Full FeedBeanie Babies 2.0 take on Webkinz
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Ty, the company responsible for the Beanie Baby fad in the 1990s, is trying to steal 15 more minutes of fame. It has recently released new Beanie Baby 2.0 dolls and an accompanying online environment to compete with Ganz’s Webkinz dolls and game. Like Webkinz, each Beanie Baby 2.0 toy comes with a secret code which allows the owner to go online and play with the virtual pet in a virtual, flash-based world.
Its too little, too late Ty. The Beanie Babies 2.0 site has only just launched, and Webkinz has been around for over a year. Also there are only 13 initial Beanie Babie 2.0 toys available, while there are tons of Webkinz, the Webkinz spin-off Lil’Kinz, Webkinz trading cards, Webkinz carriers, Webkinz cosmetics, Webkinz school supplies, Webkinz mousepads, Webkinz jewelry and Webkinz figurines. Sure, the Beanie Baby 2.0 dolls will be cheaper than Webkinz, at $6.99 versus the $9.99 Lil’Kinz and $12.99 Webkinz, but price doesn’t matter to throngs of children desperate for the hottest toy. Instead of setting up for failure, Ty should just chalk this up as defeat and start brainstorming the next big thing..
I have to admit that I almost feel bad for Ty. I had a couple Beanie Babies when I was younger. The company really needs to know when its moment in the spotlight is over. Good effort, nice try, but the company’s best just wasn’t good enough. We’ll always have the 1990s.
Read [Animax Entertainment] Site [Webkinz] Site [Beanie Babies 2.0]
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The new TY 2.0 online world is a poor second to the Webkinz world. On Webkins, you can have your pet earn money by doing a job. You can have your own interactive garden that you water every day, and even harvest food from it. You can add rooms to your pet’s home and decorate them as you please. You can change your pet’s clothes, and tons of other things. In the TY world, all you do is walk back and forth in your room. You can play games, but the rewards in TY world are limited to stickers and things you can put on one page of your “book”. The Ty rooms are 2 dimensional, while Webkinz homes are three dimensional, so your pet can actually climb into bed or even use the toilet.
on February 9, 2008 at 10:59 PM - LINKWhen you put it like that Bobo, it really does make the Ty site seem to pale in comparison to everything that Webkinz offers. Thanks for the additional information! :D
on February 9, 2008 at 11:08 PM - LINKNever mind how simple it is compared to Webkinz; I bought two pets for my kids for Valentines Day and we were all horrified with the “virtualization” by electrocution, complete with creepy music and with the poor little creatures eyes bugging out and trying to escape a “cloud” out of which items related to the pet fly out until it becomes a virtual pet. This literally scared us all, and I have tweens. I can’t imagine how you’d explain this process to a child under 10! My kids were frightened of the stuffed pet after seing that scene!
on February 14, 2008 at 08:28 PM - LINKThat sounds really disconcerting Kathy. I can’t imagine a sane explanation for that process.
You would think a company like Ty, which has had experience making toys for so long, would have a little more sense.
on February 14, 2008 at 10:24 PM - LINKok i feel wierd because i am a member on each website but i cheer on both of them!!!
on February 16, 2008 at 09:27 PM - LINKo.k. i feel wierd because i am a member on each website. but i cheer on webkinz!!!
on February 16, 2008 at 09:29 PM - LINKGood-bye TY and hello Webkinz! :)
on February 20, 2008 at 11:00 PM - LINK@ Lauren: As long as you’re happy playing on both and having fun, that is all that matters. After all, that’s the point of having a Ty 2.0 Beanie Baby or Webkinz toy.
@ CeSi: It certainly does look that way, at least on the collectible toy front. Perhaps in a few years another company will come up with an even more innovative toy.
on February 21, 2008 at 08:24 PM - LINKi actually like beanies 2.0 better! webkinz doesn’t let you chat freestyle. i think TY did a great idea in making their own version of a virtual beanie game. sure there aren’t as many beanies as there are webkinz, nor as many games on ty as webkinz but TY is just getting started. =)
on February 25, 2008 at 12:48 PM - LINKI think the reason for Ganz making chats so structured adriana is to protect the kids who are playing and talking.
Ty’s new endeavor is something to keep an eye on and see how it progresses.
on February 25, 2008 at 03:11 PM - LINKI can’t really figure out how to get the keys on Ty. Can anyone help me?
on March 3, 2008 at 06:40 PM - LINKHi Rachel,
I’ve looked online, but I couldn’t find anything about keys and Beanie Babies 2.0. Perhaps check out a fan site or fan forum for more information?
What kind of keys do you mean? If you provide more information maybe I can help you find out more.
on March 3, 2008 at 07:16 PM - LINKlol i’m on beanie babies right now and webkinz are really dominate b/c i was freestyle chatting and people got into a chat about webkinz and for all of you Shearsly the sheep owners(purple sheep) I am emfraz96, the one who has the high score in Shearsly’s egg rescue!!!
on March 7, 2008 at 07:25 PM - LINKoh person w/ key problem, they are in ur backpack
on March 7, 2008 at 07:26 PM - LINKHi Emily!
That is pretty ironic that on Ty 2.0 they’d be talking about Webkinz.
Also thanks for helping out Rachel with her key question. :D
on March 7, 2008 at 08:32 PM - LINKi no its so wierd and i don’t know how they got into it because you can’t say webkinz on there! Also they pretty much use the same system on freestyle chat that they do for kinzchat plus! I have a few new friends on webkinz from chatting with people on there
on March 8, 2008 at 04:11 PM - LINKThat is strange.
At least you made some new friends thanks to it though!
on March 8, 2008 at 04:30 PM - LINKI LOVE WEBKINZ SO MUCH I HAVE 50 OF THEM!!!!!!!
on March 9, 2008 at 09:08 AM - LINKWow Jose! Sounds like you have an amazing collection of Webkinz!
on March 9, 2008 at 06:00 PM - LINKI remember back when I liked toys because they were cute and fun to play with. I didn’t need to go online to have fun with my beanie babies, I would bring them along on trips with me and make up little stories with them. Now it seems like you have to have “online play” connected to things for kids to enjoy them.
That’s not to say I don’t like virtual pet games. I have a GoPets account and back when I was younger I played Neopets a lot. But I wouldn’t buy an actual stuffed animal JUST to go online with it! I have a Shining Star dog that I can play with online, and I did register it online (I got it as a gift) because I wanted to “name a star” but I don’t play on the site often anymore. And in April I’ll be getting the Webkinz mouse, but I won’t be playing with that online either. I just think it looks adorable and mice are my favorite animals.
on March 12, 2008 at 10:23 AM - LINKI’m pretty much the same way. I had beanie babies when I was a kid, and a Neopets account as well. Occasionally I’ll log in to Neopets to see how things are, but I just don’t have the patience for it anymore.
That Webkinz mouse does look pretty cute - I’ve seen pictures and it looks adorable.
I think with the prevalence of home computers and the internet, parents are looking for safe online activities for their children and Webkinz just kind of fits.
on March 12, 2008 at 05:52 PM - LINKwebkinz are so much better than beanie babies there the best thing out there so dont think beanie babies are better than webkinz becuse they arent.i have 17 webkinz and 0 beanie babies becuse they stink like shining stars.webkinz can bet all that stuff out there. and you can talk to people on webkinz world to on kinz chat +.webkinz rock
on March 19, 2008 at 12:08 AM - LINKHi jonathan! I’m glad to hear that you like Webkinz so much and I’m sure that they’ll continue to grow in popularity. If any breaking Webkinz news comes up, there’ll be a story on it here.
on March 19, 2008 at 02:14 PM - LINKI just got a Beanie Baby 2.0 guinea pig yesterday, and I think I will be getting more for Easter. I have mixed feelings about them—it is fun, but does not have very much. I have fifty-nine Webkinz, whilst Ty only has around ten Beanie Baby 2.0 plushes out.
Personally, I sort of feel like Ty should have kept to the Beanie Baby world. It seems much more true than putting them online.
on March 22, 2008 at 09:56 AM - LINKWow! You have quite a collection Willowtail!
I agree, Ty seems to be out of its league in the whole online thing.
on March 22, 2008 at 12:42 PM - LINK