Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 If you are sick of hearing and seeing about Petpet Park from Neopets, you are not alone. Sometime over this weekend, presumably today, Neopets changed their default background for Neopets.com to have a full screen image of, you guessed it, Petpet Park. They even made the top part (where an advertisement normally is) link to Petpetpark.com and forced the advertisement on the right about Petpet Park. How much is too much? Click to view high-quality image. Petpet Park has also been mentioned in Neopets' latest news release on Friday. Honestly, we're getting tired of hearing and seeing about it. What do you think? Vote in our poll on our Neopets Forums by clicking here: Has Neopets over promoted Petpet Park? Update: Neopets has changed the homepage back to normal as of Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruto Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Considering they've never gone that far for anything else on the site...yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Considering they've never gone that far for anything else on the site...yes. I know, right? And Petpet Park basically has NOTHING to do with Neopets except for the fact they are owned by the same company. They just need to get users to it and they are way over doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyTurtle Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I've poked around the PetPet Park some and find it irritating. PPP is just another Free Realms type of game setting, and one I personally find boring and hard to work with. In less than half an hour of fussing with the PPP, I found that I DISliked it as much as I like NP. As to the ads...enough is enough people! NP can plaster the whole darn site with PPP ads and I still won't get involved with it. I understand that NP has the right to promote new features, but there is a difference between alerting folks to something new and stuffing it down our throats. I also have to wonder how long this background will stay, and what NP will be doing to replace the money it loses by taking down all the normal sponsor ads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 I've poked around the PetPet Park some and find it irritating. PPP is just another Free Realms type of game setting, and one I personally find boring and hard to work with. In less than half an hour of fussing with the PPP, I found that I DISliked it as much as I like NP. As to the ads...enough is enough people! NP can plaster the whole darn site with PPP ads and I still won't get involved with it. I understand that NP has the right to promote new features, but there is a difference between alerting folks to something new and stuffing it down our throats. I also have to wonder how long this background will stay, and what NP will be doing to replace the money it loses by taking down all the normal sponsor ads. Amen! The thing is, Neopets is NOT promoting a new feature to its site, because it has literally nothing to do with Neopets beside the petpet part, but how do the the 2 interact? They don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FutureTXTurkey Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I can't see the add they have put up now because of my add blocker, but I do find the big black band around the outside of my Neopets screen to be a little beyond irritating. I too briefly tried PPP and was immediately disenchanted with it. It has nothing to do with Neopets, it doesn't connect to the main site in any way, so why do that keep acting like it does? If we could take our actual petpet from the Neopets website into PPP and if your petpets progress in PPP had something to do with petpets progress in Neopets then I would be more receptive. As it is though, man it has gotten so old, a few advertisements sure, they have a right to advertise like any other sponsor, but enough is enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romiress Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 The level of PPP over saturation is absurd. The issue is that people who already enjoy playing neopets don't seem to be the kind who would enjoy PPP. It's as if they suddenly declared 'Neopets A' and 'Neopets B' - only Neopets B only has access to a minimal number of games, uses a totally different money system, and is completely stripped down (although with a laggier, flash-based interface). While I did go out of my way to try PPP, I found it absurdly boring after less then an hour of playing. The Flash is not fully optimized (atleast for my system), and just leads to frustration. If anything, it is less like Neopets, and more like Gaia. Even relating it to free realms is a bit of a stretch - the little I've heard about free realms implies much more content then is in PPP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 I can't see the add they have put up now, but I do find the big black band around the outside of my Neopets screen to be a little beyond irritating. I too briefly tried PPP and was immediately disenchanted with it. It has nothing to do with Neopets, it doesn't connect to the main site in any way, so why do that keep acting like it does? If we could take our actual petpet from the Neopets website into PPP and if your petpets progress in PPP had something to do with our petpets progress in Neopets then I would be more receptive, as it is though, man it has gotten so old. That's because you're using Firefox Adblock and it's blocking the background and making everything black. It's annoying too, the black, it clashes with their site BIG time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeptroid Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Personally, I do not think it is too wrong for Petpet Park to be advertised. Maybe a small little advertisement on the page is fine, but a HUGE layout surrounding the front page is overkill. Here is a section from an editorial posted in the Neopian Times: They're set in Neopia, feature familiar characters and lands, tell Neopian stories, and we dedicate whole sections of the site to letting you know all about them, but they aren't actually part of the site itself. From what I can gather, Neopets has stated that Petpet Park, while it is related to Neopets, will have nothing to do with the Neopets site itself. As evidenced by the gigantic advertisements on the front page of Neopets, they are not upholding their promise. You wouldn't spend your site Neopoints in your Neopets: Puzzle Adventure DS game, for example. Those video games are on their own, self contained. Petpet Park is pretty much like that. (Only it's online and you don't need a game console, but you get the idea!) :) The quote above states that Petpet Park is self-contained and outside currency, such as Neopoints, would not be used. However, Neocash (which originated on the Neopets Site) is used in Petpet Park, which basically contradicts the quote. I will also mention the fact that there "Neo" isn't even in Petpet Park. It is all about the Petpets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viridian Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Yes they have totally overdone it... But since petpets are basically neopets' creation I guess they have the right to advertise it... Could be less though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 The level of PPP over saturation is absurd. The issue is that people who already enjoy playing neopets don't seem to be the kind who would enjoy PPP. It's as if they suddenly declared 'Neopets A' and 'Neopets B' - only Neopets B only has access to a minimal number of games, uses a totally different money system, and is completely stripped down (although with a laggier, flash-based interface). While I did go out of my way to try PPP, I found it absurdly boring after less then an hour of playing. The Flash is not fully optimized (atleast for my system), and just leads to frustration. If anything, it is less like Neopets, and more like Gaia. Even relating it to free realms is a bit of a stretch - the little I've heard about free realms implies much more content then is in PPP. Basically, this is Neopets trying to copy Webkins in their flash based thing for little kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeptroid Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Also, the "Petpets" that a player can choose on Petpet Park do not even exist on the Neopets site as items. So that even draws the relationship of the two sites even further away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Also, the "Petpets" that a player can choose on Petpet Park do not even exist on the Neopets site as items. So that even draws the relationship of the two sites even further away. LOL. Really? Who would've thought that Petpet Park would have Petpet's that don't even exist on their "creator's" website: Neopets. Lame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyTurtle Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 "Lame" is exactly the word for it, Spiderfly. I also keep wondering about the basic concept: If a Petpet is my Neopet's dog or cat (i.e., a PET) how come they are suddenly able to do things on their own in the PPP? If NP wanted to create a whole, separate MMORPG that was similar but separate from NP, fine. But DON'T force me to look at the bleeping ads and DON'T try to force it down my throat! Not everyone who plays NP likes MMORPGs; some of us *points at herself* are essentially solitary gamers who don't care for the Massively Multiplayer concept. Go ahead and promote the new site, NP, but allow me to ignore your promotions, please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImyBlinky Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I logged on today and posted screenies of it on the HC, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I was. The number of people who were outraged about it was astonishing. By now we should realize that ads like this are what's needed to keep everything running- especially Petpet Park. The park is new, and isn't getting much attention (probably not as much as TNT/Viacom hoped) so that's probably why this extra advertising is needed. You have to remember Neovision- it didn't get them the money due to lack of interest from us so they took it down. If Petpet Park doesn't get enough interest soon they could do the same. And to have the ad on the homepage is genius. I mean, us neopetters are really the only audience for the site so if they can't get us to play who can they? PS I think it's adorable!! I like it and a few other HCers did too. And what do they care what we think of it anyway? In this day and age you either take what Neopets offers you or leave it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImyBlinky Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I know, right? And Petpet Park basically has NOTHING to do with Neopets except for the fact they are owned by the same company. They just need to get users to it and they are way over doing it. The park has everything to do with neopets!! You don't see petpets anywhere else do you? This double post has been allowed by management, but please try not to again. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meeptroid Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 The unfortunate part for Adblock users is that even if the huge ad is blocked, it appears as a giant black outline. Which really isn't that pleasing to look at, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 I logged on today and posted screenies of it on the HC, and I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I was. The number of people who were outraged about it was astonishing. By now we should realize that ads like this are what's needed to keep everything running- especially Petpet Park. The park is new, and isn't getting much attention (probably not as much as TNT/Viacom hoped) so that's probably why this extra advertising is needed. You have to remember Neovision- it didn't get them the money due to lack of interest from us so they took it down. If Petpet Park doesn't get enough interest soon they could do the same. And to have the ad on the homepage is genius. I mean, us neopetters are really the only audience for the site so if they can't get us to play who can they? PS I think it's adorable!! I like it and a few other HCers did too. And what do they care what we think of it anyway? In this day and age you either take what Neopets offers you or leave it. Very well put, I actually do like the image as a background too, it's nice looking. Perhaps they could design a Neopets related one that will actually interest us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalfeer Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 They have as much right to advertise it on the site as they do to advertise any of the other properties Viacom owns. Advertising is what pays for the majority of Neopets, as there are not nearly enough premium subscribers to handle it alone. From that standpoint, they are within their rights to advertise it. If it "fair" that they hype an ancillary site into the ground more than they ever promoted any of their on-site activities? That they sink that much effort into what is essentially a precursor to a paid game experience, while letting the quality of the Neopets site lag and flounder? The Dollar is the new head of Neopets and those who have been members since the early days can see and mourn the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 They have as much right to advertise it on the site as they do to advertise any of the other properties Viacom owns. Advertising is what pays for the majority of Neopets, as there are not nearly enough premium subscribers to handle it alone. From that standpoint, they are within their rights to advertise it. If it "fair" that they hype an ancillary site into the ground more than they ever promoted any of their on-site activities? That they sink that much effort into what is essentially a precursor to a paid game experience, while letting the quality of the Neopets site lag and flounder? The Dollar is the new head of Neopets and those who have been members since the early days can see and mourn the difference. You are 100% correct, we're not saying they don't have the right to advertise whatever they like. They are just advertising for this one particular thing way to much. :P It's not our fault Petpet Park flopped either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImyBlinky Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Very well put, I actually do like the image as a background too, it's nice looking. Perhaps they could design a Neopets related one that will actually interest us. A design that's actually neopet-themed would be great!! I like the idea of having a background image. The grey is very dull. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyTurtle Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 If it "fair" that they hype an ancillary site into the ground more than they ever promoted any of their on-site activities? That they sink that much effort into what is essentially a precursor to a paid game experience, while letting the quality of the Neopets site lag and flounder? The Dollar is the new head of Neopets and those who have been members since the early days can see and mourn the difference. Amen! While I happen to be a Premium subscriber, I played NP for years before I was able to do so. I have watched ads encroach Neopia's shores, but ignored them because I understand the site is a business. I observed the NC Mall's appearance and publicity and mostly ignored it for the same reason. This, however, is crossing the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FutureTXTurkey Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 The Dollar is the new head of Neopets and those who have been members since the early days can see and mourn the difference. I agree 100% with that statement and it makes me sad. I mean I know we need money to make the site work, but for love of the game and respect for it's long time players, TNT should be more sensitive to our feelings and opinions. I mean if they make us all so mad that we quite then they don't get any money do they? I mean look around...Neopets Mobile died. I see less Neopets merchandise in stores all the time. The ship is sinking and unless Viacome pulls it's head out of the sand and actually makes this game fun again we are all going to loose this game that we love. Now where I disagree with other people saying these advertisements are necessary is that advertisements are acceptable because they help pay for the site. However Viacom owns both of these sites, so they aren't making money off of taking out other companies advertisements and putting in their own. They are actually costing themselves valuable advertisement space. Not to mention if they put this kind of effort into advertising some other product I would be annoyed by it to, like when they did that race car banner a while back. The reason we say it has nothing to do with Neopets is because even though it has Neopets themes what happens on PPP doesn't effect Neopets.com in any way. Also the banner may be pleasant to look at if you can actually see it, but I shouldn't have to undo my add blocker and allow every add on the site just so I don't have to stare at a big ugly black border. And it clashes with your site theme no matter what browser you are using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superfly Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Amen! While I happen to be a Premium subscriber, I played NP for years before I was able to do so. I have watched ads encroach Neopia's shores, but ignored them because I understand the site is a business. I observed the NC Mall's appearance and publicity and mostly ignored it for the same reason. This, however, is crossing the line. Are premium users seeing this huge picture too on Neopets.com? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruto Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Also the banner may be pleasant to look at if you can actually see it, but I shouldn't have to undo my add blocker and allow every add on the site just so I don't have to stare at a big ugly black border. And it clashes with your site theme no matter what browser you are using. I only see a big black banner on the front page where the ads use to be, and I'm using AdBlocker. Every other part of the site remains the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.