Popular childhood computer game Club Penguin will be shut down by developers on March 29 to make way for a new project.
“I was devastated,” math teacher James Rhoads said. “I was on just the other day. I’m actually on level 73 of Minesweeper. I’ve just been really depressed the last couple of days since I’ve heard it was shutting down.”
Despite Rhoads’ joking attitude towards the game, many penguins are devastated.
“I was really upset when I heard it was shutting down because I played it a lot when I was younger,” Mackenzie Martin (’18) said. For many penguins like Martin, this was an opportunity to reconnect with their puffles and fellow flightless birds.
For others this was a chance to remember the good ol’ days on the island.
“I was just chilling, with my little puffle, Jorge, and we were hanging out in my igloo…and then he died [in front my eyes],” Wyatt Parks (’20) said.
For mourning penguins, there is a ray of hope known as Club Penguin Island. Club Penguin Island is a solely mobile, fully 3-D successor to Club Penguin. For some penguins, the experience will never be the same.
“I feel it won’t be like the classic,” Martin said. For others, the mobile shift is a positive change.
“Well, I think it could be a good thing [because] you couldn’t really sit down anywhere and play Club Penguin on the go [when we were younger] so I think a mobile app would be more useful,” Jacob Kline (’19) said.
With the deadline approaching, many penguins reflect on the experiences they’ve had on the game.
“It was just one of those games like Webkinz that pretty much everyone played, so I feel like everyone has some memories playing it,” Gabby Velleggia (’17) said.
“Personally I was more of a Wizard 101 type of guy. [Now that Club Penguin is closing down,] I’ll probably switch over to NeoPets,” Club Penguin expert Jake Bass (’19) said.