bopper
Which way to the Hundred Acre Woods
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2004
LA Times Story
- Thread starter bopper
- Start date
Disneychick74
AKA "Blue" or "Miss Blue"
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2006
"At Disney, we'd rather do anything in the world than disappoint a guest," said John Spelich, a Disney Internet Group spokesman. "But we hope our VMK players will choose to sample some of the other ways to engage with Disney online through disney.com or through virtual worlds."
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When is Disney going to realize ITS NOT ABOUT THE GAME!!???
It is about the PEOPLE, the sense of COMMUNITY.
I don't want to "Engage with Disney" I WANT to engage with my FRIENDS that I have had for nearly 3 years and now can't ever talk to again!
I play toontown already, It is nothing like VMK because of the user interaction.
ITS NOT THE GAME!
---------------
When is Disney going to realize ITS NOT ABOUT THE GAME!!???
It is about the PEOPLE, the sense of COMMUNITY.
I don't want to "Engage with Disney" I WANT to engage with my FRIENDS that I have had for nearly 3 years and now can't ever talk to again!
I play toontown already, It is nothing like VMK because of the user interaction.
ITS NOT THE GAME!
NeonSunrise
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2008
This story mentioning our dear PrincessMadiro breaks my heart.
Unfortunately, I do not think this will be relalized. I think when you have a mind set on money, your heart is not affected.
Unfortunately, I do not think this will be relalized. I think when you have a mind set on money, your heart is not affected.
cteddiesgirl
<font color=deeppink>Not invisible to the Tag Fair
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2005
That is so true. They just have never gotten it. And at this point, I don't think they ever will.
disvaclub92
Always dreaming about Disney
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2000
Thanks to Dawn for writing this story. Thanks to Annette and Madison for sharing your heart and love for VMK with Dawn to spread the word.
Just a few comments:
"It never achieved scale," Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group, said in response to questions last month at the EconSM conference. "It was promotional. There was no business model attached to it. It had a small but passionate audience."
This proves what I stated initially at the time the announcement was made, they had no idea what revenue was made from this game.
"Industry executives who have talked to Disney said the company wants to relocate the loyal users of Virtual Magic Kingdom to its other online worlds before they grow bored with the theme-park game."
I don't recall being asked what I wanted to do. If that was the game plan, why shut down VMK so quickly?
"Others speculated that Disney wasn't interested in nurturing a cyber-world that wasn't invented in Burbank. The Virtual Magic Kingdom was built, developed and maintained by Sulake Corp., best known as the creator of the two-dimensional Habbo Hotel."
With all the new items that were created and recently released, you can tell that Sulake had plans for our future. Wonder if Sulake will take the knowledge from developing, building VMK and make something for the community that will so miss VMK, but just not ready or willing to venture into Habbo. There is only hope.
Just a few comments:
"It never achieved scale," Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group, said in response to questions last month at the EconSM conference. "It was promotional. There was no business model attached to it. It had a small but passionate audience."
This proves what I stated initially at the time the announcement was made, they had no idea what revenue was made from this game.
"Industry executives who have talked to Disney said the company wants to relocate the loyal users of Virtual Magic Kingdom to its other online worlds before they grow bored with the theme-park game."
I don't recall being asked what I wanted to do. If that was the game plan, why shut down VMK so quickly?
"Others speculated that Disney wasn't interested in nurturing a cyber-world that wasn't invented in Burbank. The Virtual Magic Kingdom was built, developed and maintained by Sulake Corp., best known as the creator of the two-dimensional Habbo Hotel."
With all the new items that were created and recently released, you can tell that Sulake had plans for our future. Wonder if Sulake will take the knowledge from developing, building VMK and make something for the community that will so miss VMK, but just not ready or willing to venture into Habbo. There is only hope.
Well I think that clears any doubt up about what and why.
I will not hold this against Disney in general, but they wont see me in another game. I am pretty much done with the internet group portion of Disney, anything that falls under Mr. Wadsworth, cant believe i grovelled to him in a video @_@ Any game need a creative, supportive, cheer leading, rapping, moderating, metal screaming, podcasting, movie making, loyal fan, with experience?
ETA: for the record, I never even got a form letter for my email and video sent to Mr. Wadsworth. Or the other few people who were cc'ed on it. sigh
maybe they just missed it? Heres there chance to view it again @_@
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpu_xatiUo0
I will not hold this against Disney in general, but they wont see me in another game. I am pretty much done with the internet group portion of Disney, anything that falls under Mr. Wadsworth, cant believe i grovelled to him in a video @_@ Any game need a creative, supportive, cheer leading, rapping, moderating, metal screaming, podcasting, movie making, loyal fan, with experience?
ETA: for the record, I never even got a form letter for my email and video sent to Mr. Wadsworth. Or the other few people who were cc'ed on it. sigh
maybe they just missed it? Heres there chance to view it again @_@
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpu_xatiUo0
Fonna
Fonna
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2005
Well I think that clears any doubt up about what and why.
I will not hold this against Disney in general, but they wont see me in another game. I am pretty much done with the internet group portion of Disney, anything that falls under Mr. Wadsworth, cant believe i grovelled to him in a video @_@ Any game need a creative, supportive, cheer leading, rapping, moderating, metal screaming, podcasting, movie making, loyal fan, with experience?
ETA: for the record, I never even got a form letter for my email and video sent to Mr. Wadsworth. Or the other few people who were cc'ed on it. sigh
maybe they just missed it? Heres there chance to view it again @_@
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hpu_xatiUo0
These are my feelings too. I know there will be a dark cloud over a all things Disney for a while but i don't think Disney as a whole is to blame for this fiasco.
That said - I will NEVER play another Disney game.(I don't know if i will make this level of emotional investment in any game but certainly NEVER a Disney one, for sure). If i know anyone even considering one i will be sure to warn them off all I can. I hope DIG falls on their faces after this one. They will not see a dime of my money.
I wish anyone that has been hurt by losing VMK and pays for another Disney game cancels their subscriptions.
aengus' post pretty much sums up my feelings.
I love all things Disney and my being at-odds with the Corporation is beyond the closing of our beloved game.
Originally I was pretty ticked at Robert Iger, but then after a little research and a conversation with somebody who knows first-hand, I came to my senses and admitted that Mr Iger does not make all of the decisions for the entire company. There are so many Presidents, Vice Presidents and Officers in Disney Corporation it is ridiculous. Until he started receiving letters from those of us who are unhappy about this change, it is VERY highly likely that Mr Iger was not even aware of what a "VMK" was. He sure knows now, doesn't he?
As for S. Wadsworth, he was aware of the decision he was making but he never understood what it had become. He was closing it for financial reasons only - never took the time to realize what VMK really is and the potential it held. I find this as proof that this was a hasty decision and that no true analysys went into the decision to close the game. If he truly analyzed VMK for what it is and the potential of what it could become for Disney Corp, he may not have made the decision he did. Sulake obviously realized it. The new items are proof of that.
For Madison, Annette and all others that have helped the fight to save our community - THANK YOU!
mir4mad
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2007
Taken from the La Times;
"Disney insiders said the decision came down to a question of resources. Should the company maintain Virtual Magic Kingdom, which peaked at about 1 million users, or invest in a richer portfolio of online worlds that incorporate advanced graphics and storytelling and appeal to a broader audience?
Nonetheless, they said the decision was as painful as closing a classic ride at a real-world amusement park and that Disney was considering ways to allow community members to stay in touch.
"At Disney, we'd rather do anything in the world than disappoint a guest," said John Spelich, a Disney Internet Group spokesman. "But we hope our VMK players will choose to sample some of the other ways to engage with Disney online through disney.com or through virtual worlds."
This was my response to WDIG:
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Guess what? You are disappointing a guest that just visited WDW and believes in the magic of disney.
Disney NEVER gave VMK players the option to pay to play. There is and never will be an online game like VMK. It's like being in the disney parks every day. You can't recreate or replace that. You are a real person on VMK- not a penguin, toon, pirate, car or fairy. It's not game/task oriented. You can use your imagination like no other game. Believe me we have tried them all.
You can create as many avatars as you want right now on the Fairies site- there is nothing else to do there. That's not a fair assessment of it's popularity. My daughter has been on it, created a few fairies, got bored and has not gone back.
Some of the other disney games promote violence, fighting, killing, destroying and gambling. There is enough of that in the real world.VMK is a safe, family, friendly online world.
Many VMK users are kids- kids who don't have a voice. Kids who go to VMK to escape their day to day lives;to bring some magic into it and give them the courage to face their troubles. Kids who can meet up with a friend because they can't in real life because of illnesses and disabilities. Kids who can play with their mom, dad, siblings and aunts etc. who are near or far. These kids have feelings & are are hurting right now. How can disney do this to these kids?
I've bought every e-toy and paid for every online world that has come out in the last year for my daughter trying to keep her happy. Because of a disease called spinal muscular atrophy she can not move very well and the only activity she can do by herself is the computer. When she has free time that is what she loves to do. VMK has been her playground, her canvas, her school. It's more than a game- it's a community of amazing friends. My daughter has cried over and over. Please disney just give me the real reason you are shutting my daughter out from her friends and her family?
How can you sleep at night? because I have one child who can't and may NEVER get over this loss! This loss is REAL!
When I saw princessmadiro playing with the carnival games today i just about lost it. You guys have NO IDEA how much this little girl would LOVE to be able to play a carnival game in real life. We try to do them all the time at fairs and amusement parks (cause there aren't any rides she can go on). I've even bought toys that were carnival type toys and computer games. But it still is too difficult for her to actually do these herself. The creators of this wonderful game VMK have AGAIN enabled my little sweetheart to do the impossible! They made it so simple for her to play. What joy that brings to a mom- to see so many "firsts"! Building her own gingerbread house was another HUGE "first" for princess. We have a tradition of making a gingerbread house every christmas but princess can't fully participate in building it. ( We even bought one in disney 2 years ago when we were there at christmas) She got to do that on VMK for the "first" time herself. THANK YOU VMK for adding quality to her life- quality the doctors told me she would never have!
"Disney insiders said the decision came down to a question of resources. Should the company maintain Virtual Magic Kingdom, which peaked at about 1 million users, or invest in a richer portfolio of online worlds that incorporate advanced graphics and storytelling and appeal to a broader audience?
Nonetheless, they said the decision was as painful as closing a classic ride at a real-world amusement park and that Disney was considering ways to allow community members to stay in touch.
"At Disney, we'd rather do anything in the world than disappoint a guest," said John Spelich, a Disney Internet Group spokesman. "But we hope our VMK players will choose to sample some of the other ways to engage with Disney online through disney.com or through virtual worlds."
This was my response to WDIG:
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Guess what? You are disappointing a guest that just visited WDW and believes in the magic of disney.
Disney NEVER gave VMK players the option to pay to play. There is and never will be an online game like VMK. It's like being in the disney parks every day. You can't recreate or replace that. You are a real person on VMK- not a penguin, toon, pirate, car or fairy. It's not game/task oriented. You can use your imagination like no other game. Believe me we have tried them all.
You can create as many avatars as you want right now on the Fairies site- there is nothing else to do there. That's not a fair assessment of it's popularity. My daughter has been on it, created a few fairies, got bored and has not gone back.
Some of the other disney games promote violence, fighting, killing, destroying and gambling. There is enough of that in the real world.VMK is a safe, family, friendly online world.
Many VMK users are kids- kids who don't have a voice. Kids who go to VMK to escape their day to day lives;to bring some magic into it and give them the courage to face their troubles. Kids who can meet up with a friend because they can't in real life because of illnesses and disabilities. Kids who can play with their mom, dad, siblings and aunts etc. who are near or far. These kids have feelings & are are hurting right now. How can disney do this to these kids?
I've bought every e-toy and paid for every online world that has come out in the last year for my daughter trying to keep her happy. Because of a disease called spinal muscular atrophy she can not move very well and the only activity she can do by herself is the computer. When she has free time that is what she loves to do. VMK has been her playground, her canvas, her school. It's more than a game- it's a community of amazing friends. My daughter has cried over and over. Please disney just give me the real reason you are shutting my daughter out from her friends and her family?
How can you sleep at night? because I have one child who can't and may NEVER get over this loss! This loss is REAL!
When I saw princessmadiro playing with the carnival games today i just about lost it. You guys have NO IDEA how much this little girl would LOVE to be able to play a carnival game in real life. We try to do them all the time at fairs and amusement parks (cause there aren't any rides she can go on). I've even bought toys that were carnival type toys and computer games. But it still is too difficult for her to actually do these herself. The creators of this wonderful game VMK have AGAIN enabled my little sweetheart to do the impossible! They made it so simple for her to play. What joy that brings to a mom- to see so many "firsts"! Building her own gingerbread house was another HUGE "first" for princess. We have a tradition of making a gingerbread house every christmas but princess can't fully participate in building it. ( We even bought one in disney 2 years ago when we were there at christmas) She got to do that on VMK for the "first" time herself. THANK YOU VMK for adding quality to her life- quality the doctors told me she would never have!
cteddiesgirl
<font color=deeppink>Not invisible to the Tag Fair
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2005
Taken from the La Times;
"Disney insiders said the decision came down to a question of resources. Should the company maintain Virtual Magic Kingdom, which peaked at about 1 million users, or invest in a richer portfolio of online worlds that incorporate advanced graphics and storytelling and appeal to a broader audience?
Nonetheless, they said the decision was as painful as closing a classic ride at a real-world amusement park and that Disney was considering ways to allow community members to stay in touch.
"At Disney, we'd rather do anything in the world than disappoint a guest," said John Spelich, a Disney Internet Group spokesman. "But we hope our VMK players will choose to sample some of the other ways to engage with Disney online through disney.com or through virtual worlds."
This was my response to WDIG:
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Guess what? You are disappointing a guest that just visited WDW and believes in the magic of disney.
Disney NEVER gave VMK players the option to pay to play. There is and never will be an online game like VMK. It's like being in the disney parks every day. You can't recreate or replace that. You are a real person on VMK- not a penguin, toon, pirate, car or fairy. It's not game/task oriented. You can use your imagination like no other game. Believe me we have tried them all.
You can create as many avatars as you want right now on the Fairies site- there is nothing else to do there. That's not a fair assessment of it's popularity. My daughter has been on it, created a few fairies, got bored and has not gone back.
Some of the other disney games promote violence, fighting, killing, destroying and gambling. There is enough of that in the real world.VMK is a safe, family, friendly online world.
Many VMK users are kids- kids who don't have a voice. Kids who go to VMK to escape their day to day lives;to bring some magic into it and give them the courage to face their troubles. Kids who can meet up with a friend because they can't in real life because of illnesses and disabilities. Kids who can play with their mom, dad, siblings and aunts etc. who are near or far. These kids have feelings & are are hurting right now. How can disney do this to these kids?
I've bought every e-toy and paid for every online world that has come out in the last year for my daughter trying to keep her happy. Because of a disease called spinal muscular atrophy she can not move very well and the only activity she can do by herself is the computer. When she has free time that is what she loves to do. VMK has been her playground, her canvas, her school. It's more than a game- it's a community of amazing friends. My daughter has cried over and over. Please disney just give me the real reason you are shutting my daughter out from her friends and her family?
How can you sleep at night? because I have one child who can't and may NEVER get over this loss! This loss is REAL!
When I saw princessmadiro playing with the carnival games today i just about lost it. You guys have NO IDEA how much this little girl would LOVE to be able to play a carnival game in real life. We try to do them all the time at fairs and amusement parks (cause there aren't any rides she can go on). I've even bought toys that were carnival type toys and computer games. But it still is too difficult for her to actually do these herself. The creators of this wonderful game VMK have AGAIN enabled my little sweetheart to do the impossible! They made it so simple for her to play. What joy that brings to a mom- to see so many "firsts"! Building her own gingerbread house was another HUGE "first" for princess. We have a tradition of making a gingerbread house every christmas but princess can't fully participate in building it. ( We even bought one in disney 2 years ago when we were there at christmas) She got to do that on VMK for the "first" time herself. THANK YOU VMK for adding quality to her life- quality the doctors told me she would never have!
As others have said, I will never play another Disney Online game. The only game of theirs I'm interested in is VMK and I will not be interested in anything else they offer from now on. I would have happily paid to play VMK if they asked for it. I have now migrated to Gaia and have already spent quite a bit of real money to get my character set up with special stuff. Heck, Disney could have gone the same route as Gaia. Free to play, but you can spend money to buy special items as well as real life items like t-shirts and other things. Shame they didn't think to go this way.
I will also be checking out the "new" game in the coming days.
Disney is completely dropping the ball on this one.
Halloweenqueen
Whenever Candle Lights Flicker...
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2007
I wrote a comment. Hope it gets posted.
SnowWtch
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
I had actually started doing Gaia back in October and Neopets a few months ago just to give me something else to do. So, while I am sad that VMK is leaving at least I'm already established someplace else to make it easier. VMK isn't the only thing I'm going to miss. I'm going to miss those in park quests. DH and I had a blast doing them. If VMK had gone the way of Gaia I would have gladly stayed around. I wouldn't pay for any Disney online things right now b/c I just don't trust that they're going to stick around either but the almighty dollar will tell us what will be there in the future.
disvaclub92
Always dreaming about Disney
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2000
Please add some of your comments on the site. There are only 3 so far.
disvaclub92
Always dreaming about Disney
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2000
Bumping for those who may have missed this!
disvaclub92
Always dreaming about Disney
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2000
Bumping for people who may have missed it.
MomsGoneGoofy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 10, 2004
Well I have never been so disappointed in Disney. I know my disappointment should be directed at the Disney internet Group but I find it difficult to believe that this issue is not known to the whole Disney Corportion given the media coverage.
- Quote from LA Times article
"It never achieved scale," Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group, said in response to questions last month at the EconSM conference. "It was promotional. There was no business model attached to it. It had a small but passionate audience." -
VMK may never have achieved scale due to the lack of advertisement. I would like to believe if VMK was given the same resources as their other online games it could have drawn a larger player base.
- Quote from LA Times article
"It never achieved scale," Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group, said in response to questions last month at the EconSM conference. "It was promotional. There was no business model attached to it. It had a small but passionate audience." -
VMK may never have achieved scale due to the lack of advertisement. I would like to believe if VMK was given the same resources as their other online games it could have drawn a larger player base.
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