clothing for their penguins, furniture, and also various pets. Club Penguin also makes money by selling merchandise and has done so since August 2006. In October 2008 they launched plush penguin toys that are available for purchase through their website, and in Disney stores. The membership has become so popular because of word of mouth rather than expensive adverting campaigns. Unlike a number of other similar sites, Club Penguin does not have any adverts or product placement in the game.

Club Penguin has been designed and created for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old. It’s a safe environment which many children will really enjoy using. It’s much better for children to be using social networking platforms designed for them, rather than using the same platforms that adults use.

• Play Games
• Safe environment for children
• Meet new friends
• Talk to people and socialize

Club Penguin video