When’s the Last Time You Checked On Your Neopets?
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I bet they miss you. To soothe your guilt, let’s all visit Neopia together and learn all about Neopets.
The word Neopets makes me feel the most intense and specific kind of nostalgia. For a time when the cartoony two-dimensional pets on my desktop computer screen were somehow more appealing than my real-life pets. For a time when we took daily visits to the ‘giant omelette’. And of course, for a time when we truly had nothing better to do then raise our virtual pets. What was this game? Where did it come from? And how has it managed to stick around to this day?
Neopets
Neopets was—and somehow still is—a virtual, browser based pet-raising game. Players pick out and named their cartoonish fantasy animals, and explore the world of “Neopia.” Just like a real pet, Neopets need food, toys, love, an attention. Which means players will need to find a way to earn Neopoints and Neocash to get their electronic friends everything they need.
The gameplay of Neopets is easy by design. This is a pretty relaxed game where the main focus is really just you and your cartoon pets. There isn’t a story, or a lot of conflict – though you can put your pets in the Battledome for PvP and PvE battles. But at the end of the day, Neopets is mostly based around keeping your pets fed and happy. Haven’t visited yours in a while? Maybe it’s time to log in.
Neopets also has a thriving community aspect. Players each have their own profile and the ability to chat and email amongst themselves. Players that get along and have common interests may form Guilds with their own, private discussions. You may think that Neopets sounds more like a series of message boards with a cute pet feature on the side… And I don’t think you’d be entirely incorrect.
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History of Neopets
Neopets first appeared in November 1999, and over the last twenty five years, it has gone through a few changes. The game was originally conceived of by Adam Powell while he was a student at University of Nottingham. He brought on Donna Williams as a web designer and artist for the site while he covered the programing in September of 1999, and by November Neopets was launched. At first the game grew by word-of-mouth, and by the end of the year Neopets was logging 600,000 daily page views.
In 2004, Neopets added premium version of the site which wouldn’t show advertisements. And then in 2005 Viacom- the same company that owns Nickelodeon- purchased Neopets for a whopping $160 million. Banner adds replaced the previously more immersive advertisements. But there were some good changes too. For example, a 2006 mobile game and 2007 changes to allow more customization of your Neopets.
In 2014 JumpStart Games acquired Neopets, and the site was almost immediately met with glitches, lag, and Viacom-era-team layoffs. In this time period they also experimented with in-game stories and expanding to other platforms like Facebook. Variations of all of these ideas popped up and receded until JumpStarted closed in 2023, and Neopets briefly shut own.
Most recently, Neopets was purchased by Chief Metaverse Officer, Dominic Law and given an independent company, “World of Neopia, Inc.” By this point, there are 55 different kinds of Neopets to raise.
The Lands of Neopia
One of the fun aspects of Neopets is exploring Neopia and spending time in its various lands. More locations have been added over the years, but there are now 21 locations including the Virtupets Space Station, Brightvale, Faerieland, and Terror Mountain. For a more complete list of the Neopia lands, you can visit the website, here.
The Black Market
In 2021 it was reported that a black market had formed around Neopets. After art style changes in 2007, some original, unconverted pets became rare and sought after. They were sold in off-site transactions for real money, sometimes after being stolen from their original players.
This Neopets black market was active until 2004 when the game introduced the Styling Studio, allowing players to make their pets look how they like—including using the older art styles.
Is Neopets Still Active?
Yes! But your account from junior high school may not be. There was at least one purge of old and abandoned accounts.
Who’s Still Playing Neopets?
According to The Guardian, the demographic of Neopets players skews older than many would think. The majority of players are over the age of 18, with 40% between the ages of 25 and 35 and 26% between the ages of 18 and 24. This is likely due to the great nostalgia people feel towards Neopets.
When Was Neopets At Its Peak?
In 2005, the site boasted over 35 million active users and 150 million registered users worldwide.
What is the Neopet Currency?
There are two kinds of currency in Neopia. One is Neopoints. This is in-game money that can be earned by playing games, winning contests, and generally engaging with Neopia around the website. The other is Neocash, also known as NC. This is real-world money you can use to buy virtual wearable items for your pets.
I’m Feeling Very Nostalgic Now, How Do I Play Again?
Neopets is still right here where we left it. If you’re not like me and you can remember which email address you used for your account, maybe your pets will still be waiting for you.
Happy adventuring!
