Moshi Monsters was developed and released by Mind Candy (a UK company) in 2008 and interest in it was slow at first. But by the end of 2009, it had 10 million users. Now, there are over 80 million users globally. I believe that this success can be attributed towards Mind Candy's first mover advantage into a market that did not really cater for young children, who are ever so comfortable with technology, games and the web. It is also built on the idea of 'nurturing' which kids love. 90s kids like me may not have played Moshi Monsters but we will fondly remember caring for the 'aliens' in eggs, Furby, Tamagotchi or even caring for our Neopets (another virtual pet game for slightly older users still up and running today). The communication and social media features of Moshi Monsters also helped it to take off.
In terms of revenues, Moshi Monsters makes half from premium memberships which of course, all the kids want their parents to pay for. The other half comes from merchandise where Mind Candy receives around 15-20% in royalties. Currently, there are 130 licensing deals including one with McDonald's Happy Meals. In March 2013, Mind Candy announced "£250 million of total gross retail", so approximately £37.5-£50 million could be Mind Candy revenue. The last set of results filed were in 2011, where it made £28.7 million in revenues and £7.4 million in profits.
There was talk of a Mind Candy IPO last year aimed at in a few years time. But for now, Moshi Monsters is facing considerable challenges so I believe that until Moshi Monsters can tackle its challenges head on, it shouldn't even consider an IPO.
So if reading about Moshi Monsters makes you slightly confused, then now try to consider Bin Wheevils - Moshi Monsters' arch enemy. Without going into much detail (because I don't really understand the game myself having not played it!), Bin Wheevils, founded in 2008 under Nickelodeon is also a virtual gaming environment allowing kids to create a character (a wheevil-like creature that lives in a bin) and take it around in a virtual city on all kinds of adventures. It has a grimy and slimy undertone to it all, which is why I suppose kids love it. Currently, there are around 20 million users worldwide and 30,000 users are signing up daily. Like Moshi Monsters also, there is a premium membership option and its merchandise are fast filling up in the many aisles of major retailers globally. While it is behind Moshi Monsters in terms of user count, it will prove be far more popular with youngsters in the long term because Bin Wheevils provides a far more entertaining, fun and an interactive and social environment which makes it difficult for users to log off. I have been told by my sister that every time she visits Moshi Monsters, the virtual streets are empty but on Bin Wheevils, the streets are so crowded that she can barely see her character. This tells a story: the truth is that Moshi Monsters has become boring with its limited features and games. Kids are instead turning to Bin Wheevils. It also seems that the Bin Wheevils themselves have more persona and character than the Moshi Monsters. Mind Candy Entertainment is no longer so entertaining.
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| Bin Wheevils: Here to conquer a piece of the market |
Moshi Monster's plan is to go more global - break into the US more and into the Far East as well enter into tablet gaming for children (which will be a challenging venture in itself). It is also hiring game developers for their San Francisco office to launch new games. However, no one at Mind Candy has quite realised that many of their features and the monster characters have become just dull. And dullness in the gaming market is detrimental.
In the next post: I will discuss how Tokyo 2020 will give Japan a much needed economic (and confidence) boost
JH
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