VW User Profiles: Poptropica
In the first of a new series of posts we’re rolling up our sleeves a little and examining the user bases of popular virtual worlds in the KT&T space. The focus is on the age distribution of registered accounts along with their real-world location.
First up, Poptropica, a virtual world from Pearson that steam-rollered into the sector in September 2007. As the Universe chart shows, Poptropica experienced record-setting user base growth and currently has over 80m registered accounts.
The distribution of these 80m accounts is shown in the graph below.
The best represented age in Poptropica is ten, accounting for 14% of total accounts (that’s 11.2m registered accounts). In second place are nine year olds with 12% of the total.
There’s an interesting dip between six and eight year olds, with children who are seven accounting for 6% compared to 9% and 10% respectively for six and eight’s.
Showing this data another way, on a cumulative basis is shown in the next chart.
Just over 50% of the total 80m registered accounts are from kids aged ten or younger (parental registered accounts represent 15% of the total and are removed from this chart, hence the total actual user base being 85% of the total).
Looking at the user base from a geographical perspective, a surprising weighting can be observed. In virtual worlds similar in proposition to Poptropica one would expect to see the US usually in top spot proportionately but countries such as the UK, Brazil, Singapore, Australia and Turkey would also account for reasonable user segments. Not so in Poptropica. The chart below shows the country splits:
A massive 84% of accounts are from the US – with no other countries coming close. The usual suspect for second place, the UK, comes in at fourth place only 1.2%. Canada and Australia are in second and third places respectively with 5% and 4%.
Other countries? Well the others are just noise in this scenario with the US being so dominant. No sign of Turkey. Must be the time of year.
Next up, Moshi Monsters.
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