Noggin Opens the Gates to Nogginville

Welcome to Nogginville

Innovative children's learning and streaming platform, Noggin, launches expansive and ever-evolving virtual world for children to explore and build real-life skills

Nogginville

NEW YORK, Dec. 1, 2023 -- Noggin, Nickelodeon's interactive learning platform, announced today the launch of Nogginville, an expansive and ever-evolving interactive world in which kids can apply their Noggin skills in real-world contexts. Inspired by dollhouse play which has proven to be beneficial for early childhood development and learning, Nogginville offers a plethora of interactive environments, customizable characters and mini learning games.

Upon launch, Nogginville offers four exciting locations for children to play in and explore: their in-game home, the food market, the neighborhood pool and the local theater. Within these areas, which are unlocked according to each child's progress, there will be a total of 15 brand-new embedded learning games. Customizable new avatars and versions of beloved Nick Jr. characters will also be available for children to dress up and use to interact with the various virtual environments.

"Nogginville significantly advances Noggin's important focus on personalized learning," said Kristen Kane, Executive Vice President, Noggin. "This unique virtual game world responds to each child's passions and interests, enabling them to learn and apply skills in real-world scenarios."

The addition of Nogginville builds upon its existing customized learning capabilities, including the recently released Special Delivery feature, which provides children with a customized sequence of engaging learning content featuring their favorite characters. Both features have propelled Noggin as a leader and innovator at the intersection of education technology and streaming entertainment.

"Nogginville, Special Delivery, and our other personalized learning features provide a learning experience for children backed by scientific evidence about what works best for children's growth and development," said Kane. "By combining these experiences with the engaging power of Nick Jr. characters and our original content, Noggin has become a 'must-have' learning experience for kids, parents and educators."

About Noggin:

Designed for kids aged 2 to 7, Noggin is Nickelodeon's personalized, interactive learning platform developed by education experts and starring children's favorite Nick Jr. characters. Kids learn important skills for school and life as they play on Noggin – engaging with an ever-expanding library of over 1,000+ learning games, activities, exclusive shorts and e-books. Noggin also includes 2,000+ ad-free episodes of popular series including PAW Patrol, Peppa Pig, and Blue's Clues & You!. Backed by research, Noggin's specialized educational approach is designed to build children's math, literacy, and wellness skills while developing their curiosity and social and emotional learning. Join Noggin today by downloading the app or subscribe at www.noggin.com.

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Stream your favorite Nick Jr. shows on Paramount+ and Noggin! Try Paramount+ for FREE at ParamountPlus.com!

More Nick: Noggin Launches Innovative Personalization Approach through 'Special Delivery'!

Originally published: December 01, 2023.

Nickelodeon press release via PR Newswire; H/T: WIS News 10.

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Noggin To Welcome Preschoolers to Nogginville In December

Nickelodeon's ad-free streaming app for preschoolers is launching its first "world" with games and videos designed to attract two- to seven-year-olds.

Nickelodeon’s Noggin streaming app is looking to make learning more personal and help kids build real-life skills with its new game world Nogginville, which launches in early December, Kidscreen is reporting.

In Nogginville, kids can explore different locales from the Nickelodeon universe, play mini-games and meet their favorite characters. It’s launching with 15 different learning games (shopping for groceries and doing basic math to calculate the total, for example), Nick Jr. characters and avatars, branded locations and videos (some of which will be interactive). And the plan is to eventually expand the offering with additional branded locations and characters, including more Nick IPs and also potentially third-party brands, says Noggin Executive Vice President (EVP) Kristen Kane.

The key goal behind Nogginville is to provide a more personalized learning experience that kids can control themselves, says Kane. Noggin has to compete with numerous kids edutainment SVODs also in the market, plus it has to stand out from other streaming services that carry Nick and Nick Jr. content, like Paramount+ and Pluto TV. As the platform scales, focusing on interactive content, and offering a personalized, walled-garden experience have been identified as important differentiators.

Nogginville’s game world proposition is also similar to hot platforms like Roblox and Minecraft, where kids can explore and guide their own play. But it’s built with an audience of two- to seven-year-olds in mind, which is why it’s a single-player experience that only exists within the app. 

Noggin currently has more than 1,000 educational games, videos and books in its library, and it also streams Nickelodeon series such Dora the Explorer and Blue’s Clues, Noggin originals like Noggin Knows, and third-party acquisitions including JoJo & Gran Gran (BBC Studios Kids & Family/A Productions) and Little Bear (Nelvana). 

Noggin has had success in the past with “dollhouse games” in which kids roleplay real-world skills, such as Peppa Pig: Shopkeeper. But Nogginville takes this immersive practice-makes-perfect experience a significant step further. “We like to call it a little world that helps kids prepare for the big one,” says Kane.

Stream your favorite Nick Jr. shows on Paramount+ and Noggin! Try Paramount+ for FREE at ParamountPlus.com!

More Nick: Noggin Launches Innovative Personalization Approach through 'Special Delivery'!

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Nickverse Opens NickShop; Currently Featuring Young Dylan and Lay Lay's Pop-Up Shop

Head to Nickverse on Roblox and check out the new NickShop for That Girl Lay Lay and Young Dylan looks for the whole family! Grab all the fits from Young Dylan and Lay Lay's Pop-Up Shop before they're gone. How fresh can your family dress? Nickverse, now in beta!

Head to Nickverse on @Roblox to grab these new outfits for the whole family inspired by real fits from @YoungDylan and #ThatGirlLayLay pic.twitter.com/7lEh5wWNLx

— Nickelodeon (@Nickelodeon) November 3, 2022

Stream all your favorite Nickelodeon shows old and new on Paramount+. Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!

More Nick: Nickelodeon Supercharges Its Franchise Strategy With Steady Stream of New Premium Content for 2022-23 Season!

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Nickelodeon Launches 'Nickverse' Virtual World on Roblox

Welcome to the Nickverse!

Paramount Game Studios has launched Nickverse, a brand new Nickelodeon virtual world on Roblox!

Nickverse features characters from beloved Nickelodeon franchises such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Loud House, Danny Phantom, The Fairly OddParents, Henry Danger, Jimmy Neutron and more, and features plenty of Nickelodeon's iconic green slime.

Nickverse feels like a modern-day version of Nickelodeon's MMO, Nicktropolis, which helps with the nostalgia value.

Nickverse is currently in BETA, and can be played at https://www.roblox.com/games/9101252514/Nickverse.

Below is the official description of Nickverse:

Welcome to the Nickverse BETA Launch, for players and fans of all things Nickelodeon! Hang with your favorite characters in iconic locations from SpongeBob SquarePants and the world of Avatar! Visit shops to trade coins for a selection of vehicles, accessories, and more!

🏘 Customize your own house in the Nick Neighborhood!

✳️ Slime your friends with your Slime Blaster!

🏎 Test your speed in a world-crossing racetrack!

🍍Grab your net and go jellyfishing in Bikini Bottom’s Jellyfish Fields!

🪂 Track down Aang and try to beat the clock in a glider race!

Stream all your favorite Nickelodeon shows old and new on Paramount+. Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!

More Nick: Paramount Plus Expands Kids and Family Programming with New Slate of Films and Series from Nickelodeon Studios!

Originally published: March 23, 2022 at 23:55 GMT.

H/T: Vailskibum94.

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Nickelodeon UK Launches "Infinity Islands" Gaming World

Nickelodeon UK & Ireland today announced the launch Infinity Islands, a brand-new virtual gaming world developed in the UK which brings together popular Nickelodeon characters from hit Nickelodeon shows in a theme park setting as they enjoy a well-deserved day out!

To launch with, Infinity Islands features four different islands - Volcano Cove, Forgotten Jungle, Sandy Bay, and Arctic Island. Each island features online games inspired by fan-favourite Nick shows. At launch, kids can play four theme park-inspired games: SpongeBob SquarePants: River Rangers; Game Shakers: Beach Buggy Bash; Henry Danger: Destruction Dodgems, and The Thundermans: Rollercoaster of Doom.

Arctic Island

During each game, kids can collect Orange Tickets, which they can then exchange at the end of each game in the Gift Shop for exclusive virtual goodies, including clothes and wristbands, inspired by the game they've just played. The Gift Shop also gives players the chance to have their photo taken with their favourite Nickelodeon characters and the high score they've just achieved, which will be added to the photo gallery.

SpongeBob SquarePants: River Rangers

New islands and games featuring characters from popular Nick shows such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, The Loud House, School of Rock will be unlocked throughout the summer holidays.

Gift Shop & Photo Booth

Nickelodeon Infinity Islands is available to play now on nick.co.uk/infinity and nicktoons.co.uk/infinity.

More Nick: "School Of Rock" Stars Breanna Yde And Ricardo Hurtado Set For SLIMEFEST 2017 | Nickelodeon UK!

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Nickelodeon's "Monkey Quest" MMO Welcomes The Power Rangers Megaforce To Ook!

Nickelodeon's "Monkey Quest" MMO (massively multiplayer online game) virtual world has announced the Monkey Quest News on their official website, MonkeyQuest.com, and in a Tweet (post) on their official Twitter profile page (@monkeyquest) that, to celebrate Nickelodeon USA (also known as Nick) starting to premiere and show Saban Brands' brand new "Power Rangers" series, "Power Rangers Megaforce", from Saturday 2nd February 2013 at 1pm/12pm C, players of Nickelodeon's "Monkey Quest" can unlock great exclusive limited time only PRM in-game content as part of the online video games' latest update, including the ability to collect five different sets of "Power Rangers" gear and the chance to enter Monkey Quest's "Power Rangers Megaforce" arena!:

Have you heard? http://ow.ly/i/1uNS0 You can collect 5 different sets of Power Rangers Gear in Monkey Quest! Play now: http://ow.ly/hyS0D

Analysis Of Children's Virtual Worlds

From TBI Vision:

Kids Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds have been around in the kids industry for a few years now. Andy Fry investigates which are the most popular sites and how television producers and distributors are working with the likes of Moshi Monsters and Club Penguin to expand their brands.

There’s no standard definition or description for kids virtual worlds. But most of the major brands in the market are based around a mix of social interaction and casual game-play.

The classic example is Club Penguin, launched by Canadian entrepreneur Lane Merrifield and acquired by Disney in 2007.

In this case, children sign up as registered users and take on the form of penguin avatars. They then go to a fantasy world called Penguin Island where they can play games, customise their characters and talk to other kids disguised as penguins. Chat is moderated to ensure there is no kind of anti-social behaviour.

Registered users of Club Penguin, typically aged 6-12 with a slight skew towards girls, can get a basic entertainment experience for free. But if they want the complete experience they have to pay a subscription fee of $6-8 per month.

The difference says Club Penguin spokesperson Nicola Miller, is that members can customise their world much more comprehensively: “They can use virtual coins they earn by playing games to change their penguin’s look or decorate their igloos more than non-members. There are also special events that only members are entitled to go to. An example is the Halloween Party, when the look of the site changes totally.”

Club Penguin’s headline stats suggest that the site has 175 million registered users in 190 countries, up from around 12 million at the time of the purchase. This is good growth, but more important is the number who choose to pay. Disney is coy, but analysts estimate it is around 5-10% of users.

This is about the same as when Disney bought the site and there is evidence that the company was hoping to increase the conversion rate by now. Back in 2007, Disney agreed to pay US$700 million for Club Penguin if it hit certain profit targets by 2010. But it failed to do so, meaning the deal value dropped to US$350 million, a saving for Disney, but an indicator of how hard it is to get punters to cough up cash.

Disney has responded by trying to leverage the other assets within the parent group. Marvel Super Hero Takeover, for example, was a special event which allowed Club Penguin players to dress as their favourite Marvel Super Heroes or Super Villains and the event was the most trafficked in Club Penguin’s history, logging 20 million play sessions across 200 countries. Players spent over one billion virtual coins on Marvel gear.

When Disney bought Club Penguin, it triggered a rush of virtual world launches, with an estimated 200 up and running by 2009. But within two years, the difficulty of converting kids and parents into purchasers, combined with the cost of moderation and refreshing content, led to numerous closures and mergers.

One site that survived and is thriving is Mind Candy’s Moshi Monsters, which launched in 2007 and now has 65 million registered users in 150 countries. Like Club Penguin, Moshi makes money from subscribers, most of who are in a similar age bracket to its Disney rival. Like Disney, it doesn’t reveal what proportion of the user base pays, but Mind Candy founder and CEO Michael Acton Smith says the company is “very profitable”. Last year, analysts tagged the value of the company at US$200 million, since when it has grown considerably.

While Club Penguin sees kids become Penguins, Moshi involves kids (65% girls) choosing monster pets then nurturing them, customising them and personalising their world. As with Club Penguin, there’s interaction and games, the latter providing the currency for kids to pay for personalisation. Acton Smith calls it as “a cross between Tamagotchi and Facebook for kids”.

Of the two, Mind Candy has pushed more aggressively into merchandising, with around 100 Moshi licences ranging from plush toys to birthday cakes available via major retailers. This activity, which also includes a best-selling monthly magazine, is estimated to be worth around US$100 million at retail.

One reason that Moshi seems to have done better than others in L&M is that it has created a stronger set of star characters. While Club Penguin also has a central cast of returning characters, the fact that Moshi activity revolves around six main monsters, and a supporting cast known as The Moshlings, has created the centre of gravity to build a consumer products programme.

It has also acted as the foundation for expansion into other platforms. Last year saw the launch of Moshi TV, an online channel designed to be the home of short animations based on the Moshi Monsters world (see box). There are also IOS platform games.

In a similar camp to Club Penguin and Moshi Monsters is Habbo, launched by Finland’s Sulake Corporation in 2000. It has about 230 million registered users across 11 language sites in 150 countries.

Habbo CEO Paul LaFontaine says Habbo differs from the other sites in a number of ways, starting with the fact that it is targeted at an older age-group: “We mainly cater for 13-16 year-olds who want socialise in a safe space. Because of the age group, our emphasis is more towards social interaction than gaming,” he says.

With its older age group, Habbo is also able to run a different business model. Instead of subscription, “95% of our income is from the sale of virtual items which users buy to customise their avatar or their rooms,” LaFontaine says. “The remainder mainly comes from areas like in-game advertising. We’ve worked with brands that will create virtual versions of their products for the site.”

It has been a challenging year for Habbo, which was the subject of scrutiny by Channel 4 News in the UK over significant lapses in moderation. As a result, the site closed down its chat functionality while it tightened up its security procedures. Now, though, chat is back and there are signs that the site has ridden out the storm. These include the launch of a Turkish version and “explosive growth in Latin America,” says LaFontaine.

But it isn’t easy, he continues. “It takes a unique set of skills to manage such an open ended proposition,” he explains. “Running Habbo is like governing a virtual online nation.”

Arguably, Habbo is dealing with the toughest of all age-groups, since it is dealing with kids that are looking to challenge parental authority and test the outer edges of legally-permitted behaviour. At the same time, it is beginning to crossover with more mainstream social media. In developed markets most kids are already on Facebook and Xbox by this age, giving them alternative means of peer interaction.

Nevertheless, LaFontaine is optimistic about the future for the model, saying that Habbo’s focus on ID anonymity for teens makes it unique among virtual worlds in the West.

Asia has also seen a virtual world boom in the last decade. One of the leading players is China’s Taomee Holdings, which has 43 million kids playing in its virtual worlds, according to chief financial officer Paul Keung. “Our most popular worlds are Mole’s World and Seer. The first is based around moles, the second is about robots exploring distant galaxies.”

According to Keung, kids don't have to spend anything to play games but around 9% pay a small monthly subscription. Unlike Western sites, Taomee's are closely monitored in terms of playing time. “Sites switch off at midnight. There are also limits on how long kids can play for.”

Significantly, Taomee's sites have spawned spin-offs, with Mole's World and Seer both being turned into books, movies, magazines, events, mobile Apps and two seasons of animation. There has also been expansion into Taiwan. Deals for Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia are also in place: “We've been genuinely surprised by the success of the sites,” says Keung.

Players outside the core demo of 7-12 are getting involved. “We really think the world of Seer is something that people might play their whole lives. There’s great spin-off potential because it is about so many galaxies,” Keung adds.

The sites mentioned above were all independent start-ups with no previous brand history. But the fact that Disney acquired Club Penguin shows that the big studios are keen to be involved in this space. The strategic question for these big IP-owning companies, however, is whether to launch brand new concepts or utilise their existing content assets.

Back at Disney, for example, Miller points to Superbia as an alternative way of approaching the space: “With Superbia, you can create and personalise an avatar, but it isn’t based around interaction with other kids. Instead, it’s about connecting with Disney shows like ANT Farm, Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana. Kids can play games decorate their rooms in the style of characters and find out information about shows.”

Turner Broadcasting’s Cartoon Network, meanwhile, has FusionFall, a concept that allows users to take on the form of an avatar and then play a sci-fi-style adventure game alongside popular Cartoon Network characters like Dexter and Ben 10.

Viacom-owned Nickelodeon has tried all kinds of variants over the last decade. In 2000 [2005], it acquired Neopets for US$160 million. Now available in ten language versions, the site allows kids to own virtual pets and buy them items with virtual money. This money can be earned by playing games or it can be bought with real-world currency. Much more recently (2011), the company launched Monkey Quest, a virtual world set in the land of Ook. Using the familiar formula, users can play a basic set of games for free or pay a subscription which will allow them to interact with other users and go on quests.

The rollout of Monkey Quest has been spearheaded by Nickelodeon senior VP Kyra Reppen who, at launch, said that the site was intended to offer younger audiences the kind of sophisticated gameplay and collaborative approach usually found in adult virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft.

At the same time, the goal was to provide more of a console-style gaming experience, reflecting the growing influence of platforms like XBox and Playstation.

It’s still early days for Monkey Quest, but by utilising its other channels for promotional purposes the company has managed to attract more then 10 million registered users. It has also started building the brand out across other channels, with a mobile app called Monkey Quest: Thunderbow. There are also rumours that sister company Paramount Pictures is making a Monkey Quest movie, though speculation about a TV spin-off has so far attracted a negative response from Reppen.

Strictly speaking, you could argue that the absence of peer-to-peer social interaction disqualifies sites like Superbia and FusionFall from being “virtual worlds”. But there’s no question that the combination of avatar customisation plus game-play (without moderated social interaction) is an important area.

One reason for this, says Kindle Entertainment’s Anne Brogan, is that sites based around established TV or film characters have a different narrative dynamic. “We are working with Plug-In Media on a 3D online game for our children’s animated series Leonardo (based on the life of Da Vinci). In this environment, the goal is to upgrade Leonardo’s vehicle designs in order to finish games faster. This focus on the relationship with Leonardo is different from a site where the emphasis is more on the narrative that is developed between the children.”

There’s also a commercial angle, adds Zinkia’s MD of brands and business Maria Doolan: “We launched a virtual world for our preschool title Pocoyo when the market was buoyant. It has been a great brand-building platform for us but they are expensive and time-consuming to run. In the current climate, I can’t see companies outside the big studios going this route, particularly now there are established brands.”

It’s not just the fact that virtual worlds are expensive to run, adds Doolan, but there’s also the fact that content owners now have the option of going down the mobile app route instead.

While there’s also a cost consideration with apps, properties like Capcom’s Smurf Village have generated huge revenues from virtual product sales without needing to go social. Other big brands are moving this way too. Interactive entertainment company Ludia and Universal Partnerships & Licensing have just launched the Jurassic Park Builder game app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Based on the film franchise, players build their own Jurassic Park from the ground up, covering everything from building roads to breeding species. In addition to the basic mechanic, there’s multi-player gameplay and built-in social features, the ability to visit, help and gift friends.

As this market expands, properties associated with the internet like Zynga’s Farmville have struggled to keep up their momentum. According to research firm AppData, the number of people who play FarmVille each month peaked in January with 34 million people. At last count it was down to 18 million although it hopes to reverse that trend with Farmville 2.

High-profile casualties that show how tough the online virtual world market has become include Lego Universe, which was shut down earlier this year. Explaining its rationale, Lego says: “We didn’t do this lightly – it was a big decision and one we simply had to take eventually as after one year the game has nowhere near as many subscribers as we needed to be able to keep it running. We thought about (keeping the game running without adding new stuff), but pretty soon (users) would have been bored playing in the same areas again and again.”

Saban Brands president Elie Dekel has one of the great kids brands in the shape of Power Rangers, but he too believes the classic virtual world play is now a tough one. “Kids want to dive deeper into brands they love, but a virtual world is not always the right approach. They’re content hungry operations that involve a lot of time and effort to build and sustain.”

Dekel says the Power Rangers brand over-indexes in digital and has enough content assets to work well in that space. But instead of a virtual world, Saban’s approach has been to partner with Nick, the broadcaster of its series. “Kids who want more of Power Rangers go into the Nick Clubhouse where there are dedicated portals, which provide interactive content based around the network’s leading shows. I think the message in the market right now is that you don’t need a virtual world infrastructure to build out a brand, established or otherwise. You can do it as efficiently but more cheaply in other ways.”

Nickelodeon's "Monkey Quest" MMO Welcomes The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles To Ook!

Nickelodeon's "Monkey Quest" MMO (massively multiplayer online game) virtual world has announced on the 'News' area of the official "Monkey Quest" website, MonkeyQuest.com, that, to celebrate Nickelodeon USA starting to premiere and show Nickelodeon's brand new CGI-animated "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" television series from Saturday, September 29, 2012, players of Nickelodeon's "Monkey Quest" can unlock great exclusive limited time only "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in-game content as part of the online video games' latest update (9/26)!:

9/26 Game Update! Battle Pets, Turtles & Dailies

September 27th 2012

This update is so exciting we're not sure what to share first! This update included:

NEW!

[...]

Limited Time Only! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Daily Monument in Crossroads Path

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And:

Great New Reasons to Log In Every Day!

September 27th 2012

New in Ook

This month's game update has tons of new reasons to come back every day! Here are the highlights:

[...]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are Surfacing
Visit the Turtle Power Monument in Crossroads Path three days in a row to get special limited time only TMNT Gear! Don't miss out.

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Extra tags: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo