Webkinz


Webkinz are stuffed animals that have a playable online counterpart, "Webkinz World". Webkinz were originally released by the Canadian toy company Ganz on April 29, 2005. The toys are enjoyed by a wide variety of age groups and are similar to many other small plush toys; however, each Webkinz toy has an attached tag with a unique "Secret Code" printed on it that allows its owner to play with their pet in the "Webkinz World" website. On Webkinz World, the Secret Code allows the user to own a virtual version of the pet for online play. Lil' Kinz are smaller, less expensive versions of Webkinz, while the Signature collection is larger, higher-quality, and slightly more expensive. Sales of plush Webkinz toys are limited to the United States and Canada, but international users can buy virtual pets from the online eStore. In 2006, Webkinz had one million online accounts, and according to one estimate published in Wired they made $100 million in 2006. In 2011, Webkinz made its first commercial on TV. Webkinz was updated in 2015 to Webkinz X, making it more kid-friendly.

Types of Webkinz

There are many types of Webkinz: regular pets, wild animals, mythical creatures, and made-up ones. They all come with codes that can be entered on the computer at www.webkinz.com Along with the regular Webkinz toys, there are also smaller, less expensive versions called Lil' Kinz as well as larger, slightly more expensive versions in the Signature collection launched in April 2009. The Signature collection later ended in December 2013. In May 2009, Birthstone Pets were released. One new Birthstone Pet was released for every month. In April 2010, Ganz replaced the Birthstone Pets with the Zodiac Pets. Again, one Zodiac Pet will be released every month. In 2011, CandyKinz were released. In June 2012, Rockerz Pets were released. In 2019, Ganz announced that no new plush pets would be released as of now, but purely virtual pets can still be purchased, accounts can be made, and the website still operates.

Gameplay

Each Webkinz stuffed animal and Webkinz accessory comes with an 8-character code. By registering this code at www.webkinz.com, the customer "adopts" this pet in the virtual Webkinz World. Without the code, the user will not get access to the full Webkinz World, but they can create a free account. On January 19, 2011, Ganz announced that Webkinz World accounts would no longer expire, meaning users would not have to buy a new pet each year to renew their account. However, some games, furniture, and other features are limited with a free account. Young adults who had active accounts on the website, have even revisited their pets to catch up on their health as an online trend.
The Webkinz World is an online play area with its own economy completely controlled by Ganz. The user receives money by adopting new pets, playing online games, answering general knowledge questions, and through daily activities like clicking "I love my Webkinz!", spinning the Wheel of WOW, playing Wishing Well 2, or completing jobs available once every 8 hours. Each day, there is a Game of the Day which can be played for bonus KinzCash, and other bonuses are available each hour, full days on weekends and afternoons only on weekdays. With each Webkinz toy purchased, more KinzCash, rooms, and items are added to the user's account.
The online world also contains many rare or exclusive items. Some of these items require developing a friendship with the Curio Shop owner to purchase, while others are obtained by registering other Webkinz accessories purchased in the real world. Each type of pet gets a special item and food available exclusively for them. Also, a Pet of the Month is announced at the beginning of each month. If a person registers the announced pet in that month, they will receive other exclusive items.
Many of the tasks in Webkinz World involve collecting items. For example, recipes are released for the players through cookbooks or one of the TV shows called The Secret Chef. "Gems" can be mined once a day at the Curio Shop, with a full set of gems being turned into the Webkinz Crown of Wonder and buy exclusive items. A similar feature called Alyssa's Star Challenge, involves users clicking on colored stars to find valuable stars.
Other features of Webkinz include:
When a pet is registered at www.webkinz.com, it gives or renews an account's full membership features for one year. When the membership of a pet expires, the account becomes a free account, missing the ability to play some games, buy certain items, and do other things in the world. However, a player can renew their account again whenever.
There is also an upgrade to regular memberships called the Deluxe Membership which is available at the . This is a premium membership with many features, benefits, games, and prizes to which regular accounts do not have access. Deluxe Members also receive free Webkinz eStore points at the time of purchase and at the beginning of each month afterward for the extent of the Deluxe Membership.
If one wants to register an account at www.webkinz.com without a pet code, they are permitted to select from 9 Ganz eStore Pets. Several limitations exist on free accounts that make many challenges and activities impossible. Free accounts can be upgraded to regular memberships or Deluxe Memberships at any time.

W-Plus & Trading Cards

Aside from the Webkinz, Lil' Kinz, Signature, and Rockerz Pets, Ganz also has made other toys that can be used on Webkinz World. These are called W-Plus items, and all W-Plus items come with a secret code that can be used in the Code Shop in Webkinz World. These codes unlock items for the Webkinz Pets, like new room themes, clothing for pets, KinzCash, and other prizes.

W-Plus

These are all of the W-Plus items Ganz has released:
There are 4 series of Webkinz Trading Cards, of which 2 can be used to play the challenge game. The cards come in booster packs, with 5 playing cards and a code card in each pack. In these packs, there are also chances of getting special cards as well, like free pet codes. In Series 1, players can also get Curio Shop Curiosities and Webkinz Doodlez. In Series 2, there is At Paw Level and W-Tales Snapshots instead. These special cards are foil. For Series 1, 80 base cards have been released, 12 challenges, 8 Curio Shop Curiosities, and 8 Webkinz Doodlez. In Series 2, there are 85 base cards, 15 challenges, 8 At Paw Levels and 8 W-Tales Snapshots. The cards are also W-Plus items, and they each come with 2-5 codes. 1 code on each card is for a virtual pack of Trading Cards, while the other 1-4 can unlock prizes like rare and exclusive themes or coupons. Series 3 changed the format, with only 1 feature code per pack, and no code for a virtual pack. The packs also included stickers and a chance to win a previously unheard-of Pet, the Magical Retriever. Also, Ganz has said that each Series 3 code gives users an item they cannot find anywhere else in Webkinz World. Series 4 has also been released, and the prize Pet, the Mystical Panda, replaces the Magical Retriever.

Ganz eStore

The Ganz eStore is targeted to an older audience of the website, it can be used to purchase virtual pets, furniture and items with real currency. Sales of plush Webkinz and Lil' Kinz are limited to the United States and Canada, however, virtual pets can be purchased from the Ganz eStore by international residents. Secret Codes issued in conjunction with virtual pets can be used the same way as Secret Codes attached to plush pets.
Deluxe Members get free Ganz eStore points every month.

Webkinz games

Webkinz World has many games in which players can play to earn KinzCash. The website also has a wide range of multiplayer games for users to play against their friends and anyone else who wants to play at the time. There are some games specifically reserved for a premium tier of users, called Deluxe Membership.

Criticism

Concerns have been raised about children's use and overuse of the toys. Parents may worry that children will become addicted to the game. Some parents have voiced concerns about the website's online chat system. The KinzChat chat system has various safety precautions, with restrictions on who can send messages. Additionally, users cannot type, but can choose phrases to say from a list. Concerns have also been raised about the toys being a distraction in school, occasionally resulting in them being banned from school grounds. Concerns were also raised when the once advertisement-free site started displaying advertisements, previously only for their own additional game-related products, but now also for movies, such as Alvin and the Chipmunks and Bee Movie. There is an option that members can use to block ads that promote sites not sponsored by or affiliated with Webkinz or Ganz. However, if enabled, this option can not be changed until 30 days have passed.
Rumors have circulated that malware is present. In 2007 rumors spread about a character that would kill Webkinz on the site, supposedly inserted by a disgruntled employee or a rival site. These claims were dismissed by Webkinz.com

2020 data breach

In April 2020, a hacker gained access and leaked the login information of almost 23 million players. In response, Ganz strengthened their encryption and required all users to reset their passwords.

Errors

There has been problems in the past with connecting to the Webkinz World site. These range from technical problems with customer's internet browsers and unresponsive customer service to programming problems at the Webkinz World site. Changes made to the Webkinz World site have resulted in many disappointed users as newly introduced features often limit access to a small fraction of users and programming errors often reduce the ability of the remainder of the site to function at prior levels.