Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group has announced a commitment to develop and produce additional virtual worlds, building on the success of such hit sites as Neopets and Nicktropolis. New online environments will be based on the network’s top-rated animated series SpongeBob SquarePants, as well as upcoming original properties including Monkey World (working title). In addition, a new virtual tentatively destination dubbed World of Neopia is in production and is expected to launch next year.
The new worlds will be developed by Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group’s Virtual World Studios, formerly known as NeoStudios. The team will develop virtual destinations for kids, tweens, teens and families each year, while continuing to expand and improve the company’s existing virtual worlds.
‘For our audiences, virtual worlds are the convergence of gaming, entertainment and community online, and by announcing these new worlds, we are ensuring that our content pipeline is going to remain fresh and vibrant,’ comments Steve Youngwood, exec VP of Digital Media for Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group. ‘We are very fortunate to have a digital production studio that, like our linear animation studio in Burbank, will be dedicated to creating great new content experiences for our audiences both with our existing brands and properties and new, original ones.’
Over the next few months, Nicktropolis will add new environments such as a comic book store, a pirate-themed environment and an area dedicated to the new Nickelodeon animated series The Mighty B from co-creators Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live), Cynthia True (The Fairly OddParents) and Emmy and Annie-nominated storyboard artist and writer Erik Wiese. A regionalized version of Nicktropolis will also launch in the U.K. in April. In addition, Neopets, one of the world’s leading youth communities, will introduce PetPetPet Habitats, a desktop application deployed on Adobe AIR and focusing on such Neopets pets as fleas and other insects.
