Welcome to the world of Moshi Monsters! Wouldn't it be goopendous if you could adopt your very own monster? At Moshi Monsters you can do exactly that and mor. The Sparklies have made their way to Moshi Monsters Egg Hunt! We have Tessa and Loomy who are returning from the original online game, along with newcomers Posy and Major Moony alongside the brand.

1. Moshi Monsters Shutdown Reason Lyrics
2. Moshi Monsters Closing
3. Moshi Monsters Shutdown Reason 2017
4. Moshi Monsters Shut Down Reason Lyrics

Moshi Monsters was a British website aimed at children aged 6–12,^[1] with over 80 million registered users in 150 territories worldwide.^[2] Users could choose from one of six virtual pet monsters (Diavlo, Luvli, Katsuma, Poppet, Furi and Zommer) they could create, name and nurture. Once their pet had been customized, players could navigate their way around Monstro City, take daily puzzle challenges to earn 'Rox' (a virtual currency), play games, personalize their room and communicate with other users in a safe environment, although this has been disputed.^[3] Moshi Monsters officially closed on 13 December 2019.

History[edit]

The game was created in late 2007 by Michael Acton Smith, and developed in 2008 by entertainment company Mind Candy and officially launched in April 2008.^[4] As of December 2009, there were at least 10 million players registered.^[5] In March 2010, Mind Candy announced that there were 15 million users and by September 2010, that number had surpassed 25 million.^[6] In June 2011, it was announced that there were 50 million users.^[7] On 13 December 2019, Moshi Monsters shut down permanently.

Gameplay[edit]

Monsters[edit]

The monsters are the characters that the user plays as. They are given a name by the user when they register at the website. There are six types of monsters. Poppet, Katsuma, Furi, Diavlo, Luvli, and Zommer.

Moshlings[edit]

The monsters (in-game pets) keep their own pets, called 'Moshlings'. They come in a variety of themed sets, including Arties, Beasties, Kitties, and Spookies. Those who aren't paying members can keep two 'Moshlings' in their room whilst paying members can keep up to six and visit other pets in the zoo.

Other[edit]

Merchandise[edit]

Since its digital popularity, Moshi Monsters has grown commercially to include physical products, including games, the Moshi Monsters Magazine (number one selling children's magazine in the UK in 2011),^[8] a best-selling DS video game,^[9] a number 4 music album, books, membership cards, bath soap, chocolate calendars, trading cards, figures of many Moshlings, mobile games, and a Moshi Monsters feature film. Eight Moshi Monster toys were included in McDonald's Happy Meals in the United States and Canada in December 2013.^[10]

DS game[edit]

In 2011 Mind Candy released a Moshi Monsters based Nintendo DS game. the game is themed around moshlings and collecting and caring for them.

Mobile games[edit]

In July 2013, Mind Candy released Moshi Monsters Village on Google Play,^[11] a 3D city-builder published by GREE and developed by Tag Games. After GREE UK shut down,^[12] Mind Candy decided to take over the game as publisher, leaving the development to Tag Games. The game was relaunched on Apple devices on 18 December 2013 immediately ahead of the release of the movie.

In December 2013, Mind Candy published the companion app Talking Poppet, also developed by Tag Games.

In February 2014, Moshi Karts was released on iOS by Mind Candy.

In June 2014, Moshling Rescue a 'match three' game based on the Moshling characters was released on iOS and Android.

In early 2015 Mind Candy released an app called World of Warriors which was shut down in October 2018.

In November 2016, they released the Moshi MonstersEgg Hunt app, alongside a companion storybook of the same name.

Music[edit]

In March 2012, Mind Candy confirmed a major partnership deal with Sony Music.^[13] The deal followed the recent launch of Mind Candy's own music label, Moshi Monsters Music. The deal will see Sony Music handle the distribution aspects of Moshi Monsters' music releases, starting with the debut album Moshi Monsters, Music Rox!Jason Perry, formerly with the UK rock band A and head of Moshi Music, is driving the new album. The Moshi Monsters series features music from Sonic Boom, Beatie Wolfe, The Blackout, Portia Conn, and songs such as 'Moptop Tweenybop' and 'Merry Twistmas'. Two albums are available on iTunes and Google Play, as well as on disc. One album contains the songs from Moshi Monsters: The Movie, and another album has some of Moshi Monster's first songs. Not all songs are available to buy on various platforms.

Movie[edit]

In 2013, Mind Candy announced a Moshi Monsters film. In September 2013, Issue 34 of the Moshi Monsters Magazine included a Moshi Music DVD with a short trailer. On 10 October 2013 a short preview of the trailer was broadcast on ITV Daybreak. Later that day, the trailer was released on MSN. The film was released on 20 December 2013 in the UK and 20 February 2014 in Australia. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on 14 April 2014 in the UK and 3 April 2014 in Australia.^[14]

Lady Goo Goo injunction[edit]

In October 2011, Ate My Heart Inc, representing the musician Lady Gaga, were granted an interim injunction by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales to stop Mind Candy, parent company of Moshi Monsters, from releasing music on iTunes by a Moshi Monster character known as Lady Goo Goo. The songs intended for release included the parody 'Peppy-razzi', similar to the Lady Gaga hit 'Paparazzi'.^[15] Justice Vos of the High Court ruled that Lady Goo Goo could appear in the Moshi Monsters game, but that Mind Candy could not release, promote, advertise, sell, distribute, or otherwise make available 'any musical work or video that purports to be performed by a character by the name of Lady Goo Goo, or that otherwise uses the name Lady Goo Goo or any variant thereon'.^[16] Lady Goo Goo was later replaced with a new Moshling named Baby Rox, who is not a parody of any particular celebrity.

Decline in popularity and relaunch[edit]

The creator of Moshi Monsters, Mind Candy, suffered a loss of £2.2m in 2013 due to a drop in sales from Moshi Monsters. The company's financial reports have shown that the profit declined by 34.8% from £46.9 million in 2012 to £30.6 million in 2013.

In 2015, Mind Candy revealed that they were preparing to relaunch Moshi Monsters for a younger audience of four- to seven-year-olds, initially as animation with apps and toys to follow. However, no changes have been made to the Moshi Monsters site since then, apart from the removal of the forums section.

Since 2015, the decline of Moshi Monsters and the site's creator Mind Candy has continued. The peak of Moshi Monsters' popularity was in 2012 at £46.9m, and it has continued to decline. In 2018, total revenues were £5.2m, compared with £13.2m in 2014.^[17]

The Moshi Monsters website was shut down on 13 December 2019.^[18]

Criticism[edit]

In 2015, both Bin Weevils and Moshi Monsters were told to change the wording of their in-app advertisements by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said that the adverts and phrases such as 'The Super Moshis need YOU' pressured users to buy certain items inside the game. Mind Candy said that it took its responsibilities 'very seriously with regards to how we communicate with all of our fans, especially children.' It went on to say that Mind Candy had 'been working with the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) to ensure that we adhere to best practice and have made changes to the Moshi Monsters game accordingly. We will continue to work with the ASA in any way possible.'^[19]

References[edit]

1. ^Mike Butcher (2 May 2013). 'As Moshi Monsters hits 5 years, can it pull off three new games?'. TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014. Moshi Monsters started out as an online world of adoptable pet monsters for boys and girls aged 6-12 back in 2008.
2. ^Moshi Monsters founder: 'I was Mr Stress, now I'm Mr Calm'Archived 3 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Business Insider
3. ^'Moshi Monsters - Welcome to Moshi Monsters, Parents!'. www.moshimonsters.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
4. ^Online World Atlas: Moshi Monsters – Pt. 1, Overview', Worlds in Motion. Retrieved 23 October 2010. Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^(4 December 2009). 'Millions and millions of big monstersArchived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine', The Independent. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
6. ^Yiannopoulos, Milo (8 September 2010). 'Moshi Monsters is leading the way on child safetyArchived 2017-11-14 at the Wayback Machine', The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
7. ^Barnett, Emma (7 June 2011). 'Moshi Monsters hits 50 million membersArchived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine', The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
8. ^ABC Figures Reveal Moshi Monsters Magazine is the Best Selling Children's Magazine in the UKArchived 28 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Bloomberg
9. ^Moshi Monsters video game breaks chart recordArchived 4 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ToyNews
10. ^'Moshi Monsters gets QSR promo at McDonald's'. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
11. ^'Moshi Monsters Village - Apps on Google Play'. play.google.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
12. ^Ingrid Lunden (8 July 2013) https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/08/japans-gaming-giant-gree-retrenches-in-europe-shuts-down-uk-office-to-focus-on-development-in-the-u-s-for-western-market/Archived 9 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
13. ^'Sony Music partners with Moshi Monsters - News - Music Week'. www.musicweek.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
14. ^'Moshi Monsters (2013)'. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
15. ^Neither Mind Candy nor the Goo Goo Dolls can lay claim to being the first to whose given name has been appended the epithet 'Goo Goo'. For that honor one might turn at the very least to Lt. Gen. Leslie Richard ('Dick' or 'Goo Goo') Groves, Jr., a World War II-era US Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw not only the construction of the Pentagon for the US Department of Defense but also the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bombs that won World War II for the Allies and literally saved the world from autocracy. Chances are, too, there were other 'goo goos' in the US Army before Groves.
16. ^Sweney, Mark (13 October 2011). 'Lady Goo Goo injunction'. TheGuardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
17. ^'MIND CANDY LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)'. beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
18. ^''Moshi Monsters' is shutting down because it runs on Flash'. engadget.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
19. ^Rawlinson, Kevin (26 August 2015). 'Ad watchdog rebukes Moshi Monsters'. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.

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The line between games and entertainment has been blurring for years. Deciding on a definition is a job for academics; getting something created and into the hands of consumers is the focus for business. The creators of Moshi Monsters, the amazing popular online entertainment site for kids under 13. GamesIndustry International caught up with CEO Michael Acton Smith of Mind Candy, creators of Moshi Monsters, to talk about the strategy that drove the game's success.

Moshi Monsters grew out of Smith's desire to build something for kids. 'I felt there was a huge opportunity to create amazing entertainment for kids,' said Smith. 'I'd seen how much they loved technology, and how comfortable they were with the web. I thought the Internet was going to be the next amazing canvas to create wonderful entertainment for kids, in the way Disney had done it for animated movies, and Henson had done it with TV, and Pixar have done it with digital movies.'

The question was what sort of product to build. 'I knew how much kids loved nurturing, whether it was Tamagotchi or Furby, or even the Pet Rock back in the 70's, I thought that would be a smart place to try and build something new' Smith explained. Mind Candy started development in 2007, and Moshi Monsters was the result of that effort.

Moshi Monsters was not, initially, a hit, as Smith tells the story. 'We launched Moshi Monsters in 2008, and it took a long time for them to take off. It was about a year and a half of not much going on. We were scratching our heads, and adding new features, just kind of wondering what we had to do. Eventually in the summer of 2009 it just took off like crazy and started adding one new signup every second, and now we're about 70 million registered users around the world.'

'In the UK, one in two children have adopted a Moshi Monster, and it's currently the number one toy brand in the UK market'

Moshi Monsters Shutdown Reason Lyrics

Michael Acton Smith

Mind Candy had the persistence to hang in there when Moshi Monsters wasn't catching on. A year and half is a long time to wait for a product to really become popular; many companies would have given up much earlier. 'One of the reasons why I love building online games or any kind of online entertainment is that you can look at the data,' Smith said. 'You can tweak and iterate and polish to try and find something that the audience actually wants, rather than what you think they want.'

What was it that caused Moshi Monsters to finally take off? 'It was basically a year and a half of experimenting and being very agile and trying different things, and I think that the key set of features were social features,' noted Smith. 'We realized that kids love to share and show off and communicate with their friends just as much as grown-ups do, and if we could build safe tools that would allow them to do that we would potentially build something huge. Those features really helped the game accelerate, and kids really enjoyed Moshi much more when they could be social.'

The revenue stream from Moshi Monsters initially came primarily from subscriptions. 'About half our revenue comes from digital subscriptions; parents pay about $6 a month for their children to get access to new parts of the world,' Smith said. Moshi Monsters, unlike many other online games, does not offer virtual goods for sale. 'We felt with the kid's space, particularly under 13s, it would be smarter to have a subscription service, which parents seem to feel more comfortable with,' Smith noted.

Subscriptions account for half of the revenue, and physical goods make up the rest. 'About two years ago we realized that, given how strong the characters were, and how rich the universe was, maybe we could expand it offline,' explained Smith. 'So we did a book deal with Penguin, then we made some trading cards, and a magazine, and have now signed about 130 different licensing deals. About a quarter of a billion dollars worth of Moshi Monsters products have been sold now over those last two years.'

Mind Candy recently closed a deal with McDonald's, and Moshi Monsters have been appearing in Happy Meals - a touchstone of popular culture success. 'We're very excited about that.' Smith said. 'It's taken a long time to negotiate. McDonald's is obviously a massive brand, and we think this is wonderful. Moshi Monsters is still a growing brand in the US, and this we believe will really help accelerate our growth. We hope kids love the Moshi toys they'll get with the Happy Meals.' Kids are actually getting physical toys, not just a code for something they can get online. 'There's a couple of elements to it,' Smith explained. 'There are physical toys that kids will get, which are different characters from the world, but they will also get a code that allows them a few day's membership within the Moshi world. There's a few puzzles and a few other little bits and bobs, but it's part digital and part offline.'

'I think the biggest opportunity in the kid's space is the tablet'

Michael Acton Smith

Doing a kid's title, especially for kids under 13, brings special issues to the forefront. 'It's obviously a huge responsibility to run an entertainment company that's in the children's space, and we take that responsibility very seriously,' said Smith. 'We hired the very best head of safety and community that we could find. We have software that monitors all the messaging and social activity that goes on in the site, and secondly, human moderators. Everything on the site can be flagged so we can investigate. The way we describe it to parents is 'It's like a walled garden.' Parents know their children love the Web, but they don't want them to run freely on sites like Youtube or Facebook or elsewhere. On a site like Moshi they feel much more comfortable with it because it's deliberately designed to be non-threatening.'

Since Mind Candy began Moshi Monsters in the UK, it's only natural that's where the audience is largest. 'The UK is our biggest market, and the US is very close to it,' said Smith. 'I think we have about 20 million registered users in the US market, but the engagement levels aren't as high as they are in the UK, the paid subscription site is not as big. We're really focusing on 2013 to expand Moshi in the US, to let parents know about it. It hasn't become the phenomenon it has in the UK, where one in two children have adopted a Moshi Monster, and it's currently the number one toy brand in the UK market, ahead of Barbie, Star Wars, Lego, and a whole host of other major brands.'

Moshi Monsters Closing

Other markets are also on Mind Candy's radar. 'We think the Far East is very important; we signed a deal with Gree recently, so that will help us grow in that part of the world,' Smith said. 'We recently launched a Spanish version of Moshi to help our growth in Latin America, and we'll be launching other territories in the future as well.'

Moshi Monsters Shutdown Reason 2017

Mind Candy also sees the transition to mobile as an important area for the future. 'We are managing the shift from the desktop to tablet play, which is an enormously fast-growing area which kids absolutely love,' said Smith. 'We created a few smartphone apps, but I think the biggest opportunity in the kid's space is the tablet. I think that is going to be the dominant entertainment device for children over the next few years. Not just playing games and watching movies and listening to music, but educational as well. It's just so intuitive and magical and fun for children. As the price begins to come down, and Android devices come out with all sorts of different price points and sizes, the market is just going to continue to explode.'

Moshi Monsters Shut Down Reason Lyrics

Mind Candy has big plans for the future. 'We've got a lot of new games in development beyond Moshi Monsters, so we are hiring as quickly as we can ; we're staffing up our San Francisco office at the moment,' noted Smith. Kids will not be the only target for Mind Candy, Smith says. 'The way we are looking at it is family entertainment, so we will be building products for other audiences, but it will all be fun, family-friendly entertainment.'