KLONDIKE, CP Army HQ – Over sixteen years ago, the original Club Penguin was released. Produced by RocketSnail Games, and eventually purchased by Disney, the game was a commercial hit. Throughout the game’s history, many changes have been made. Whether that be the game’s entire design or features within the games, a lot has changed since 2005. Today, we’re going to take a look at mascots, and their changes within the game every five years. What new mascots were introduced? What noticeable changes were made every five years?
Mascots are one of the most important aspects of Club Penguin. From 2005 to the game’s closure in 2017, a total of 20 different mascots stepped upon the island, with items the player could collect. From 2005 to the present day, let’s see the development and creation of mascots as the game slowly ages.
I. 2005 & Prior
While Penguin Chat had started its development during this time, no real mascots were implemented into the game as meetable characters. The same can be said about Club Penguin in 2005. While Penguin Chat is responsible for the introduction of the DJ Maxx penguin, no other penguin could be met.
Penguin Chat 2
II. January 2006 – December 2010
From 2006-2010 is when the bulk of the franchise’s iconic mascots were introduced. Rockhopper was the first mascot introduced within the game, as well as the first players, could meet. Many mascots could have, and were, seen in games on the island. Gary, Rookie, and Herbert P. Bear all were introduced in the PSA Missions, however, Gary is the only one meetable by players at this time. Aunt Arctic, introduced in 2006 within Club Penguin Times, becomes meetable in 2009 during the Penguin Play Awards. The entire Penguin Band is introduced in 2008, making their debut appearance at Music Jam that year. Speaking of music, Cadence finally becomes meetable after being seen in Dance-A-Thon. Finally, Sensei and Puffle Handler also are introduced during this time, with players able to meet Sensei, yet not the Puffle Handler at this time.
Rockhopper Mascot Meetup
III. January 2011 – December 2015
The rest of Club Penguins’ mascots could be met during this time. Rookie, Herbert P. Bear, and the Puffle Handler were made meetable characters, all between 2011-2012. Dot was introduced within Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force in 2008, however made her first appearance as a meetable character within the Summer of 2015. Sam the Sasquatch was actually meetable before players had any clue who he was, with his identity being confirmed in 2015. The Merry Walrus is also introduced during Merry Walrus Christmas’. Rocky, CeCe, Brady, McKenzie, and Kermit could all also be met during this time during their respective parties.
Merry Walrus Meetup
IV. January 2016 – Present Day
With Club Penguin’s unfortunate demise in 2017, no mascots were created until practically 2018. In actuality, no mascots were really created within the noticeable and iconic Club Penguin Private Servers. Previous unmeetable characters in the original game, such as Jet Pack Guy, DJ Maxx, Rory, and even Klutzy become mascots in multiple private servers. Most recently, Club Penguin Rewritten has announced the creation of a new mascot, Shellbeard, proving that mascots don’t always have to come from the original Club Penguin.
DJ Maxx Meetup
Mascots have become one of the most iconic parts of the Club Penguin franchise. Players specifically look to be able to meet their favorite characters and collect rare items their characters would give out. Without the creation of mascots, who knows if Club Penguin would’ve been as much of a commercial success as it was.
Did mascots affect Club Penguin’s popularity? Will we say more mascots in the near future? What’s your favorite mascot?