You may have read the report in Tuesday's G2 magazine about attempts to use the internet and mobile phones to market to children. The kids are all online these days (they're not allowed out, of course), so big corporations are going out of their way to communicate with mini-consumers via their virtual hang-outs.
Which is good news for New Horizons Interactive, the company behind child-friendly virtual world, Club Penguin. Disney has just purchased the property for 350 million dollars and, according to Gamesindustry.biz, may double that figure if certain earnings targets are reached.
"This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of leveraging technology to create and deliver high-quality entertainment around the world and our commitment to investing our capital to generate growth and value for our shareholders," intoned a scary Disney cyborg in the official press release.
It's another reminder that virtual space is just real estate to the big corporations who'd very much like to hoover up as much of the entertainment content as possible to stick their brands on. "As parents of young children, we wanted to create a fun, online world we'd be comfortable letting our own kids visit," say the creators of Club Penguin on the official website FAQ. I wonder if parents will feel as comfortable now that the Disney machine is hanging around?
