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Know your Neopet "Last weekend I took my 11-year-old son shopping for some new game cards that just came out, which he knew would be easy to find. As we went store to store to discover each one completely sold out, a familiar look of anguished need appeared on his face. A familiar look of anguished resignation appeared on mine."
[ October 22, 2003, 11:38 AM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I'm getting so that my cursor dives toward Chris Bridges threads of its own accord anymore.
My little sister had a NeoPet for a while. Thankfully she got bored, or I never would have had any computer time before I bought my own.
Posts: 1592 | Registered: Jan 2001
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I happen to have a neopet, three of them actually. It's been around for about 5 years. My oldest pet is 989 days old so I've been addicted for somewhere around 2 and 2/3 years old, though it waxes and wanes. The cool thing is that no matter how long you go without feeding your pet nor how much it complains about starving to death, it never really does.
quote: First, they're friendlier. Neopets don't battle each other
This isn't true of the website. There're battle domes and training academies to send your neopet to train them to fight each other. I play mostly because they have such a wide variety of free games that're simple but entertaining, like a version of Snake, amongst many others. It isn't nearly as time consuming and addicting as Hatrack, but it's fun . I recommend the site as well.
Posts: 349 | Registered: May 2003
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For those interested in such morbid details, here's the chunk that I edited out after I decided to change the tone of the piece and use a different ending:
"Archeologists digging down through the layers in my kids' rooms would find, along with a million soft drink cans and a few missing friends, several strata of previous collectible crazes.
"First there was "Magic: The Gathering," a card game that drew in the kids interested in Dungeons & Dragons who didn't want to bother learning all the tables. It was "collectible" because the really good cards were limited issue, so trading and hoarding were the rules of the day.
"Then along came Pokémon -- I can feel some of you shuddering -- and took it to a whole new level. The game equivalent of printing money, the Pokémon phenomena was aimed at a younger and far greedier market. Parents spent days driving from town to town, often in caravans, hunting for new packs of cards to satisfy their endlessly squawking children. When they couldn't get the cards, they demanded the toys, and the videos, and the Burger King Pokéballs with the gold-plated card inside, and still it wasn't enough. Whenever interest threatened to slow to a rational level a brand new series of cards was announced, with the sort of media attention usually reserved for political assassinations, and we all trudged back out to the car again.
"I used this to my advantage by going out and managing to collect two complete sets myself, which I doled out one by one to my sons if they pleased me. For a year their homework was done without fail and their rooms were clean. Well, cleaner. For a brief time there I had power, real power! I even considered getting a pinstripe suit and stroking a white cat whenever they approached me.
"Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards and toys came next and they're still popular, but Neopets is blowing them away. Fortunately Neopets also seem to be a step up in several respects."
The result was tighter, I think, but I missed telling about my control over the kids during the Pokémon years. And I'm annoyed our newsmaker program can't seem to handle é's. I spelled it right in my version, honest!
[ October 22, 2003, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Hey Chris, maybe you can get your picture taken with Dave Atell when he comes to your town. *smile* Let me know if you get on the show, and I will be sure to watch it.
I don't think you get enough praise and thank yous for linking us to your column every week.
Thank you!
And now I am interested in neopets, you rat! *shakes fist* Just don't let my five-year-old see me playing this, or he'll want one, too. LOL
Posts: 1545 | Registered: May 2002
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quote: For a brief time there I had power, real power! I even considered getting a pinstripe suit and stroking a white cat whenever they approached me.
What, kinda like Geovani? Gonna sic mewtwo on whoever crosses ya?
*has a formerly pokemon-obsessed little brother. Shutup, I really do!!!*
I discovered Neopets over a year ago, and have like 100 thousand neopoints. I'd have more, but I flat out refused to give my name to the sponsors. The games are as good as anything you find on Shockwave, and that's mostly what I did. I've lost interest since I found the 'rack, though. I suppose I can only handle one obsession at a time. Posts: 4089 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I actually have a neopet (or rather, many). I have like seven accounts, and more than 200,000 neopoints if you combine them all. Haven't been on there in ages. Good thing they can't die! Posts: 981 | Registered: Aug 2003
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. I recommend the site as well.
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