Spil Games said today it is adding Disney’s Club Penguin kids virtual world to the collection of games accessible via its online gaming portals. This move will extend Club Penguin’s reach to popular game portals in France, Brazil and the UK., and it essentially means Disney is giving its blessing to the fast-growing casual web games market.
Based in Hliversum, Netherlands, Spil Games is the parent of more than 50 casual game portals with 4,000 games; collectively those portals draw more than 100 million unique visitors a month. It has such a big following that even huge sites such as Club Penguin are seeking out new users by making themselves accessible on Spil Games.
Club Penguin will now be available on French site jeu.fr, Brazilian portal ojogos.com.br, British tween (older kids) site mygames.co.uk, and American tween portal agame.com.Yes, we’ve come to the age where we have game portals within game portals. It means that companies are no longer religious about where they’re getting their gamers from; they want to find them wherever they are, even if that means sharing them with rivals.
Club Penguin itself is a virtual world with a snow-covered theme. Kids can gather there, interact with friends, explore and play games. Disney bought Club Penguin, which launched three and a half years ago, for cash and bonuses that could potentially add up to $700 million. Spil Games has more than 50 casual game portals in 20 languages worldwide.
In related news, SuperSecret, another kids virtual world, said its site will be available via Spil Games portals as well.