Club Penguin



Club Penguin, mostly referred to as CP, is a MMOG for kids/teens that was developed by New Horizon Interactive. Using cartoon penguin avatars, players can chat, play mini games, and participate in other activities with one another in a snow-covered virtual world. Club Penguin was first made available to the public on October 24, 2005 on 12:00 PM (Penguin Standard Time) and has since then expanded into a large online community. Club Penguin shares similarities with other popular online environments like RuneScape and Habbo Hotel. Though open to everyone, Club Penguin is primarily designed for children aged six to fourteen, and has been qualified for the Better Business Bureau - Kid's Privacy Seal of Approval. Club Penguin was also awarded the "Editor's Choice" award from Children's Technology Review Magazine.

Though the game can be played for free, some of the features are not available unless a membership is purchased. These features include: upgrading and buying things for your igloo, buying clothes, hats, and wigs.

Economy
The Economy of Club Penguin revolves around mini games and the coin system. Money can be earned via playing mini-games, which can be both single-player, and multiplayer. Items such as: Clothing, Furniture or pets, can be bought to accommodate the lifestyle of a character in Club Penguin. However, these items cannot be traded nor sold, and therefore kept permanent.

Membership

 * See main article: Member

Members, are players who pay for extra benefits in the world of Club Penguin. They count as about / of the population. Members can use coins to buy clothing, furniture and puffles - domesticated animals, which are kept as pets. They also have the privileges for VIP rooms and are more recognized in Club Penguin. However, non-members can still acquire items, which are usually given out at "parties". Members also attend exclusive parties and events.

Parties
Parties are monthly events that are immensely popular in Club Penguin. The island is usually decorated to fit the theme, and as aforementioned, free items are given to non members. In some parties, members can gain VIP access to a special, exclusive room which is only available at the time of the party, and thereby called The Party. Only members can enter to the party room (if there is). Parties usually last to around one week, but if it is of significance (e.g Halloween, Christmas) the time is usually extended. Some break-ins by non-members have been tried at member parties,but they never get in. That is maybe the reason why CP Trainer and Penguin Storm and all those other trainers were made. You can break in with them. WARNING: Breaking in with these trainers will get you a 72 hour or forever ban.

Languages
Club Penguin is currently available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French. There is a rumor that Club Penguin will offer more languages in the future.

Reception
Although it has attracted some criticism, Club Penguin is for the most part well received. The Better Business Bureau gave it the “kids' privacy seal of approval”. It has been praised for teaching children to "practice safe money-management skills". Club Penguin is rapidly growing showing that it has been successful.

However, concerns about the safety of Club Penguin have been raised. Caitlin Flanagan from The Atlantic Monthly said Club Penguin was “certainly the safest way for unsupervised children to talk to potentially malevolent strangers — but why would you wants them to do that in the first place?". Lynsey Kiely from the Sunday Independent said: “we cannot guarantee that every person who visits the site is a child.". Club Penguin has also been called "childish" on numerous occasions.

Club Penguin has also been criticized for the “member’s only part of the game”. Non-members cannot acquire certain clothing items, furniture for their igloos, new igloos or many types of puffles.