What happened to Neopets?

neopet

Olivia Coy reports on the stunning downfall of Neopets, a hugely-successful virtual pet community/game/toy line that was monetized so grossly and relentlessly it evaporated in a matter of hours after a site feature failed.

In retrospect, and despite all its juvenile provocations, the Neopets forum collapse looks like a digital-age, collective cri de coeur, a long-suffering community voicing its frustrations with all the rage it could muster.

It's under "new management," but the site still looks like a hacked PHPNuke forum from the 1990s. $160,000,000, dude.

Previously: Kiddie crack