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Club Penguin Gets More Social with Debut of New Features
The #1 Virtual World for Kids Debuts New Chat and Friends Systems Designed to Make Communicating and Playing in Club Penguin Easier and Safer
BURBANK, Calif., Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Disney's Club Penguin (clubpenguin.com), the #1 virtual world for kids with more than 150 million registered players, today introduced new Chat and Friends tools. With these new tools, which will begin to roll out today and be available for all users in the coming weeks, Club Penguin has completely overhauled its in-world communications tools, and designed systems to create a safer and more social experience for kids online.
The new Chat system allows kids to communicate faster more efficiently by automatically completing words and phrases as they type. The patent-pending system was developed by a team of Disney computational linguists, producers and engineers, and represents one of the safest and most advanced Chat technologies for kids. It incorporates six years of learning from player behavior in Club Penguin, and includes a database of nearly 300,000 approved phrases in each of the virtual world's four supported languages globally. Chat has become one of the most popular features in Club Penguin, and each day millions of kids exchange more than 56 million Chat messages.
The enhanced Friends functionality allows players to better organize, find, and visit their penguin friends. The new features change the way kids connect with one another in the virtual world by allowing them to choose best friends and add new friends by searching for specific penguin names. Each player is also now represented with a personalized penguin avatar in the friends list, rather than just their penguin names. Additionally, in the coming weeks, Club Penguin will launch a "jump" feature that allows kids to easily travel to the location of their penguin friends.
"We've added powerful social networking technologies to the biggest online world for kids, making it much easier for kids to find and connect with each other in Club Penguin," said Lane Merrifield, co-founder of Club Penguin and executive vice president of Disney Online Studios. "The new Friends and Chat systems are the most significant enhancements we've ever made to Club Penguin and we're just getting started."
More details on the new Club Penguin features follow:
NEW CHAT SYSTEM MAKES COMMUNICATING EASIER, MORE EXPRESSIVE
-- CHAT SYSTEM THAT FILLS IN THE BLANKS--The new Chat utilizes a
proprietary algorithm that enables players to type only part of a phrase
or sentence and have the anticipated phrase automatically completed,
word-by-word as the player types.
-- HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PHRASES --Club Penguin worked with
computational linguists to design this program as an easy and safe way
for kids to communicate. The program currently encompasses nearly
300,000 approved phrases, which have been identified based on six years
of Chat history in Club Penguin.
-- CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO SAFETY -- The new Chat evolves Club Penguin's
screening technology from one based on pre-approved and banned words to
a system built on pre-approved phrases. Because every phrase used in
the new Chat system has been previously screened and pre-approved, it's
designed to give kids the ability to easily communicate, but not share
any personal information or abusive language.
-- MULTI-LINGUAL - The enhanced Chat functionality has been translated
across four languages making it accessible to Club Penguin's global
audience. The new Chat is available in English, French, Portuguese, and
Spanish.
FRIENDS LIST BECOMES MORE PERSONALIZED
-- FULLY CUSTOMIZED PENGUIN AVATARS--Until now, the "Friends" lists in Club
Penguin featured penguin names only. Now fully customized penguin
avatars and backgrounds will represent each friend on players' lists,
and these customized penguins will appear transparent to denote that a
friend is currently offline. Additionally, a cleaner user interface
will allow players to more easily organize and locate friends.
-- TAG YOUR FAVORITE PENGUINS AS BEST FRIENDS--Friends who are communicated
with most frequently, based on friends who you jump to play with, send a
postcard to, visit their igloo, and stampbook with most frequently will
appear at the top of the list. Penguins will also be able to tag fellow
penguins as "best friends" so they appear on top of their lists. Once a
penguin has exceeded 10 friends, they will be able to tag "best
friends."
-- BETTER TOOLS FOR LOCATING FRIENDS AT CLUB PENGUIN HOT SPOTS -- A new and
improved Friends interface will allow players to instantly locate where
their friends are in world so they can easily meet up with them,
regardless of which server they are using.
-- ADDING NEW FRIENDS HAS BEEN SIMPLIFIED--Players just need to enter
another penguin's name into the search box and send a friend request.
-- ELIMINATE PENGUINS FROM YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN--The Friends list now
contains an icon that empowers kids to "turn off" players they don't
want to be contacted by or interact with in Club Penguin. These players
can now be completely hidden from a player's screen, which offers
increased protection for players.
"JUMPING" TO LOCATIONS IN-WORLD
-- TRAVEL OR "JUMP" WITHIN THE WORLD IS MORE FUN AND IMMERSIVE--Images of
penguins jumping into box will appear on screen to showcase their
journey to meet up with friends in other locations.
-- "JUMP" TO FAMOUS PENGUINS --Club Penguin is making it easier to discover
and visit the "Famous Penguins" of the island, such as Captain
Rockhopper and Aunt Arctic. When the Famous Penguins visit the world,
players will be alerted at random to their whereabouts so they will have
the opportunity to "jump" to them to enjoy this unique experience.
About Club Penguin
Club Penguin (http://www.clubpenguin.com), a product of Disney Online Studios, is the #1 virtual world for children. Club Penguin works to maintain a fun and safe online entertainment experience by using filtering technology and live moderators. The award-winning virtual world of Club Penguin contains no third-party advertising and is free to use and enjoy, however a subscription membership provides access to additional features that enhance the play experience. Club Penguin, headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, is enjoyed by children around the world, and can be played in English, Portuguese, French and Spanish.
About Disney Online Studios
Disney Online Studios (DOS), part of Disney Interactive Media Group, develops and publishes an industry-leading suite of online virtual worlds for kids and families. Products under the DOS brand include Club Penguin, one of the largest virtual worlds for children, World of Cars Online, based on the hit Disney/Pixar animated feature "Cars;" Fairies Pixie Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and Toontown Online. Disney Online Studios offices are located in North Hollywood, California.
For more information contact:
Brian NelsonDisney Interactive Media Group650-963-8051brian.nelson@disney.com
SOURCE Disney Online Studios
Disney Online Studios
Web Site: http://www.disney.com
Club Penguin Gets More Social with Debut of New Features
The #1 Virtual World for Kids Debuts New Chat and Friends Systems Designed to Make Communicating and Playing in Club Penguin Easier and Safer
BURBANK, Calif., Oct. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Disney's Club Penguin (clubpenguin.com), the #1 virtual world for kids with more than 150 million registered players, today introduced new Chat and Friends tools. With these new tools, which will begin to roll out today and be available for all users in the coming weeks, Club Penguin has completely overhauled its in-world communications tools, and designed systems to create a safer and more social experience for kids online.
The new Chat system allows kids to communicate faster more efficiently by automatically completing words and phrases as they type. The patent-pending system was developed by a team of Disney computational linguists, producers and engineers, and represents one of the safest and most advanced Chat technologies for kids. It incorporates six years of learning from player behavior in Club Penguin, and includes a database of nearly 300,000 approved phrases in each of the virtual world's four supported languages globally. Chat has become one of the most popular features in Club Penguin, and each day millions of kids exchange more than 56 million Chat messages.
The enhanced Friends functionality allows players to better organize, find, and visit their penguin friends. The new features change the way kids connect with one another in the virtual world by allowing them to choose best friends and add new friends by searching for specific penguin names. Each player is also now represented with a personalized penguin avatar in the friends list, rather than just their penguin names. Additionally, in the coming weeks, Club Penguin will launch a "jump" feature that allows kids to easily travel to the location of their penguin friends.
"We've added powerful social networking technologies to the biggest online world for kids, making it much easier for kids to find and connect with each other in Club Penguin," said Lane Merrifield, co-founder of Club Penguin and executive vice president of Disney Online Studios. "The new Friends and Chat systems are the most significant enhancements we've ever made to Club Penguin and we're just getting started."
More details on the new Club Penguin features follow:
NEW CHAT SYSTEM MAKES COMMUNICATING EASIER, MORE EXPRESSIVE
-- CHAT SYSTEM THAT FILLS IN THE BLANKS--The new Chat utilizes a
proprietary algorithm that enables players to type only part of a phrase
or sentence and have the anticipated phrase automatically completed,
word-by-word as the player types.
-- HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PHRASES --Club Penguin worked with
computational linguists to design this program as an easy and safe way
for kids to communicate. The program currently encompasses nearly
300,000 approved phrases, which have been identified based on six years
of Chat history in Club Penguin.
-- CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO SAFETY -- The new Chat evolves Club Penguin's
screening technology from one based on pre-approved and banned words to
a system built on pre-approved phrases. Because every phrase used in
the new Chat system has been previously screened and pre-approved, it's
designed to give kids the ability to easily communicate, but not share
any personal information or abusive language.
-- MULTI-LINGUAL - The enhanced Chat functionality has been translated
across four languages making it accessible to Club Penguin's global
audience. The new Chat is available in English, French, Portuguese, and
Spanish.
FRIENDS LIST BECOMES MORE PERSONALIZED
-- FULLY CUSTOMIZED PENGUIN AVATARS--Until now, the "Friends" lists in Club
Penguin featured penguin names only. Now fully customized penguin
avatars and backgrounds will represent each friend on players' lists,
and these customized penguins will appear transparent to denote that a
friend is currently offline. Additionally, a cleaner user interface
will allow players to more easily organize and locate friends.
-- TAG YOUR FAVORITE PENGUINS AS BEST FRIENDS--Friends who are communicated
with most frequently, based on friends who you jump to play with, send a
postcard to, visit their igloo, and stampbook with most frequently will
appear at the top of the list. Penguins will also be able to tag fellow
penguins as "best friends" so they appear on top of their lists. Once a
penguin has exceeded 10 friends, they will be able to tag "best
friends."
-- BETTER TOOLS FOR LOCATING FRIENDS AT CLUB PENGUIN HOT SPOTS -- A new and
improved Friends interface will allow players to instantly locate where
their friends are in world so they can easily meet up with them,
regardless of which server they are using.
-- ADDING NEW FRIENDS HAS BEEN SIMPLIFIED--Players just need to enter
another penguin's name into the search box and send a friend request.
-- ELIMINATE PENGUINS FROM YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN--The Friends list now
contains an icon that empowers kids to "turn off" players they don't
want to be contacted by or interact with in Club Penguin. These players
can now be completely hidden from a player's screen, which offers
increased protection for players.
"JUMPING" TO LOCATIONS IN-WORLD
-- TRAVEL OR "JUMP" WITHIN THE WORLD IS MORE FUN AND IMMERSIVE--Images of
penguins jumping into box will appear on screen to showcase their
journey to meet up with friends in other locations.
-- "JUMP" TO FAMOUS PENGUINS --Club Penguin is making it easier to discover
and visit the "Famous Penguins" of the island, such as Captain
Rockhopper and Aunt Arctic. When the Famous Penguins visit the world,
players will be alerted at random to their whereabouts so they will have
the opportunity to "jump" to them to enjoy this unique experience.
About Club Penguin
Club Penguin (http://www.clubpenguin.com), a product of Disney Online Studios, is the #1 virtual world for children. Club Penguin works to maintain a fun and safe online entertainment experience by using filtering technology and live moderators. The award-winning virtual world of Club Penguin contains no third-party advertising and is free to use and enjoy, however a subscription membership provides access to additional features that enhance the play experience. Club Penguin, headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, is enjoyed by children around the world, and can be played in English, Portuguese, French and Spanish.
About Disney Online Studios
Disney Online Studios (DOS), part of Disney Interactive Media Group, develops and publishes an industry-leading suite of online virtual worlds for kids and families. Products under the DOS brand include Club Penguin, one of the largest virtual worlds for children, World of Cars Online, based on the hit Disney/Pixar animated feature "Cars;" Fairies Pixie Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and Toontown Online. Disney Online Studios offices are located in North Hollywood, California.
For more information contact:
Brian NelsonDisney Interactive Media Group650-963-8051brian.nelson@disney.com
SOURCE Disney Online Studios
Disney Online Studios
Web Site: http://www.disney.com