However, it seems that Barnes wrote this article several weeks ago, or didn't do enough research, because there is no mention of the Christmas server shutdown or continuing room access problems in the virtual world. Rather, the article gives an overview of virtual worlds aimed at children, and the business models that drive them.
Still, there was one bit of information that I found particularly interesting -- the size of the Webkinz World customer base:
Worlds like Webkinz, where children care for stuffed animals that come to life, have become some of the Web's fastest-growing businesses. More than six million unique visitors logged on to Webkinz in November, up 342 percent from November 2006, according to ComScore Media Metrix, a research firm.Let's make a few creative guesstimates here. First, let's assume that two million new unique customers were added between November and today, thanks to the holiday shopping season. Second, let's assume that the world lost a half-million existing customers, kids who outgrew the world or graduated to a new video game system or game. That makes 7.5 million uniques for December. That's a big number -- comparable not only to other kids-oriented worlds like Habbo Hotel (estimated to have around 8 million active monthly users in May) but also some of the largest gaming virtual worlds (like World of Warcraft, which has more than nine million subscribers) and well above the number of active users in the largest adult social virtual world, Second Life, which apparently has plateaued at around 550,000 active users.
In other words, Webkinz World is not just a fringe toy concept. It's a big deal to a lot of people.
It also means Ganz has a lot of customers to keep happy -- not just millions of kids who own the pets and want to maintain them virtually, but also their parents who want to keep their kids happy. So far this holiday season, Ganz has been doing a terrible job, not just by allowing its toy sales and customer growth to outstrip the ability of its technical infrastructure to scale, but also by keeping its customers in the dark about what's going on.
Let's hope things improve in the new year.
(formerly nancylynn but have now logged in)
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no idea that there were that many Webkinz fans. Thanks for sharing that.
I dont think that there server was even close to being prepared for that.
Okay, that is fine. Now do something about it. Obviously, there is revenue coming in, and they really dont spend advertising dollars.
They should have some kind of "bonus" or something for those who have been affected by this. Perhaps a code for kinz cash, a feature code or coupons for merchandise.
However, I am not holding my breath. Their customer service and PR skills are horrible. Issue a statement or something. I know our local store that sells them has been flooded with calls, so I am in no way doubting they know.
Perhaps they are understaffed and dont have the resources together for this kind of attention.
But something needs to be done, and I hope that it is soon.
Ok..I was beginning to think I was going crazy...I was so excited about the webkinz world and the fact that my daughter could play online in a safe environment. My husband bought me one for Christmas so I can go only and play with her, but I couldn't get to my room, or send a message to her. I did send them an e-mail to, saying that they would respond in a few days. Then yesterday, I received an e-mail that said it was from webkinz support in respone to my e-mail. But I had to download the message, I received and error message. Now I am afraid that I may have been a victom of phishing, I ran a scan on my computer, but it didn't find anything. Has anyone else received this e-mail, and if so, what happened?
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteI have sent 2 emails and have gotten nothing but auto-responses.
But maybe you are lucky.
Sometimes they post the answer to your question as a letter you can open in your room. (I read this in my vast search of the useless CS pages) This does no good at all if you cannot get into your room.
Perhaps that is what happened.
I will post if they decide to email me back.
This disclaimer from the standard T&Cs should have given a clue to where Webkinz and Ganz were really headed!
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I had 2 problems like this too. My dock lost alot of stuff, and the costomer support was lousy.
ReplyDeleteI spent alot of hours earning my things that i had lost. i would not reccomend this to any parent or kids. My dad wanted to buy a cheeky monkey until he saw this. now he does not want it anymore.