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Post by Nina on May 7, 2010 18:02:47 GMT -5
A conversation with my future mall leader left me wondering the above question. I was asking whether she wants me to join her mall, and she said she'd love it if I did, but: "The thing is, Neopets is dying sadly...so most people are getting less and less active, I don't want you to be disappointed with us if you join. Some of my mallers take like a week to upgrade the banner sigh..."
That statement made me think a bit. I don't know what I think about it. It does seem that as far as malls go, it's been harder and harder to find reliable ones as many mall members fail to keep their shops stocked due to inactivity. At the same time, I've noticed a big fall in shop sales over the years. But that could just be that malls are less profitable now that the Shop Wiz is so prominently linked to and that Neo is pretty dead at this time of year.
As far as the rest of Neo goes, it seems that people are still entering contests, buying NC items, etc.... but Neo has been around for a long time, and it's bound to become unprofitable and thus die someday. I don't like thinking about it, because we all love playing it so much and have grown attached to it and have put so much work into it.
But I do think that the initial popularity it enjoyed among the general population is more or less gone. For example, when I was in elementary school, everyone was making Neopets accounts. But it's probably never going to be a big fad like that again because it's not as "new" anymore. I don't know anybody IRL who still plays, but I used to know a lot.
Those are just a couple loosely formed thoughts in my head. I just wanted to see what others thought too, because the above statement was worrisome to me.
What has been your experience? Do you think that Neopets is on the decline? Are people getting less active? Are there less users signing up and playing? Have you noticed a change? And how do you feel about all of this? Any thoughts?
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Post by Char on May 7, 2010 18:41:07 GMT -5
Of course neopets is in decline. I've seen the statistics with my own eyes. I remember the days when over 60k players were online at one time. Now? Only a fraction. Older members are leaving because of various things: (Lack of wars, CGing, lack of an excellent plot like the LDP), and there aren't as many younger members because Neopets no longer appeals to them. Items are inflating beyond the reach of newer members. There are too many neopoint pools and the neo-conomy is screwing over.
Imagine if you wanted to paint your pet Lost Desert, only to find the paint brush is worth 9m. (Yes, they inflated because of two idiots) Wouldn't you be discouraged?
However, I don't think Neo has gone down under just yet. I know for a fact that half of my Grade 11 History Class enjoys playing the games. =D I bet a big chunk of the people at our school probably play Neo as well, they just keep it a secret.
I don't like that Neopets is going the way of the dodo, but if it does I will still draw them. I will still enjoy writing about them. That part of me can't change any more.
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Post by Komori on May 7, 2010 19:35:07 GMT -5
I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that people have a lot more online diversions to choose from nowadays. You've got a ton of virtual pet sites out there, when before Neo was one of the only, plus there's a lot more online play with console games, and more MMOs out there, and let's not forget time-sucking Facebook. There's just a whole lot more ways to waste your time on the internet, and you divide a pie into more pieces, you have smaller pieces for each person. I think even Neo was able to do everything that everyone wanted them to do, made awesome plots every month, improved every nook and cranny of every aspect of Neopia, and people weren't discouraged for various other reasons, they'd still be losing business for the aforementioned reason.
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Post by Nina on May 7, 2010 19:42:07 GMT -5
Of course neopets is in decline. I've seen the statistics with my own eyes. I remember the days when over 60k players were online at one time. Now? Only a fraction. Older members are leaving because of various things: (Lack of wars, CGing, lack of an excellent plot like the LDP), and there aren't as many younger members because Neopets no longer appeals to them. Items are inflating beyond the reach of newer members. There are too many neopoint pools and the neo-conomy is screwing over. Imagine if you wanted to paint your pet Lost Desert, only to find the paint brush is worth 9m. (Yes, they inflated because of two idiots) Wouldn't you be discouraged? However, I don't think Neo has gone down under just yet. I know for a fact that half of my Grade 11 History Class enjoys playing the games. =D I bet a big chunk of the people at our school probably play Neo as well, they just keep it a secret. I don't like that Neopets is going the way of the dodo, but if it does I will still draw them. I will still enjoy writing about them. That part of me can't change any more. I looked all over and I can't find the page that tells you how many players are on at once. I remember seeing it in the past, but not anytime recently. Mind pointing me in the right direction? So curious! I would also add to your list of why people are leaving - I think when Neopets was "in", a lot of teenagers and kids joined, and I think that this group, as they get older and into their twenties, are probably dealing with university/having kids/being in relationships and thus quit neo as they don't have as much free time as they might have had when they were younger. I've been seeing that happen with many of my friends. It seems like Neo has an "aging" member base and not too many new members joining. And I totally agree with you about the economy! I remember 100k being a lot, and working sooo hard to get to that amount, and hitting it for the first time, and feeling accomplished. Now a Newbie can't get much with 100k. Even *I* feel discouraged because I feel like it's next to impossible to get any kind of a decent BD weapon since they're in the dozens of millions. A person would have to be a pro RSer or get VERY lucky with an investment to make that kind of NP. I like what you wrote at the end. I feel the same way. Neopets has been a part of my childhood and I'll never forget some of the fun times I've had on BD Chat like six years ago or the names of ALL the Neopets and pretty much all the petpets (I've stocked those in my shop for years now...it's disturbing that I know them). I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that people have a lot more online diversions to choose from nowadays. You've got a ton of virtual pet sites out there, when before Neo was one of the only, plus there's a lot more online play with console games, and more MMOs out there, and let's not forget time-sucking Facebook. There's just a whole lot more ways to waste your time on the internet, and you divide a pie into more pieces, you have smaller pieces for each person. I think even Neo was able to do everything that everyone wanted them to do, made awesome plots every month, improved every nook and cranny of every aspect of Neopia, and people weren't discouraged for various other reasons, they'd still be losing business for the aforementioned reason. Good point. My ten year old cousins are now on Facebook, whereas their siblings a few years ago at age 10 were making Neopets accounts... It feels like there's more sites targeted towards younger players now than there were seven or eight years ago (not to mention older players!). With this in mind, I wonder how the people who work for Neopets feel. Whether they feel like they're running a doomed operation or whether they have lots of hope for it being afloat for a long time to come. Hopefully the latter  . |
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Post by Komori on May 7, 2010 19:53:53 GMT -5
The players online is right below the rolling banner (and above the Petpet Park ad and "New Items") on the front page. :3
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Post by Nina on May 7, 2010 19:56:05 GMT -5
The players online is right below the rolling banner (and above the Petpet Park ad and "New Items") on the front page. :3 Thanks Komori! I looked everywhere but the most obvious place  . Cooool. |
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Post by Komori on May 7, 2010 19:56:32 GMT -5
With this in mind, I wonder how the people who work for Neopets feel. Whether they feel like they're running a doomed operation or whether they have lots of hope for it being afloat for a long time to come. Hopefully the latter . I'm sure everyone wants to hope that their job sticks around, no one wants to be laid off. But then, the entertainment industry, and within it the gaming industry, is a constant cycle of growing and dying companies. It's almost a given that no one will work for one company indefinitely. |
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2010 22:56:27 GMT -5
Well, yes and no. See, everything moves in waves and comes and goes like the tides. What used to be the ppular thing of the day has hanged into something else. People leave the site and people sign up and I don't think we can really judge that side of things. Activity is difficult to keep for long ... heck, look at the guilds! (And the NTWF ones for that matter)
What I will say is that I think the "spirit" of Neopets is dying. Premium, customization and the NC Mall ... all of these are geared at making money and a lot of people fall prey to them simply because they're the current craze. Neopets used to be a fun place that was totally and utterly free but two things happened.
TNT became a sort of draconian overlord but only because they were forced to do so in order to keep the members safe. People often complain about TNT but they're just doing what needs to be done ... forced to do so because of the nature of the internet and the people using it.
The second thing that happened was Viacom. Profit. New things ... bigger things ... better things. No more NeoQuest with infuriating clicking, instead they bring out KeyQuest (which only members with good connections can play) though I'm not complaining about that. They started taking away the simplistic beauty of the site because the mob demanded fancy things.
So ... yes, the essence that made Neopets special for me is dying and it is sad, but in truth it is the users who do most of the killing. They demand things (or TNT think they demand things) and when they don't like what they get, they complain. Why d'you think U pets are so prized?
A: Can be traded for Draiks or Krawks
B: Pretty! @_@
C: They're a reminder of what was so precious ... and what we lost.
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Post by Komori on May 7, 2010 23:25:54 GMT -5
I'd definitely debate you on the UC point, Sarn. The NC Mall board is at least as fast as the Pound Chat, and those users prefer pets they can clothe. So I'd argue that as many people as "prize" UC pets, there are just as many users who love Customization and the ability to dress their pets. And personally, being able to dress my pets helps keep me on the site. Previously, it was only drawing my Spooky comics, since I'd completed my pets' colors and everything I was able to do with them. Now I can do so much more with them, and make them so much more personalized. And don't think that Viacom was the start of the pursuit of profit. Even before Viacom, Adam and Donna sold Neo to Doug Dohring only two years after its creation, who of course didn't buy it because he liked cute and fluffy pets to play with. Two years after its inception, Neopets was after a profit. At the time, it was with immersive advertising, putting products into the actual game itself, like being able to buy Cheetos in the food shop. Yes, it was more subtle than the flashy NC Mall and NC events, but it upset parents that children were being tricked into not realizing they were being advertised to. That's probably a big reason why all advertisements on the site have a big ADVERTISEMENT sign on them. *shrug* You can't pay your rent with Neopoints. You can't run a site this big with volunteers. But just because people need to be paid doesn't mean that there isn't heart behind it. No one goes into the gaming industry because it's a secure job, or because the money is fantastic, because it isn't. There's got to be a love for the craft, and I still see a lot of it on Neo. 'Course, I've always been Neopets' biggest cheerleader.  |
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Post by Dan on May 7, 2010 23:39:03 GMT -5
I'm actually noticing a teensy bit of resurgence of the staff becoming more open towards the population. There was a while there where everything TNT was doing had a huge question mark in front of it, we had no idea what was coming down the pipeline, and the staff were told they needed to dial down their interactions with the members. Now I'm starting to see a bit more of that...the staff tournament in the Daily Dare, their Facebook and Twitter pages, even the tone of the Editorial questions has shifted a little. It's subtle, but I get the sense they're moving a little bit back towards the other side of the spectrum in that sense. This pleases me, since it seemed like when we knew the faces behind the TNT mask the site was more personal and I felt I could trust what they were planning more than when it was just a collective "TNT." I'm not saying it's perfect right now--seems to me their biggest priority should be getting the economy under control--but I'm hopeful that this subtle shift will lead to an improvement.
Plus it's nice to see the things they've been doing lately for older members -- more transfers for aged accounts, reduced price day in the HT, etc., as well as their mass release of backlogged items and the redraws of the shopkeepers. Things that older users would appreciate. These things have all popped up since the start of the year, if I recall. I'm taking it as a positive sign, one that says they're cognizant of a lot of the issues and are taking steps to work through them. Sure, it's a slow pace, but I'm content to wait it out. XD
EDIT: Plus! They've given us some sort of event from mid February through...mid June at least, when the Altador Cup finishes. Daily Dare, Spring Festival, Games Month, Tarla's Tour, the AC...That's awesome! I can't ever think of a time when we had constant things to do for months on end.
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Post by Nova on May 8, 2010 1:24:24 GMT -5
I'm actually noticing a teensy bit of resurgence of the staff becoming more open towards the population. There was a while there where everything TNT was doing had a huge question mark in front of it, we had no idea what was coming down the pipeline, and the staff were told they needed to dial down their interactions with the members. Now I'm starting to see a bit more of that...the staff tournament in the Daily Dare, their Facebook and Twitter pages, even the tone of the Editorial questions has shifted a little. It's subtle, but I get the sense they're moving a little bit back towards the other side of the spectrum in that sense. This pleases me, since it seemed like when we knew the faces behind the TNT mask the site was more personal and I felt I could trust what they were planning more than when it was just a collective "TNT." I'm not saying it's perfect right now--seems to me their biggest priority should be getting the economy under control--but I'm hopeful that this subtle shift will lead to an improvement. Plus it's nice to see the things they've been doing lately for older members -- more transfers for aged accounts, reduced price day in the HT, etc., as well as their mass release of backlogged items and the redraws of the shopkeepers. Things that older users would appreciate. These things have all popped up since the start of the year, if I recall. I'm taking it as a positive sign, one that says they're cognizant of a lot of the issues and are taking steps to work through them. Sure, it's a slow pace, but I'm content to wait it out. XD EDIT: Plus! They've given us some sort of event from mid February through...mid June at least, when the Altador Cup finishes. Daily Dare, Spring Festival, Games Month, Tarla's Tour, the AC...That's awesome! I can't ever think of a time when we had constant things to do for months on end. Definitely agree with Dan on this x3 While yeah, it's sad to see the economy go out of whack and pitiful plots such as Atlas of the Ancients be released.. it does seem like TNT, as of late, is trying to be more userfriendly with DD and Facebook etc. They do know what we want.. but while we say things that look good on paper, they are the ones who have to analyze each decision in case of something going horribly wrong. Though Adam and Donna have nothing to do with how Neo is doing now. =P First of all, they haven't been with Neo in 5 years. A lot has changed within 5 years, such as the recession, so who really knows what they would've done to keep Neo afloat? Take a look at Meteor Games: they have Meteor Credits (and a cash shop) prepaid cash cards... it's like a Meteor version of the NC Mall. So one can't say Adam and Donna wouldn't have done stuff like the NC Mall and the like, because they're doing it with their own company. XD (..its late, and I just remember reading something about Adam and Donna so I dunno if there was much debate on this. =P But i'll say it anyway) Though one day, I do think Neo will meet it's poor unfortunate end.. i mean, after all, i find it hard to see Neo in 50 years o-o) but I think TNT will pick up their pace. We know they have potential to bring out a superawesome plot (even though it has been a while since ToW and I remember back then people said it was awful XD) but we'll see in time. ^^ |
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Post by Dream on May 8, 2010 5:20:08 GMT -5
Has Neo lost pure popularity figures? Yes. Does this mean Neo is "dying"? No. What it means, as it does for so many "popular" things, is that the people who joined it as a casual trend have drifted away. They are the inactive accounts you see who seem to have done nothing in their time but join a guild and customise their userlookups. What's left is the people who are just discovering it now (which is slightly fewer than it used to be because trends are viral, but things like the Neopets video games and TV advertising will help that) and the people who really love Neo. The same thing happened with Pokémon here in the UK. The newbies and the fans stay, the people in the middle who were never that much about the trend in the first place leave. It doesn't mean the fandom is dying or dead, far from it-- look at the HG/SS sales figures. I'm not a veteran, but I've been around long enough to remember that people were claiming the site was dying in my newbie days. Back then, their complaints involved sponsor items (which are more or less gone now), some guy named Evil Doug, the latest "cutesy" pet revamps and the cancellation of the Guildmaster's Dinner. People will take anything as evidence that things just aren't as good as when they joined. Actually, I think TNT are catching on to the massive range of things they can actually use their powers for, and I'm so relieved. What would kill the site wouldn't be changing it-- it would be keeping the whole place stuck at 2001/02 levels of technological and artistic advancement. (I've been reading the old news archive. Do you have any idea how many of the things we take for granted now had some connection to the speed of 28k connections or the power of the servers in Donna's garage?) But there was a knee-jerk backlash in 2007 that probably frightened TNT out of changing anything at all for a few years. Now with the release of Moltara and so forth, I'm tentatively hoping they've returned to their forward-thinking ways and plan to let their creativity come into its own again. As far as Adam and Donna, their purity is distinctly overrated.*brandishes pompoms* That there sounds like fightin' talk to me... |
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Post by linsay|ahdodadodaday on May 8, 2010 11:57:51 GMT -5
personally i think that's cherry picking; they may have done some unexpected, 'evil' things but if you compare it with everything they've done to improve neopets, the positives definitely out weight the negatives :3 i have to say i agree with a lot of what has been said, i don't think neo is dying just...stabilising its fan base, if you will. i have been playing neo for a very, very long time now and over the years i have seen a lot of ups and downs, people leaving and going but i think that's all part of running a site. you can't expect it to be popular forever and you can't always please everyone; the staff are trying of course to keep us hooked with all the events, games, etc and it /is/ semi - working in my opinion. but like nova says, i can't imagine neo being here in 50 years but it's still far from extinction and in any case, i don't think most of the blame should go to tnt for driving people away, it should go to all the imbeciles who play it; i have come across some of the rudest, most insolent people i have ever met in my life on neo and really, they need to grow up, find a bridge and get over themselves - it's only a game ^__^ |
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Post by Komori on May 8, 2010 12:40:57 GMT -5
*brandishes pompoms* That there sounds like fightin' talk to me... Ooh hooo... bring it on.  But I don't know how the Adam and Donna topic even came up. XDDD I mentioned their name, only because I said they sold their company to Doug Dohring. And then I think someone else said that A&D are still doing an NC-like thing with their current company, which I don't think anyone else said they didn't. :B |
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2010 12:45:32 GMT -5
Neo has the longest death throes I've ever seen, people have been claiming that the site is dying for years. I think there are too many addicted people for the site to die completely, it's just such a darned sticky site. Though I don't think it'll last forever, either. Hm. Interesting thread & I enjoyed reading the responses.  |
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. Cooool.
neo username - dan4884 
