Webkinz virtual pets captivate kids
Categories: Media, Toys & games
Whatever happened to dolls and trucks?With this generation's wired kids, toys are not the simple items they used to be.
A panel of kids have recently rated "Webkinz" as one of the best toys for value, reliability, and straight out fun. I'd never heard of them before, but that doesn't mean much, because Nolan's favourite toy is still the clothes hamper and I haven't investigated anything further than that.
For those of you as out of the loop as me, Webkinz are a newfangled toy that combines old school plush animals with high-tech WWW interactivity. Webkinz are essentially stuffed animals that have a "secret code" that can only be revealed after purchase. Kids take their animal home, log into Webkinz world, enter the code, adopt and name their pet, and are "welcomed into a virtual world". Online they feed, care and dress their animal, take it to the vets and dress it. There are tournaments and trivia quizes where kids can earn Kinzcash that will allow them to buy treats and furnish homes (!) for their pets.
The target market for these toys are kids ages 4-14.
I am dubious. Whatever happened to the family cat? Does anyone have kids with a Webkinz? And is it as mystifying as it seems?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Goldie 8-10-2006 @ 3:23PM
My son had a Tamagotchi, Nintendogs, and all sorts of virtual pets... they all died because he kept forgetting to feed them. Now we have two real animals, a dog and a chinchilla, and he takes very good care of them... I say go for the family cat. Virtual pets are borrrrring.
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Liza 8-10-2006 @ 4:19PM
DD has one of these, bought with her allowance. It's quite different than a tamagotchi--the primary activity is on the website, not with the stuffed animal. Unlike the tamas, there is no annoying beeping. Pretty much just a clever marketing twist on yet another online game/fun site for kids. The code is good for one year of access, at which point you need to buy another pet to get another year of access. I bet some marketing type got a big bonus for that idea...let's see if the price remains as low ($10-12 or so) next year, when all the users need to buy a new code :-)
There are "real" pets in our house, too. It's certainly not an either/or thing.
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Angie 8-10-2006 @ 8:22PM
I agree with Goldie. We had ferby and poochie, and ferby was so annoying we hid it in the closet til the batteries died, and the baby threw poochie on the floor and broke it. Tamagachi died because of lack of feeding, or a battery issue. These things are boring, and expensive.
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Belinda 8-11-2006 @ 9:42PM
I prefer Neopets and Powerpets. I like Powerpets best, they are for people of ALL ages! We will have a real pet someday.
Powerpets and Neopets ALSO have collectable pets and figurines that come with codes to get COOL items on the game.
Also Neopets and Powerpets are 100% FREE don't require a purchase AT ALL!
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