Virtual pets were not unheard of in the 1990s. Instead, pet owners could play several different games (from a version of solitaire to a version of Whack-a-Mole) and buy, trade, or sell various in-game items to collect “Neopoints.” Raking in the Neopoints dough was as important as keeping your Neopets fed - because you could use the points to buy them fancy outfits, toys, and food, and then you could brag to all of your friends about how rich you were on your public profile page.
There was a financial component too, thought it didn’t involve any real-world currency. (If you think they sound kind of like Tamagotchi, you’re not wrong more on that in a second.) Neopets could even have their own pets to take care of, which was pretty meta. The whole point was to care for the pets, feeding and playing with them on a regular basis. Neopets ultimately evolved into something magical, and an inextricable part of many a millennial’s formative years.Ĭreated by a 20-something British couple, Neopets was based on a simple concept: Users owned up to four of the eponymous pets, which were slightly tweaked versions of animals both real and mythical, like puppies, penguins, and dragons. But 1999 would be a decent guess, and November 1999 an especially good one, as it marked the launch of Neopets: a kid-friendly social network that combined virtual pets with discussion forums, games, and even a stock market. It’s hard to pinpoint when, exactly, kids and teens became 100 percent plugged in - fully online, all the time.
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