Massively

Habbo Hotel touts 200 million registrations

Jef Reahard — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items, Casual, Virtual worlds, Kids, Miscellaneous

If you haven't heard of Habbo Hotel, you might just be in the minority. Sulake, the Finnish maker of the teen-focused virtual community and social game, has just announced that the title has surpassed 200 million registrations as of January 2011. If you're curious, one registration equals one character in the long-running virtual world, but the total number of unique registered users is unclear.

Habbo Hotel celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, and since its founding in 2000, it has expanded to more than 150 countries across the globe. The year 2010 represented the virtual world's most successful to date, with 42 million new registrations and over 400 million play hours logged. "The fast, continuous development of Habbo Hotel has enabled us to make quick changes and create new features according to our users' needs," said Sulake CEO Timo Soininen via press release.

Habbo Hotel touts 200 million registrations originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively speaks with Sparkplay Media's CEO on Earth Eternal pt. 2

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, New titles, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Earth Eternal, Massively Interviews

How have the launches of FusionFall and Free Realms affected Earth Eternal? Have you changed your development or goals in any way because of the success of those two games, or have you stayed the course and continued to build things your way, disregarding those two games?

Not really, no. Games like Runescape and Habbo have had more influence on our plans than either of those two games, simply because they're so much bigger. FusionFall and Free Realms have gotten a lot of press in the last year, but neither of them have achieved the level of success that games like Runescape and Habbo have.

Actually, nobody really knows how Free Realms is doing outside of SOE. Three million registrations doesn't tell you much about how many active players they have as you don't know how quickly players are churning out of the experience. With the massive dollars they spent on marketing too, it'd be surprising if they couldn't get a few million registrations. The challenge for them (and everyone else in this space, including us) is to convert that fleeting attention into long-term, loyal players.

"We're more in the vein of a classic fantasy MMO than a collection of minigames."

How will Earth Eternal separate itself from the growing free-to-play genre in America? What will make this game stand out?

We're a different kind of experience from FusionFall or Free Realms. We're more in the vein of a classic fantasy MMO than a collection of minigames. I think where we stand out is by offering the best browser-based fantasy MMO out there. We've made the decision to have no humans, elves, or dwarves (or gnomes, hobbits, or anything else too close to human), preferring instead to offer everything from humanoid lizards and falcons to the Clockwork and Yeti. We're definitely fantasy but we want to stay away from the pack, almost all of whom have the humans/elves/dwarves thing going on. We've also got an enormous number of races for players (unlike the two games you mentioned) - 22 at launch.

Considering all of Earth Eternal's development, what part of the game are you the most proud of? What is that one feature you can't wait to show off?

The number one thing I'm proud of is how much our team has managed to do on relatively little funding for an open world 3D MMO (about five million dollars.) As far as game features go the biggest feature I'm looking forward to showing off is our Groves system, which will be introduced at final launch, a few months after we go into open beta.

Thanks so much for your time, Matt!

Massively speaks with Sparkplay Media's CEO on Earth Eternal pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Where is Second Life going?

Tateru Nino — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, Second Life

Where is it all going? With an MMOG you already know: Content updates, free and paid expansions, and so forth. A broadening and sometimes also a deepening of the game experience.

Virtual environments tend to be a bit hazier, largely supported by microtransactions they may include game-elements (like Entropia Universe), sci-fantasy settings (like the upcoming Blue Mars), specific celebrity events (Habbo) or merchandise and marketing-focused experiences (Virtual MTV, Barbie Girls Online and more).

In a very real sense the virtual environments industry is largely about focus. Targeting a market, wooing a demographic, and showing them where you are going to take them in the coming days.

Interesting, then, that the world's best-known virtual environment, Linden Lab's Second Life lacks the answers to fundamental questions, the answers to which directly impact every user and organization who participates (or who might participate in future). In fact, hardly anyone is asking those questions. Now isn't that peculiar?

Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.

Continue reading Where is Second Life going?

Where is Second Life going? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Habbo aims to erase hate in online communities

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, in-game, Habbo Hotel, Free-to-play, Politics, Casual, Education, Virtual worlds, Kids

Let's face it, being a teen is not easy. With the ever-growing mountain of potential pitfalls teens may face, the last thing they want to deal with is the hatred, discrimination and bigotry that seems to be plaguing our online environments. To help combat this problem, Habbo has joined forces with the Matthew Shepard Foundation in a project they call "Erase Hate".

Beginning July 7th, the Matthew Shepard Foundation staff will make appearances twice a week in Habbo's InfoBus to discuss those issues concerning young people in a safe environment. Main topics will include bullying, discrimination and any other forms of hate experienced on and offline. Not only will these teens be taught how to deal with these concerns, but they will learn how to encourage respect among peers. "It is a mission of the Foundation to support young people and provide them with the resources to lead healthy, productive, hate free lives," said Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. "Our partnership with Habbo will allow us to have ongoing conversations with young people about what they can do in the fight to replace hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance."

Habbo aims to erase hate in online communities originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Habbo crests 100 million avatar milestone

Chris Chester — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, in-game, News items, Habbo Hotel, Virtual worlds

One hundred million. 100 million. 100,000,000. No matter how you look at it, it's an extraordinarily large number. It's the number of colors most women are capable of seeing. It's the number of websites that existed in 2006. It's a song by the rapper Birdman. It's also, rather incidentally, the number of avatars created to date in the simple and spectacularly successful Habbo Hotel.

Naturally, that doesn't correlate to 100 million users (Habbo usually clocks in at about 8 million a month), but it's still a testament to the power of a simple virtual world aimed at an extremely active demographic. The lucky sap who created the actual 100 millionth avatar was awarded one of those fancy new Macbook Airs, as well as a slew of in-game goodies like a specially designed room, in-game currency, and rare items. Here's hoping they see 100 million more!

Habbo crests 100 million avatar milestone originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virtual Greats to sell celebrity likenesses

Tateru Nino — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, Economy, MMO industry, News items, Second Life, Habbo Hotel, Virtual worlds, Gaia Online

And not just likenesses. Metaverse developer Millions of Us intends to market likenesses, hair-styles, catchphrases, dance moves, signature moves, clothing lines, furniture collections -- you name it -- based on well-known celebs all under the banner business name of Virtual Greats. These appearances and digital accessories would be sold in dozens of virtual worlds, though you'll probably see them in Gaia Online, Habbo and Second Life first.

Deals have already been done with Justin Timberlake, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Raven Symone, Marvel (for The Incredible Hulk), and Tila Tequila, and more are in the works.

Continue reading Virtual Greats to sell celebrity likenesses

Virtual Greats to sell celebrity likenesses originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ION 08: A five year forecast for MMOs

Kyle Horner — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Economy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Massively Event Coverage

There's always a lot of discussion about what's going to be the next big thing in the MMOs industry. We all love to talk about the future and that's largely because it's a very interesting topic. So we just had to attend the "Online Games in 2013" panel at ION 08. This panel was actually introduced by Peter Freese, the ION Conference Director. It was easily one of the most packed panels I've been to thus far which is saying a lot since all the panels have been pretty well populated already.

The panel consisted of Erik Bethke (GoPets Ltd), Scott Jennings (NCsoft), Bridiget Agabra (Metaverse Roadmap) and Damion Schubert (BioWare). With a group of people like this I was expecting some varied and compelling conversation on the topic of MMOs in 2013. In the end we got just that and a quite a bit more.

Gallery: ION 08: MMOs in 2013

Continue reading ION 08: A five year forecast for MMOs

ION 08: A five year forecast for MMOs originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 May 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Webkinz, Habbo, Linden Lab make list of top 25 most valuable startups

Akela Talamasca — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Business models, Economy, MMO industry, Making money, Second Life, Habbo Hotel, Webkinz, Kids

The Silicon Alley Insider has the latest iteration of its "World's Most Valuable Digital Startups", a list of 25 privately-held companies with products or services on the Web. They say 'iterative', because they plan to continually update the list as market values change.

Companies of note on this list are Webkinz, the purveyors of virtual pets, valued at an estimated $2 billion dollars; Habbo, makers of Habbo Hotel, valued at $1.25 billion; and Linden Lab, the hosts of Second Life, valued at $1.1 billion dollars. If you're wondering about how they've come up with these valuation numbers, they explain their methodology, which essentially consists of four main components: implied valuations in recent financing, financial performance, market share and market size, and growth rate.

The Webkinz model is well-supported by now; it's essentially Beanie Babies in digital. Habbo Hotel is doing well enough to almost become a household name. Second Life gets the lion's share of public eyes on it by being the target of everyone's assumptions. Honestly, we're surprised that all three of these companies are still privately owned. Any bets on how much longer that will last?

Webkinz, Habbo, Linden Lab make list of top 25 most valuable startups originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC08: Thinking outside the virtual world

Elizabeth Harper — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:14:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, Virtual worlds

Tuesday afternoon, Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy, presented attendees at the GDC's Worlds in Motion summit with an interesting look at the confluence between real goods and virtual worlds. For some background on where Smith is coming from, Mind Candy "creates games and puzzles that span multiple media.... [they] use all forms of technology to tell stories and interact with... [their] audiences." They run Perplex City, an alternate reality game that uses clues puzzles in the real world combined with web-based resources to create a unique type of gameplay. Their upcoming game Moshi Monsters is an adoptable pet game geared towards kids. Smith says it's a "new type of virtual pet experience." The pets will be very alive with their own emotions (driven by a behavior engine which will cause your pet to act different ways depending on how you treat it) that will be reflected in the pet's animations. The game will also incorporate a number of social tools, so both you and your pet monster can hang out with friends. And, of course, there will be toys, oh glorious toys. (Some already available, though the game itself is still in beta and closed to the public.)

Gallery: GDC08: Worlds in Motion summit day 2

Continue reading GDC08: Thinking outside the virtual world

GDC08: Thinking outside the virtual world originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC08: Sulka Haro tells us how to Habbo

Michael Zenke — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:40:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry, Habbo Hotel, Casual, Virtual worlds, Massively Event Coverage

Sulka Haro, lead designer on the wildly popular Habbo Hotel virtual world, yesterday gave the Worlds in Motion summit audience an in-depth half-hour rundown on the Habbo phenomenon. At its core, the Sulake company project is a meeting space for teens - a place to hang out and be someone else for a few hours. The fact that the company can boast millions and millions of unique users worldwide, though, speaks to something many have grasped for and few have succeeded at: a virtual world where people feel truly comfortable.

Haro offered up a peak behind the curtain, at the origins of Habbo as the four room 'Hotel Goldfish'. He discusses the successes they've had in markets abroad, their surprise at the game's adoption by teens, and the numerous ways they allow players to acquire in-game currency. He also notes that Habbo is a world-record setting title in at least one way: they've probably sold the most virtual reindeer poop ever in the history of man.

Read on for a dissertation on a poop-selling, smashing success story.

Gallery: GDC 08: Worlds in Motion summit

Continue reading GDC08: Sulka Haro tells us how to Habbo

GDC08: Sulka Haro tells us how to Habbo originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paramount and Habbo BFF

Chris Chester — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Habbo Hotel

In-game advertising is something we've heard a lot about over the last couple of years. Game publishers and advertising companies have fostered close relationships based on the demographics they covet. Though some self-deluded "experts" on the topic like to argue that ads in games actually improve the gameplay experience, it's an extremely precarious rope to walk. The very second the advertising steps over invisible line of bad taste, the player base is liable to rebel.

It's difficult then to tell what to make of this new partnership between Paramount and Habbo, where Habbo players will be able to purchase in-game merchandise branded with new Paramount properties like The Spiderwick Chronicles, Beowulf, and Mean Girls. Now, obviously, the fact that Habbo is more of a social networking game aimed at teens changes the equation a little bit, but people have to actually pay for the privilege of shlocking their in-game advertisements around? I want to say it will never work, but young people always manage to surprise me, so I wouldn't put money on it.

[Via Tech Crunch]

Paramount and Habbo BFF originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Taatu launches English beta

Tateru Nino — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Real life, News items, Habbo Hotel, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual

Taatu, founded in Belgium in 2005, looks very much like Habbo Hotel. The similarities of visual styling and target age-group (tweens/teens: 10-19) is pretty much the first thing that everyone remarks on.

Previously available in Dutch and French, Flash-powered, free-to-play, browser-based, virtual world Taatu is now also in available in beta for English-speakers as well (all launched from a single web-page).

Continue reading Taatu launches English beta

Taatu launches English beta originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Nov 2007 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Virtual theft in Habbo Hotel leads to real arrest

Moo Money — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, News items, Habbo Hotel, Legal, Virtual worlds

Virtual theft just got very real. One teen was arrested and five were questioned in relation to missing furniture in Habbo Hotel. BBC News is reporting that over $5,800 USD worth of the virtual goods, paid with real money, were liberated.

The six teens allegedly scammed customers by creating fake Habbo sites, where users would be prompted for a password. With over six million people all over the world logging in, it has become a target for thieves. Sulake, the creators of Habbo Hotel, became involved after they noticed a large amount of imposter sites.

Habbo Hotel is a virtual world with tiny inhabitants. You can purchase gold coins, for about five per dollar, to buy items in-world. You are also able to join groups and own pets.

[Via Techmeme]

Virtual theft in Habbo Hotel leads to real arrest originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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