by Calista Sprague
Webkinz. Juvenile German spiders? Nope. An alternative to the ancestral family tree? Nope. Cute little furry critters with virtual counterparts that come to life online. If you haven’t heard your children talking obsessively about these trendy collectables, you soon will.
The brainchild of Ganz, a toy and gift company, Webkinz combines concepts used by toy-pet makers of the past and present. Like a Build-a-Bear, the child chooses from a variety of cuddly creatures, then names and adopts his plush animal, complete with official birth certificate.
Like an online fish tank (or any of the myriad of available Internet pets), a child can log into Webkinz World to view and interact with a cyber representation of his friend. And like the Tamagatchi, the keyring virtual pet from the mid ‘90s, Webkinz respond to the amount of food and love received from their child caretakers with one important exception—Webkinz pets do not die.
And finally, like the Beanie Babies of the late ‘90s,
there are a multitude of Webkinz critters, but only certain
ones are available in stores at any given time, feeding
young consumers’ desire to collect each of the over 50
varieties, including the black-and-white cat, bulldog, tree
frog and koala. And for each Webkinz animal, there is a
smaller Li’lkinz to collect as well.
First available on the west coast in 2005, Webkinz have now gone nationwide, hitting shelves in Valley shops this spring. Charlie Bunton, owner of Fletcher’s Gifts in Phenix City, ordered more than 300 Webkinz and sold out in the first month. “Ganz underestimated what was going to happen. They’ve had more requests than their manufacturing or warehousing could handle,” Bunton said. “It is one of the most sought-after items in the U.S. at the present time. It’s just one of those items like Hula-hoops or Beanie Babies that have caught on and everybody wants one. In fact, I get eight to 10 calls a day asking if I’ve got Webkinz in yet.
I even have mothers who play,” Bunton laughed. Gladys Griffin, owner of Mainstreet Toys, received her first Webkinz shipment in March. She and store manager Kennan Ducey report that Webkinz are marketed for kids ages 6 to 13, but parents have purchased the stuffed toys for children as young as four and five.
“A lot of people want to collect them all,” said Griffin. “Some parents will just let their kids get three or four because once you have them, you’ve got to feed them and keep up their rooms.” One of her pint-sized customers owns more than 30 different Webkinz animals, but Griffin estimates an average of around five per child. She recently heard a mother refuse a child’s request for another Webkinz, saying, “She’s got eight already and she can’t keep up with those.”
Parental reaction has mainly been positive according to shop owners. “It is a situation where a child can go online and spend hours if they let him or her, but it’s a very educational program,” Bunton said. “I think it’s something that could be addictive, but if parents control it, it will be something very good for the kids.” Once a child purchases a plush pet, he logs onto Webkinz World with a code found on the pet’s tag. The child can then interact with a virtual representation of his new pet in its own private online room. Two thousand dollars in Kinzcash (virtual currency, not real money) is available to purchase cyber food, furniture and other necessary or luxury items for his pet.
Remember Furbies? Whereas they seemed to learn in a scary AI sort of way, with Webkinz, “the child is actually learning because while they are playing games, they are learning math and problem solving,” Griffin pointed out. Once a child’s Kinzcash bank is depleted, more can be obtained by playing arcade games or learn and play games. The Webkinz site rewards children for choosing the educational games by offering more Kinzcash for those options.
“There are different levels, so it’s all age appropriate,” Ducey explained. “And there are categories: humanities, arts, math, literature. I was doing the general trivia, and it asked how many bones are in your wrist. Well now I know there are 22 bones in your wrist!”
According to Ducey, many parents appreciate the budgeting element
to the website. “You have to save your ‘money’ to buy a bed for
your room, for example. Of course it’s all virtual money, but online it
looks like you’re having to save and buy.” There is also an option that
allows a child to sell back items from their pets’ room that they no
longer want.
Another obvious benefit comes in the
form of realistic pet responsibilities without
any of the fur, dander or 6 a.m. walks. “One
of our customers makes sure that her kids
feed all of their pets every night before they
go to bed,” Ducey said. “So it’s sort of just
like a real pet, she goes through and makes
sure they fed them.”
Happiness, health and hunger meters alert the children to their pet’s condition each time they visit its room. Feeding, exercising and loving the cyber pets in Webkinz World keeps them happy and healthy, just like any living pet in the real world. Ducey also thinks that kids enjoy the sense of grown-up control that comes with managing Kinzcash, choosing items for purchase, decorating the online rooms and cooking for their pets.
Lest your children and their pets get lonely, Webkinz World offers opportunities for interaction with other Webkinz owners and pets. For example, a child can invite a friend’s pet over to play in her pet’s room. Children can also challenge one another to games in the Tournament Arena.
Certain areas of the site also allow for online chat—words that strike fear in most parents’ minds these days. Griffin mentioned concern from several parents about this Webkinz feature, but she and Ducey reassure their customers by pointing out the website’s safety features. “In the regular chatroom you have to use pre-existing phrases, so you cannot possibly give out personal information, and in the KinzChat Plus chatroom you can type your own message, but you can only choose words out of their dictionary. It’s child friendly and child safe,” Ducey said.
The Webkinz dictionary omits numbers and most common names, including many place names. But while the KinzChat guarantees no personal information exchange, KinzChat Plus’ safeguards, although stringent, are not foolproof.
So whether you see this latest virtual pet fad as a fun way to teach budgeting and responsibility or just one more reason for your child to sit glued to the computer monitor, Webkinz have arrived. And as Griffin aptly said, “It’s not just a stuffed animal.”
