Neopets is a free-to-play virtual pet browser game. First launched in 1999, the game allows users to own virtual pets ("Neopets") and explore a virtual world called "Neopia." Players can earn one of two virtual currencies. One currency, called Neopoints, can be obtained for free through on-site features like games, events, and contests. The other, Neocash (NC), is purchased with real-world money and can be exchanged for wearable items for pets. Players can buy digital food, toys, and other items for their Neopets to keep them happy. They can also customize the appearance of their Neopets by applying different colors, clothing, accessories, and styles. Additionally, users can train their Neopets to fight in the "Battledome," which offers both PvP and PvE battles. Players interact with others through social features like message boards and guilds, or by buying, selling, and trading items with each other.
History and development
Creation and growth (1999–2005) Neopets was conceived in 1997 by Adam Powell, a British student at the University of Nottingham at the time. He shared this idea with Donna Williams and the two started work on the site in September 1999, with Powell responsible for the programming and the database and Williams the web design and art. Their original office was located in Guildford. With the help of two friends, the site launched on 15 November 1999. Powell stated that the original goal was to "keep university students entertained, and possibly make some cash from banner advertising". The site contained popular culture references, such as a Neopet that was simply a picture of entertainer Bruce Forsyth, and another that was a cartoon version of singer Macy Gray. The user base grew by word of mouth and by Christmas 1999, Neopets was logging 600,000 page views daily and sought investors to cover the high cost of running the site. Later in the month, American businessman Doug Dohring was introduced to the creators of the site and, along with other investors, bought a majority share in January of the following year. Neopets, Inc. was incorporated by Dohring in February 2000, and began business on 28 April. Dohring used Scientology's Org Board to manage the company. Powell and Williams were unaware of the Scientology connections until searching the employees at the newly formed company six months later but did not address this until the company hired a woman to introduce Scientology to Neopets. Powell and Williams stopped the addition of any Scientology education to Neopets and ensured such content never made it into anything site-related. With the new company, intellectual property that did not belong to Neopets was removed but the site kept the British spellings. The website made money from the first paying customers using an advertising method trademarked as "immersive advertising". In 2004, Neopets released a premium version and started showing advertisements on the basic site that were not shown to premium members. In the 2000s, Neopets was consistently noted as one of the "stickiest" sites for children's entertainment. A press release from Neopets in 2001 stated that Neopets.com led in site "stickiness" in May and June, with the average user spending 117 minutes a week. Neopets also led in the average number of hours spent per user per month in December 2003 with an average of 4 hours and 47 minutes. A 2004 article stated that Nielsen//NetRatings reported that people were spending around three hours a month on Neopets, more than any other site in its Nielsen category. By May 2005, a Neopets-affiliated video game producer cited about 35 million unique users, 11 million unique IP addresses per month, and 4 billion web page views per month. This producer also described 20% of the users as 18 or older, with the median of the remaining 80% at about 14.
Viacom (2005–2014) Viacom, the American conglomerate that owns Nickelodeon, purchased Neopets, Inc. on 20 June 2005 for $160 million and announced plans to focus more on the use of banner ads over the site's existing immersive advertising. Founders Powell and Williams left Neopets, Inc. shortly after the purchase due to creative differences. The following year, a gaming event called The Altador Cup was released to improve interactivity between users and to coincide with the 2006 FIFA World Cup; it had 10.4 million participants in its first year. 2006 also saw the release of Neopets Mobile, a T-Mobile exclusive premium service which allowed users to visit the new land of Lutari Island. The service was discontinued on 30 June 2009, leaving the island completely inaccessible. Neopets was consistently ranked among the top ten "stickiest" sites by both Nielsen//NetRatings and comScore Media Metrix in 2005 and 2006. The game website was redesigned on 27 April 2007 and included changes to the user interface and the ability to customise Neopets. In June, Viacom promoted Neopets through minishows on its Nickelodeon channel. Promotions included the second Altador Cup and led to an increase in traffic through the site. However, according to Nielsen//NetRatings, in 2007, Neopets lost about 15% of its audience over the previous year. On 17 July, the NC Mall was launched in a partnership with Korean gaming company Nexon Corporation. It allows users to use real money to purchase Neocash to buy exclusive virtual items. In February 2008, comScore ranked it as the stickiest kids entertainment site with the average user spending 2 hours and 45 minutes per month. On 17 June 2008, Viacom formed the Nickelodeon Kids & Family Virtual Worlds Group to "encompass all paid and subscription gaming initiatives across all relevant platforms", including Neopets. By June 2011, Neopets announced that the website had logged 1 trillion page views since its creation.
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