Moshi Monsters

Moshi Monsters

Moshi Monsters logo
Developer(s) Mind Candy
Platform(s) Online
Release date(s) April 16, 2008[1]

Moshi Monsters is a website aimed at children aged 6–14 with over 80 million registered users [2] in 150 territories worldwide.[3] Users choose from one of six virtual pet monsters (Diavlo, Luvli, Katsuma, Poppet, Zommer and Furi) that they can create, name and nurture. Once their pet has been customized, players can navigate their way around Monstro City, take daily puzzle challenges to earn 'Rox' (a virtual currency), play games, personalize their room and communicate with other users in a safe environment.[4]

Following its online success, Moshi Monsters has expanded commercially with physical products, including toys, Moshi Monsters Magazine (the number-one selling kids' magazine in the UK),[5] a best-selling DS video game,[6] a music album, books, membership cards, bath soap, chocolate calendars, trading cards, figures of many Moshlings, mobile games, and a Moshi Monsters feature film. In December 2012, eight Moshi Monster toys were included in McDonald's Happy Meals in the United States and Canada.

History

The game was created by Michael Acton Smith (Mr. Moshi), developed in 2007 by entertainment company Mind Candy and launched in April 2008.[7] As of December 2009, there were 10 million players registered.[8] In March 2010, Mind Candy announced that there were 15 million users and by September 2010 that number had surpassed 25 million.[9] In June 2011 it was announced that there were 50 million users.[10] In January 2015 Peter Jones - off of Dragon's Den - said "I think they're going down" and offered to save them via business. The head of Moshi Monsters said yes and Jones was made CEO. The company was pivoted and became more like Sony.[11]

Music

In March 2012, Mind Candy confirmed a major partnership deal with Sony Music.[12] The deal followed the recent launch of Mind Candy's own music label, Moshi Monsters Music. The deal will see Sony Music handle the distribution aspects of Moshi Monsters' music releases, starting with the debut album Moshi Monsters, Music Rox! Jason Perry, formerly with the UK rock band A and head of Moshi Music, is driving the new album. The Moshi Monsters series features music from Sonic Boom, Beatie Wolfe, The Blackout, Portia Conn, and songs such as Moptop Tweenybop and Merry Twistmas.

Lady Goo Goo injunction

In October 2011, Ate My Heart Inc, representing the musician, Lady Gaga, were granted an interim injunction by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales to stop Mind Candy, parent company of the Moshi Monsters, from releasing music on iTunes by a Moshi Monster character known as Lady Goo Goo. The songs intended for release included the parody "Peppy-razzi", similar to the Lady Gaga hit "Paparazzi".[13] Justice Vos of the High Court ruled that Lady Goo Goo could appear in the Moshi Monsters game, but could not release, promote, advertise, sell, distribute, or otherwise make available "any musical work or video that purports to be performed by a character by the name of Lady Goo Goo, or that otherwise uses the name Lady Goo Goo or any variant thereon".[14] Lady Goo Goo was later replaced with a new Moshling named Baby Rox.

Movie

In 2013, Mind Candy announced a Moshi Monsters film. In September 2013, Issue 34 of the Moshi Monsters Magazine included a Moshi Music DVD with the short trailer. On October 10, 2013, a short preview of the trailer was aired on ITV Daybreak. Later that day, the trailer was released on MSN. The film was released on December 20, 2013 in the UK and February 20, 2014 in Australia. The DVD was released on April 14, 2014 in the UK and April 3, 2014 in Australia.[15]

Mobile Games

In July 2013, Mind Candy released Moshi Monsters Village on GooglePlay, a 3D city-builder published by GREE and developed by Tag Games. After GREE UK shut-down,[16] Mind Candy decided to take over the game as publisher, leaving Tag Games to the development. The game was relaunched on Apple devices on December 18, 2013 right before the release of the movie.

In December 2013, Mind Candy published the companion app Talking Poppet, also developed by Tag Games.

In February 2014, Moshi Karts was released on iOS by Mind Candy.


Discography

Albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
AUS
[17]		 IRE
[18]		 UK
[19]
Music Rox! 31 4 4

References

  1. ↑ http://news.moshimonsters.com/community/blog/content/6322
  2. ↑ Mike Butcher (2013-05-02). "As Moshi Monsters Hits 5 years, Can it pull of Three new games?". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
  3. ↑ How To Get 60 Million Users Without Using Any Social Media, Business Insider
  4. ↑ http://www.moshimonsters.com/parents
  5. ↑ ABC Figures Reveal Moshi Monsters Magazine is the Best Selling Children's Magazine in the UK, Bloomberg
  6. ↑ Moshi Monsters video game breaks chart record, ToyNews
  7. ↑ (May 2, 2008). He had gotten the idea while in a pub one night and thought all of his friends were Monsters. He then started to sing a made moshi song. Online World Atlas: Moshi Monsters – Pt. 1, Overview", Worlds in Motion. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  8. ↑ (December 4, 2009). "Millions and millions of big monsters", The Independent. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  9. ↑ Yiannopoulos, Milo (September 8, 2010). "Moshi Monsters is leading the way on child safety", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  10. ↑ Barnett, Emma (June 7, 2011). "Moshi Monsters hits 50 million members", The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  11. ↑ http://mindcandy.com/2013/06/2787
  12. ↑ Music Week March 2012
  13. ↑ Alas, neither Mind Candy nor the Goo Goo Dolls can lay claim to being the first to whose given name has been appended the epithet "Goo Goo". For that honor one might turn at the very least to Lt. Gen. Leslie Richard ("Dick" or "Goo Goo") Groves, Jr., a World War II-era US Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw not only the construction of the Pentagon for the US Department of Defense but also the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bombs that won World War II for the Allies and literally saved the world from autocracy. Chances are, too, there were other "goo goos" in the US Army before Groves.
  14. ↑ Sweney, Mark (13 October 2011). "Lady Goo Goo injunction". TheGuardian.co.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  15. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3280730/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_dt_dt
  16. ↑ Ingrid Lunden (Jul 8, 2013) http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/08/japans-gaming-giant-gree-retrenches-in-europe-shuts-down-uk-office-to-focus-on-development-in-the-u-s-for-western-market/
  17. ↑ "Moshi Monsters - Australian Charts". australian-charts.com/ Hung Medien.
  18. ↑ "Moshi Monsters - Irish Charts". irish-charts.com/ Hung Medien.
  19. ↑ Peak positions for albums on the UK Albums Chart:

External links