Club Penguin Takeover

Several blogs reported today that Sony is in “advanced talks” to buy

Club Penguin
, a social networking and online game site geared toward
kids that was launched in October 2005. The price is reported as in
the ballpark of $450 million.The subscription-based (six dollars per
month) Club Penguin takes the form of a massively multiplayer online
role-playing game (MMORPG), where children play games, amass virtual
goods, and interact with each other, all while participating as
penguin avatars. According to Paid Content, the site rakes in about $60
million in revenues and is already profitable despite being fewer than
two years old. In March, Club Penguin had 4.5 million visitors.

The
ClubPenguin acquisition by Sony hasn’’t been confirmed yet. But it’s
already clear that Sony has interest in the MMORPG and virtual world
space: it’s in the process of launching its own virtual world (for
grown-ups), called “Home” and accessed via the PlayStation 3 console.
While social networking sites with teen and adult audiences, like
MySpace and Facebook, tend to monopolize the press buzz, their
younger-skewing brethren are a force to be reckoned with. Recently,
Webkinzhave proven popular among the single-digit set, and NeoPets
was a hot acquisition for MTV Networks in 2005.

After all, with kid-oriented social networks like these, it’s Mom and Dad–, not teens or 20-somethings on a budget–who have the wallet power.