Forget it Jake, it's Neopets

May 16, 2021 9:03 PM

Neopets (which is 21 years old) is preparing for a comeback, with an animated show in the works. Polygon covers a thriving black market within the cutesy JPEG distribution system, in newly-made, but old-style, "unconverted" pets that management long claimed weren't possible, in an entertaining video story on the whole affair, and which also provides some background on the site's history.

More recent Polygon reporting on Neopets:
Reckoning With Black Market Trading
Inside the Black Market

posted by JHarris (10 comments total)

Obligatory twitter thread for any mention of black market neopets. The thing to bear in mind is the story recounted in that thread started going down when Everest was a preteen.
posted by juv3nal at 9:35 PM on May 16, 2021 [9 favorites]

That Twitter thread could be made into a movie.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:16 PM on May 16, 2021 [2 favorites]

I correctly remembered my old password and fake birthday and verified that my unconverted Darigan Krawk is still sitting on my account. He turned 18 in November. I really want to play Hannah and the Ice Caves now. :(
posted by little king trashmouth at 6:56 AM on May 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

Somewhere out there is my unconverted Faerie Blumaroo. I hope he's doing okay.
posted by theodolite at 7:36 AM on May 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

OK, it took about ten minutes and a detour through Yahoo Mail, but I managed to get into my Neopets account. The poor little guy is 19 years old, unhappy, and dying of hunger. I'm so, so sorry.
posted by theodolite at 7:46 AM on May 17, 2021 [6 favorites]

At least he is still in your account, instead of having been swiped by a nine-year-old virtual animal tycoon.
posted by JHarris at 9:29 AM on May 17, 2021 [3 favorites]

As someone who feels bad when I let my Nekoatume cats’ food bowls go empty, Neopets sound like a recipe for digital animal horror. It’s a wonder they haven’t found a way to murder their “owners.”
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:44 AM on May 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

I still think of Neopets more than anyone else wants to hear me talk about :3

But wow, that black market pokemon preteen is smarter and more enterprising than I'll ever be. All I wanted to do was play Meerca Chase and Kiko match and get my daily omelette.
posted by batter_my_heart at 10:15 PM on May 18, 2021 [2 favorites]

Go ahead and talk about it! It's not like there's a lot of other conversation going on in the thread, heh.
posted by JHarris at 2:44 AM on May 19, 2021

My Neopets account is 20 years old. I log in periodically to feed my pets omelettes. :)
posted by Hermione Granger at 8:13 PM on May 20, 2021 [2 favorites]