- "Waddle around and meet new friends!"
- ―Official tagline
Club Penguin was a web-based MMO virtual world created by New Horizon Interactive LTD., later known as Disney Canada. Players controlled a penguin avatar to explore the virtual-world, which was filled with many activities and mini-games. While the game was free to play, players with a membership subscription could enjoy exclusive mini-game levels and less restrictions. Every few months, the game also held original events and cross-promotional events. Two such cross-promotional events were themed around Star Wars.
In 2013, the first Star Wars event began in-game. The entirety of Club Penguin was redesigned around Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, and players were given missions and tasks that led up to the destruction of the Death Star. The second Star Wars event, based on the first season of Star Wars Rebels, began in 2015. Both events had lightsaber duels as exclusive features for players with active membership subscriptions. Club Penguin was later discontinued on March 29, 2017, after a drop in active players and overall interest.
Description[]
- "When we launched Club Penguin, we never expected it to be as big as it became."
- ―Lance Priebe, on the success of the game
Club Penguin was a children's web-based MMO virtual world. The simplistic gameplay involved players controlling a penguin avatar and interacting with other players.[14] Similar to other web browser games, it was developed using Adobe Flash.[8] The game was free-to-play but limited. Players could purchase a membership subscription to unlock all available features and remove restrictions on certain actions. Club Penguin also held limited events to make the experience fun and unique to which players would return.[3]
Star Wars content[]
- "A long time ago on an island far, far away…"
- ―Opening tagline of Club Penguin Star Wars Takeover
Promotional image for Club Penguin Star Wars Takeover
The first Star Wars event in the game was a parody of the 1977 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, titled Club Penguin Star Wars Takeover. Some Club Penguin non-playable characters dressed up and role-played as known Star Wars characters to guide players throughout the event. Special rooms based on locations such as the planet Tatooine, the moon Yavin 4, and the Death Star battle station were added, and some pre-existing rooms were lightly decorated to better suit the event. Players could play as the Rebel Alliance and were given tasks to complete, culminating in the Death Star's destruction. With the completion of the event, players could obtain special clothing items. Along with the missions, a Star Wars clothing catalog was added. Costumes such as the Rodian bounty hunter Greedo, Rebel pilot, Stormtrooper, and more were added for players with a membership subscription to purchase. Players with a membership subscription could also wield a lightsaber with which to duel each other.[15]
Promotional image for Club Penguin Star Wars Rebels Takeover
The second Star Wars event had a storyline heavily based on the first season of the 2014 Disney XD animated television series Star Wars Rebels. The event was called Club Penguin Star Wars Rebels Takeover. Unlike the previous event, only a few special rooms were added for the event, but half of the pre-existing island was fully redesigned to look like the planet Lothal. Characters from the series, including the human Ezra Bridger, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus, the Mandalorian Sabine Wren, the Twi'lek pilot Hera Syndulla, and the Lasat Garazeb Orrelios, were present during the event as non-playable characters. The Spectres gave players multiple tasks throughout the event. The lightsaber duel mechanic was added back for the event for subscribers. In addition to dueling each other, players could also duel the leader of the Inquisitorius, The Grand Inquisitor, and receive exclusive rewards.[16]
Development[]
- "Together, we can build an island, create a community, change the world… And even tip an iceberg. Waddle On."
- ―Club Penguin Team, a hidden farewell message before the game's closure
Club Penguin was released by New Horizon Interactive LTD. (now known as Disney Canada) on October 24, 2005, for web browsers on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.[1] With great reviews and growing popularity, the web-based MMO was later released on Miniclip, an online game site. Club Penguin quickly grew even bigger in popularity and became Miniclip's number one game.[3]
In-game default player avatar
By August 2007, Club Penguin was acquired by The Walt Disney Company to open up more development opportunities. The game was later hosted on its own website[3] and received the rating of "Everyone" by the ESRB.[9] Since then, Club Penguin ran numerous original and cross-promotional events like those featuring Star Wars and other Disney properties.[3] Club Penguin expanded to the growing mobile platforms, releasing on iPad on May 19, 2013,[5] along with iPhone and Android on April 17[6] and December 18, 2014, respectively.[7]
On July 25, 2013, Club Penguin Star Wars Takeover began. It was initially announced in an official blog post on June 20, 2013.[17] To help promote the event, Club Penguin had a booth from July 26 until July 28 of 2013 during Celebration Europe II, offering physical prizes and exclusive in-game items.[18] The event concluded on August 15, 2013.[15]
On November 26, 2014, an official blog post announced that another Star Wars cross-promotional event called Club Penguin Star Wars Rebels Takeover would occur.[19] The event was added to help promote the series. On January 22, 2015, the event began, and it later concluded on February 4, 2015.[16]
On January 30, 2017, a blog post announced that Club Penguin would shut down on March 29 of the same year. The game later held one last event before completely going offline. Contributing factors to Club Penguin's discontinuation included the decline in active player numbers, a steady decrease in revenue, and the need for Disney Canada to shift their focus fully on developing Club Penguin Island.[20]
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
External links[]
Club Penguin on Wikipedia- Club Penguin on Club Penguin Wiki
- Blog Archives on Club Penguin's official website (original link is obsolete)
