14th Anniversary of Club Penguin
Fourteen years ago today, Club Penguin was officially launched to the world, and would go on to become the largest virtual world with hundreds of millions of players across the world. As per usual on Anniversary day, I just wanted to share some thoughts.
It’s difficult to convey the scale of the closure of the Club Penguin franchise has inflicted, and to convey what exactly we’ve lost; it’s particularly more difficult when we are fortunate enough to be able to rely on private servers as a replacement, and use them to establish new memories and experiences.
Nostalgia hasn’t always been beneficial for Club Penguin, and it can be attributed to the demise of the later Club Penguin Island, but on the game’s anniversary, it’s hard not to remember rushing online to meet staff members in the evening. It’s hard not to remember all the Field Fridays and the events Chattabox would hold, or waiting for Rhubarbcrmbl and Cloudflame, in a way that no private sever could replicate.
Equally, it’s difficult to forget the excitement which many of us would’ve experienced for something completely unpredictable. Fond memories spring to mind, like many of the events of 2013 which went unappreciated then, but now something I’d really love to experience again!
Whilst I’m always grateful to those who continue the legacy of Club Penguin, there’s always something quite poignant about the official franchise not being around anymore. At the same time, I find it quite incredible that fourteen years later, we’re still around – still a community! It might be smaller than the island’s prime years, but few games attract such a community for such a long period of time.
And whilst the official game might be closed, I think we can all pay our appreciation to the team of hundreds and hundreds of people across the world who made all this possible.
The Club Penguin team [Kelowna, May 2016] – thanks IslandQueen/Jen for the photo!
Even in the image above, the team are wearing grey in support of Brain Tumour Awareness Month. From creating real life change by building schools and hospitals to creating memories, I think we’re all eternally grateful to the Club Penguin team – and I think that’s just something important to bare in mind, particularly as many of us continue our penguin journeys away from the official game, and particularly on a day like today.
So whilst many of us still enjoy waddling around, let’s take another moment to appreciate the work of all those on classic Club Penguin, and reflect on some memories. I was scrolling through many old blog posts on here (I don’t recommend this – many are very embarrassing!) and also other blogs today, and it’s just a reminder of how far and wide this community stretches, and a reflection of how many memories we’ve built.
Some time ago, a day like today (the Anniversary) was actually trending! Whilst the community isn’t as large today, it’s still a wonderful place to be. 🙂
Happy 14th anniversary everyone,
-Torres 126
