Neopets.com, the worldâs leading youth community and online virtual world, will debut the first series of animated NEOPETS MINI-SHOWS on Nickelodeon television, beginning June 23, 2007. The Mini-Shows will air in between Nickelodeon programming and reveal pivotal story moments from the world of Neopia, such as characters outsmarting each other, escaping dangers, taking chances or setting evil plans in motion.
"The NEOPETS MINI-SHOWS bring together Nickelodeon's powerhouse of expertise in making content for kids and tweens with the talented creative team at the Neopets studio," said Kyra Reppen, Neopets'svp/gm, "These animated shorts will bring to life the characters and adventures that make up the virtual world of Neopia."
The MINI-SHOWS capture the unique voice and quirky humor of Neopets. The Mini-Shows will bring to screen different characters, from the mad scientist Lab Ray creature in its elusive laboratory, to the Trunkard, an underwater Petpet hoovering the ocean floor, to Sophie the Swamp Witch mixing potions in the Haunted Woods.
Many of the spots will feature surprise, multiple endings plus hidden clues embedded in each episode that will help them unlock puzzles and trivia questions on the Neopets site.
The MINI-SHOWS are one of the many new initiatives being rolled out from Neopets. The siteâs interactive entertainment experience is expanding with a variety of exciting initiatives including:* Neovision, which launches today (May 31, 2007), a broadband video player that showcases Neopets-themed user submitted content, as well as NEOPETS animated originals and upcoming MINI-SHOWS.* New pet customization features that provide Neopets owners with new ways to interact with and dress their Neopets, including new clothing and accessories.* A new website layout with easier to use navigation, rich graphics, an all-new Games Room and a home page that displays special messaging from your Neopet.
Neopets is also bringing back the successful Altador Cup global gaming event throughout the month of June. Launching June 1, the second annual site wide tournament brings the global community together to choose one of 16 teams and compete for the ultimate Yooyuball championship, a fantasy sport loosely based on a hybrid of soccer and lacrosse. Players will earn virtual trophies and prizes. As many as 10.4 million unique visitors participated in last yearâs Altador Cup, where the Haunted Woods team took home the trophy.
The Altador Cup gaming event comes on the heels of Neopets'Daily Dare global gaming event, which received seven million unique visitors in March with 10 million virtual prizes claimed, lifting total site traffic by +22%. Neopets averages nearly 300 million game plays per month.
Neopets.com is one of the largest and fastest growing youth community sites on the Internet. To date, more than 40 million members worldwide have created NEOPETS accounts in 11 different languages and reaches nearly 12 million monthly unique visitors. With over 200 games, daily and weekly contests, discussion boards, quests and thousands of virtual items to collect, Neopets members are as passionate about the site as they are about their virtual pets. Neopets is part of the Nickelodeon/MTVN Kids and Family Group community of sites, which includes Nicktropolis, Nick.com/metv, Nick.com, Nickjr.com, Nick Arcade, Nick-at-nite.com, Quizilla, The-N.com, Noggin.com, Neopets, ParentsConnect, GoCityKids, AddictingGames and Shockwave.
