- Moshi Monsters
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Moshi Monsters 
Developer(s) Mind Candy Platform(s) Online Release date(s) April 2008 System requirements Moshi Monsters is a social networking online game and virtual pet site targeted at children aged 7 to 12. The player adopts and cares for a pet monster, solving puzzles which lead to rewards called rox; these can be used as currency to buy items for the adopted monster, such as clothing, food, and home decor. Unwanted objects can be sold to get Rox.[1][2]
The game was developed in 2007 by the British media company Mind Candy and launched in April 2008.[3] As of December 2009, there were 10 million players registered.[4] In March 2010, Mind Candy announced that there were 15 million users and by September 2010 that number had surpassed 25 million.[5] In June 2011 it was announced that there were 50 million users.[6] The game that is supposedly played by one in three British children, makes revenue through the sale of paid membership options as well as licensed merchandise.[7]
The site has sometimes been referred to as "Facebook for kids";[8][9] however, the game presents a number of differences to Facebook. As of July 2009, revenues were "many thousands of pounds per month", according to Mind Candy CEO Michael Acton Smith.[9] Investors have included Index Ventures, which backed Last.fm, and Accel Partners, which has invested in Facebook.[10] As of June 2011, the British company behind Moshi Monsters (Mind Candy) has been estimated to be worth U.S $200 million.[11]
In 2011, Moshi Monsters launched a range of physical products including books, toys, trading cards and a magazine.[12] In February 2011, Moshi Magazine launched and now has the largest circulation of any UK children's magazine.[13]
In October 2011, pop musician Lady Gaga won an injunction to ban the moshling character, Lady GooGoo, from "promoting, advertising, selling, distributing or otherwise making available to the public The Moshi Dance." As a result, the video, "The Moshi Dance", was removed from the video website YouTube.[14]
References
- ^ Chafer, Camilla. (November 17, 2007). "The digital life: Social networking for pre-teens: Set your little monsters loose online: kids social networks are booming in the US. So, can they be made to work over here?", The Daily Telegraph, p. 19.
- ^ (May 1, 2008). "Pit yourself against Moshi Monsters", Computeractive (266).
- ^ (May 2, 2008). "Online World Atlas: Moshi Monsters – Pt. 1, Overview", Worlds in Motion. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ^ (December 4, 2009). "Millions and millions of big monsters", The Independent. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ Yiannopoulos, Milo (September 8, 2010). "Moshi Monsters is leading the way on child safety", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
- ^ Barnett, Emma (June 7, 2011). "Moshi Monsters hits 50 million members", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Moshi Monsters". http://likemoshimonsters.com. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ Richardson, Anne (March 25, 2010). "Moshi please: UK 'Facebook for kids' that's a Monster smash", The Sun, p. 36.
- ^ a b Moules, Jonathan (July 8, 2009). "The schoolboy dream grows up: Michael Smith's first venture, Firebox, sold novelty gifts and was a dotcom success. His second, Mind Candy, gives children food for thought", Financial Times, p. 14.
- ^ Wray, Richard (April 25, 2010). "Creating the next dotcom boom could be child's play: As Facebook wrestles with safety issues, a surge in social networks specifically for kids is enticing major investors", The Observer, p. 49.
- ^ "Moshi Monsters". http://allgameslike.com/moshi-monsters. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ TheSun.co.uk
- ^ National Federation of Retail Newsagents Online
- ^ (October 14, 2011). "Lady Gaga won court battle to stop Moshi Monsters' releasing Lady Goo Goo songs", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
External links
Categories:- Multiplayer online games
- Children's websites
- Entertainment websites
- Virtual pets
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