Why Did Monkey Quest Shut Down

  

Monkey Quest
Developer(s)Behaviour Interactive, Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds Group
Publisher(s)Nickelodeon
EngineUnity
ReleaseMarch 17, 2011
Genre(s)MMO, Fantasy
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Monkey Quest was a Massively multiplayer online game geared toward children's multi-player gameplay.[1] It was developed by Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds Group and launched March 17, 2011.[2] It was showcased at GDC in 2011.[1] Monkey Quest was shut down on September 26, 2014 so that Nickelodeon could focus on other digital and mobile experiences. The Monkey Quest: Thunderbow app was also removed from the App Store on July 31, 2014.[3]

Story[edit]

They even shut down the game on my Birthday:(. I also had over 1000 dollars invested into that game. It sounds like a lot but as I had been playing since closed beta that money was stretched out over may years. It was just a huge shock for me as I had not played the game in a while and logged in to hear it was going down any min.

The player's monkey entered the land of Ook. The player was then able to travel around and meet new inhabitants of the virtual world. The player needed to complete multiple quests along the way. They could meet friends, buy new objects, visit the Mayor Bumbee, battle monsters and much more. As the user played, their monkey unlocked more lands, discovered more about the legendary Monkey King, and could even become the leader of a tribe.[4]

Tribes[edit]

There were five monkey tribes available:

  • The Chim Foo
  • The Sea Dragons
  • The Ootu Mystics
  • The Ice Raiders

And the fifth and final tribe, the Mek-Tek (Mechanical Technology). This tribe was never playable as the game was shut down before it was released.

Quests[edit]

There were a large number of Quests available throughout the game. There were 4 different kinds of Main Quests could only be done once by every player. As the player leveled up their character, main quests would get more difficult to complete.

Daily Quests[edit]

Daily Quests could be done once a day by any player, regardless of their current level.

Side Quests[edit]

Side Quests - Quests that could be done in addition to the other quest types.

Multiplayer Quests[edit]

Quests that required 2 or more players. Most of these only required 2, but some required 3 players. A Pet could also help in these quests.

Stages[edit]

There were 5 kinds of Quests in Monkey Quest. Each type depended on which section of Ook the player is in.

Why Did Monkey Quest Shut Down
  • Mek-Tek (Mechanical Technology), was never available to begin with, due to the fact that the game was shut down before it was ever released.
  • Sea Dragons
  • Ootu Mystics
  • Chim Foo
  • Ice Raiders

Due to an update, all players (non-members and members) could access trails. This followed the deletion of NC Trail Keys and Guest Passes.

Gameplay[edit]

Controls[edit]

To explore the worlds of Ook, players used the arrow keys on their keyboard. Jumping was controlled by pressing the space bar and pressing the arrow keys whilst jumping allowed the player to jump in that direction. Pressing the space bar then the down arrow whilst in midair made the character do a dive bomb towards the ground. The player could also press either the CTRL key or the X key on their keyboard whilst facing an in-game NPC to either access new quests or obtain various information about Ook and its residents. The game had five equippable hot keys (C, V, B, N, and M) to control weapons, potions, pets and any other items players wished to access quickly.

Currency[edit]

There were two types of currency in Monkey Quest. The main type of currency was bananas, which were commonly earned from quests and could be used at a vendor to buy items, whilst the other currency, NC (Nick Cash) could be bought with real money or could be earned by leveling up and could be used to buy items from the NC mall which was located at the bottom right corner of the screen in Monkey Quest.

Membership[edit]

There were membership plans that allow players to pay real life money for special features in the game such as access to all trails, the ability to join each tribe, along with accessing certain areas only available to paid members.[5]

Games Like Monkey Quest

Possibility of a film adaptation[edit]

In August 2012, Variety reported that Paramount Animation (which like Nickelodeon is owned by Viacom) was in the process of starting development of several animated movies with budgets of around US$100 million. According to Variety, the intellectual property for these films, which is to be supplied by Nickelodeon among others, included Monkey Quest.[6]

Closure[edit]

On August 14, 2014, Nickelodeon announced that after 4 years of operation, Monkey Quest was being shut down permanently on September 26, 2014. Subsequently, every player was given membership for the remaining time of the game. Players were offered refunds for their memberships if they contacted Nickelodeon within a given time before the game shut down. The website was also updated with a closing message on the index page. The Monkey Quest website did not close until January 30, 2016. The game remained open for a month after the announcement, finally closing on the set date, September 26, 2014. After the game's closure, Monkey Quest's website was updated with a new FAQ to help with billing support and inform users about the game's closure. Monkey Quest's site, monkeyquest.com, now redirects to Nickelodeon's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/nickelodeon.

References[edit]

  1. ^ abNickelodeon Enters MMO Games Space with ‘Monkey Quest’. Website. Retrieved on 2009-03-17
  2. ^'Monkey Quest News'. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on March 26, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  3. ^'Monkey Quest'. Nickelodeon. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  4. ^MMOgameingsite Review of Monkey Quest. Website. Retrieved on 2009-03-19
  5. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2013-05-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^Graser, Marc; Kroll, Justin (17 August 2012). 'Paramount ramping up animation slate'. Variety. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monkey_Quest&oldid=936209405'

Kyra Reppen, senior vice president of Nickelodeon's Virtual Worlds Group, tells The Hollywood Reporter that 'Monkey Quest' is 'an online experience that has the look and feel of a console game mixed with cooperative play.'

SAN FRANCISCO, California – Nickelodeon used GDC 2011 as the coming out party for its first entry into the massively multiplayer online (MMO) gaming space. The company unveiled Monkey Quest, a new family-friendly, free-to-play MMO game based on an original property, at a party held at AT&T Park. The game, which encourages players to work together to solve puzzles and partake in challenges, was also available throughout the week at the Unity booth at Moscone Center. Monkey Quest will go live in April.

Nickelodeon has a rich lineup of popular gaming sites, IPs, and virtual worlds. Addicting Games and Shockwave are two of the top gaming destinations online. Addicting Games offers more than 4,369 games and provided over 102 million game plays in December 2010. Shockwave serves more than 1,800 games and provided over 47 million game plays in December 2010. The company also has over a thousand games available on Nick.com.
Neopets and Petpet Park, Nickelodeon’s two established virtual worlds, have a combined 300 mini-games that resulted in more than 1 billion gameplays in 2010 and they attract over 3 million monthly uniques in the U.S. In its 11th year, Neopets continues to be one of the stickiest youth entertainment sites online with over two hours of time spent per visitor each month.
Kyra Reppen, senior vice president and general manager of the Virtual Worlds Group at Nickelodeon Kids and Family, took some time to talk about Monkey Quest and the new SpongeBob MMO game in this exclusive interview.
How is Nickelodeon taking advantage of GDC this week and what role do you see this show playing for Hollywood?
Gaming is becoming another integral way for the entertainment industry to bring their properties to life. For instance, our sister company, Paramount, launched a big initiative for the game tied to the theatrical release of Rango. We have our own slate of original games tied to our original properties, including SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer. The Game Developers Conference is one of the key annual events for the gaming industry. It’s a great place to find out about trends in the industry that can have implications for all of entertainment. We believe this venue provides the ideal opportunity for us to give the gaming media and developers a sneak peek at Monkey Quest before its live release in April.
How have you seen the MMO space evolve in recent years and target a younger demographic?
Shut
Kids were the first audience to make virtual worlds popular with hits like Neopets. Virtual worlds empower kids, encourage creativity and offer ways for them to play together. There are opportunities to evolve gameplay in new worlds and MMOs for this audience by incorporating the different game styles, social features and new stories that kids have told us they want.
How did Monkey Quest come about?
We wanted to create an MMO for kids and families that had relatable characters, compelling stories, humor and adventure. We have spent more than two years working with kids to ensure Monkey Quest offers an experience and gameplay they can appreciate, while adjusting the game based on their feedback.
How will Nickelodeon support this MMO game?
The official launch of Monkey Quest will take place during the Kids' Choice Awards and will be supported by a TV and online marketing campaign. We are also planning events this summer.
What separates this MMO from others targeting kids?
Monkey Quest is a unique virtual world dedicated to kids and gamers alike. It differs from those currently available on the market because it’s an online experience that has the look and feel of a console game mixed with cooperative play. Our team of beta testers, which includes kids, tell us that it’s like playing a console game with rich design and dynamic levels, but with the accessibility of an Internet browser and that it’s unlike any other game they have played.

Did Monkey Quest Reborn Get Shut Down

What business model will this game use and what are your thoughts on the free-to-play/micro-transaction model that most kids MMOs use today?

Why Did Monkey Quest Shut Down Today

Monkey Quest is free to play and offers a hybrid payment model for those who want more ways to play. Players can choose to access premium trails, add virtual goods and accessories through subscriptions and micro-transactions.
How do you see Monkey Quest evolving?
What’s great about Monkey Quest is that the world will grow and evolve with the community. We’ll listen to kids as we have during development and make sure the game continues to be dynamic, fun and entertaining. We are planning to roll out new content and features in the coming months.
What opportunities in film and television do you see for these video game characters?
Right now we’re focused on the launch and introducing the characters across our platforms via marketing on TV and online.
With companies like Disney owning multiple MMO games, do you view Monkey Quest, if successful, as the first of multiple MMO games from Nick?
Why was monkey quest shut down

Monkey Quest 2

As a multi-platform entertainment company, Nickelodeon has a rich history of nurturing, growing and developing popular IPs, online games and virtual worlds for their audience. We’re also in development on a SpongeBob MMO for the Asian market. We will continue to explore opportunities to give our audiences more interactive entertainment, including MMOs.