Late to the Game, DreamWorks Is Bringing Kung Fu Panda World to the Web

LOS ANGELES — Can DreamWorks Animationrevitalize the cooling business of virtual worlds? 

On Monday, DreamWorks will formally enter this crowded realm with Kung Fu Panda World, a $10 million Web site that will allow children to play elaborate games, chat with friends, learn kung fu styles and get a pet. 

The site, which has taken two years to develop, is centered on the company’s hit movie “Kung Fu Panda,” which had $632 million in global ticket sales in 2008. 

Membership will cost $5.95 a month — on par with other virtual worlds for children — although DreamWorks has also devised a free option: children can play free for one day if they watch a 15-second ad.  A player can come back day after day with this option, but membership is required to unlock more advanced settings.  Kung Fu Panda World is aimed at children age 8 to 12. 

DreamWorks has been notably absent from virtual worlds for children, a business that has expanded rapidly in recent years by serving as part online role-playing game and part social scene. 

The Walt Disney Company, which bought ClubPenguin.com in 2007 for $700 million, has pumped out sister sites; toy companies like Build-A-Bear Workshop, the retail chain, have flooded the Web with their own offerings. 

But oversaturation and the faddish nature of children’s entertainment is starting to batter the once-booming business.  About 6.7 million unique visitors logged on to Club Penguin in March, a 7 percent decline from March 2009, according to the research company comScore. 

Webkinz.com, where children care for stuffed animals that come to life, registered about 2.7 million, a 58 percent drop.  Neopets.com, owned by Viacom, suffered a 25 percent decline, to about 2.1 million. 

“The market is shaking out — there is only room for so many of these worlds in a child’s life and a parent’s wallet,” said Christopher Byrne, a toy consultant and content director for Time To Play magazine. 

DreamWorks is betting that there is a window of opportunity when it comes to slightly older children — after growing out of Club Penguin, where children dress and groom penguin characters, but before becoming interested in more mature online offerings like World of Warcraft, MySpace and Facebook. 

Photo

An image from Kung Fu Panda World.  DreamWorks spent two years and $10 million creating the site, which opens on Monday. Credit
DreamWorks Animation

It’s not an easy road.  A lavish “Pirates of the Caribbean” world, an attempt by Disney to attract children 10 and older, has been a failure. ( Disney is expected to introduce another entry into this market in the coming months, a world built around “Cars.”) 

John Batter, a former executive at the video game giant Electronic Arts, managed the Kung Fu Panda World project for DreamWorks, where he is co-president of production for feature animation.  He is confident in his site’s chances in part because DreamWorks took its time. 

“With ‘Kung Fu Panda’ we actually had a property that lent itself very well to this medium,” he said.  For those unfamiliar with the film — a sequel is on the way — an underdog kung fu fighter, Po the Panda, finds his inner hero with the help of some oddball friends. 

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Mr. Batter said it took time to work out how to make the world intricate while keeping it technologically easy, or at least apparently easy. “ Most worlds are pretty shallow — we wanted ours to be the exact opposite,” he said. 

Another sign of his confidence in the market: DreamWorks is already at work on a follow-up world built around “How to Train Your Dragon.” 

The decision to include advertising will undoubtedly draw scrutiny from child advocacy groups.  Aside from the commercials children can watch to gain free access, DreamWorks has teamed with McDonald’s on a Happy Meal promotion. 

Parents may also have concerns about a decision by DreamWorks not to restrict the chat function to a menu of words and phrases.  There is also bullying potential as children roam around the site and form cliques. 

“As you can imagine, kids get together and figure it out,” said Rick Rekedal, head of production for DreamWorks Animation Online.  He said the company was one step ahead. 

Moderators will constantly monitor activity, and software has been added to flag questionable behavior.  Mr. Rekedal added that filters would prevent players from entering addresses while chatting, among other things.  Personal information is banned, and there are also controls where parents can disable certain features and oversee play. 

Kung Fu Panda World is built around the concept of sash levels; players start as a white belt and try to work up through 21 colors.  A map shows where your friends are playing within the game — no need to call each other on the phone to figure it out, as many children do when playing in virtual worlds.  There is shopping (with coins earned by winning arcade-style games) and players can send gifts to one another. 

Mr. Byrne, the toy consultant, said he had high expectations. “ Kids have become very sophisticated online, and I think this site meets the challenge,” he said. “ It’s very rich, very fast and you don’t have to know the movie to play.” 

A version of this article appears in print on April 12, 2010, on Page B9 of the New York edition with the headline: Late to the Game, DreamWorks Is Bringing Kung Fu Panda World to the Web.  Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe