What happened to Habbo? Grandfather of the metaverse in pixel version

In the Internet, every generation you had an application or platform on which meet people, make friends, flirt and much more. Names like MSN Messenger, IRC, Tuenti or Habbo strike an immediate chord with the thousands of people who grew up with these apps as teenagers. A nostalgia slap in the face Which brings us back to an Internet very different from today. Habbo’s golden age was first decade 2000. Those who survived adolescence between 2001 and 2010they spent hours in Habbo Hotelthe pixel metaverse before they started talking about it.

Let’s look back and let’s go back in time. Tuenti He was born no earlier than 2006. Facebook It won’t appear until 2004. And only in the USA. AND instagram It didn’t see the light of day until 2010. In the first decade of the 21st century, social media had not yet emerged. In 2002 he will arrive Photo magazine, which will have one million users in 2005. For communicate on the Internet at the beginning of the 21st centuryDo you have IRC And MSN Messenger. The latter will become very popular since it is installed by default in Windows. The rest is history.

But every teenager needs to communicate and establish relationships with peers. And given the coldness of IRC and Messenger, a more interesting offer appears in which you can create a pixel avatar and dress it up. The proposal came from Finland. It’s called Habbo Hotel and it promises to be a hit. Today it is still standing, but not the same. Its moment of glory has already passed, reaching millions of users around the world. In Spain, he won the favor of teenage audiences and even Antenna 3 Television She managed to carve out a niche in this social network to attract young people into her network.

The Birth of the Habbo Hotel

Finland has given us technology companies such as Nokia, once a mobile phone giant. OR Rovio, creators of the Angry Birds franchise. He was born there too Sulake Corporation, a company founded in August 2000 by Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kirola. Their names may not mean anything to you, but they Habbo Hotel Parents.

In fact, this was not his first project. The company was created to create a free version of the code. Java and Shockwave, Internet technologies popular at that time for creating games and applications. They soon created an online gaming platform to promote the Finnish hip-hop group. It was so well received that they created a more general international version, as well as other similar online games such as Lumisota. And then it came Habbo Hotel. For the first time in beta version, in January 2001.

The online game soon expanded to nine communities and users from over 150 countries. Mainly teenagers and young audiences. In 2006, it changed its name to simply Habbo. And in 2012, he had more than 273 million registered avatars and 500,000 visits per month. Keys to success? Create a gaming experience where you navigate with your own avatar that you can customize to your liking. And, another key to success, the ability to interact with other players in all sorts of public places, such as game rooms, virtual clubs, cafes, etc.

The graphics weren’t great. But that didn’t matter either. What was important was create an avatar and move through the rooms of the Habbo Hotel, meeting people from all over the world, talking or playing. The success was such that soon companies such as Disney or Coca-Cola They wanted to put their name and logo in the game. Everyone wanted to be part of Habbo and reach this audience.

Habbo Hotel arrives in Spain

He Hotels in Kultakala the original in Finnish was soon adapted to the needs of the public. Firstly, with the international English version of the Habbo Hotel located in Great Britain. Then more languages ​​and countries appeared. The Habbo Hotel opened in September 2003. Spain and Italy. The first had a double meaning, since it attracted Spanish and Latin American audiences. And it was made in collaboration between its Finnish creators and Microsoft Spain. In February 2004 they reached half a million users registered

The aesthetic was typical of games from the 80s and 90s. isometric and pixel aesthetic camera. But it didn’t matter. It was at that time that they were born Sims. But there was no human interaction behind it like at the Habbo Hotel. You created your character and could navigate through thousands of hotel rooms and lobbies. Plus, you could talk to other characters who were real people. on the other side of the screen. Public spaces were joined by private rooms, various communities, and events and activities that lasted for weeks or months. Competitions, games, company promotions…

The popularity of the game reached such a point that its creators saw that they could make money on clothes From characters and furniture and objects what decorated the rooms. Micropayments have appeared in online games. Something we are already very accustomed to from games like Fortnite, but at that time it was done for the first time. Before PayPal, Bizum and online cards. Then, in order to deposit money at the Habbo Hotel, you had to call a special tariff number. 806, come on. Then came the Habbo club for exclusive users. And you can too get free game currency by being active in the community, playing for a few hours or participating in Habbo Hotel activities.

The Golden Age of the Habbo Hotel

Habbo’s success in Spain and Latin America was so great that the company even opened its own office in Madrid. Press releases from the time remind us that the company had local employees to manage advertising campaigns and public events in collaboration with companies that wanted to advertise in this online game. Without going into details, singer Edurne held an event at Habbo in 2007 to promote her album. Soft drinks, fast food franchises, sportswear brands… Everyone wanted to be on Habbo to attract a young audience.

If the introduction of Habbo in Spain was a collaboration between Microsoft, Antena 3 was immediately interested in the platform and the two soon began a relationship. Antena 3 campaigns on Habbo were constant. integration of your series and programs one way or another on the platform. Then such series Physics or chemistry, Protected, Internship or Paco’s people. At some point, Habbo directly linked to the Antena 3 site, thereby increasing traffic and the number of unique users. He even had his own exclusive room.

What’s left of Habbo today

Habbo laid the foundations of the metaverse And online gaming experience. Micropayments, events, advertising and integrated marketing… Many concepts and elements that we consider natural today took their first steps in this pixelated hotel, where many spent hours and hours. play and meet people.

And it also suffered from the controversies and problems inherent in all online games. From online fraud earn money by stealing game objects from complaints about care to get intimate images smaller. Without going into details, we note that in 2012 the company experienced one of its worst reputation crises. English television report Channel 4 condemned the practice of grooming on this platform. Habbo’s response was to silence the platform. No one in Habbo could speak. Almost three weeks Great Muteo or Great Mutein English, led to the loss of almost half of the users of the English version of this platform.

Present tense Habbo still exists. You can visit their website and reminisce about the old days. While it’s no longer the teen favorite metaverse it once was, it’s still present in Spanish, English, and in several countries. But times pass and new ways of communicating with others emerge. Mobile phones with Internet arrived. Tuenti had his moment of glory as well BlackBerry phones and its messaging app. Facebook will also appear, then Instagram, and today we have social networks as popular as WhatsApp, TikTok or Discord. What can we say about similar experiences, such as Fortnite.