His name is Max Holzberg. He’s 10 years old and he’s an addict.
The very thought of Webkinz makes his eyes light up. His feet and hands fidget. When he spies the plush animals at a downtown toy store, he sprints over to the display and grabs the spotted frog. Then he lunges for his allowance – it’s taken him weeks to save up $13. He begs his nanny for an extra buck or so because the toy is $12.99 before tax.
“This is something good,” Max says. He can’t wait to get it home.
The frog might look like any stuffed animal, but this is no ordinary toy. It’s an entre to the world of Webkinz. An Internet site where kids age 5 and up can talk with their pet, take it to Doctor “Quack” if it’s sick, decorate its room. They can decide whether it’s more important to buy their Webkinz food or a swimming pool with the “Kinzcash” they earn while playing games that range from easy to mind-bending.
Like adults obsessed with Facebook, children will log on through the day, even at school. New amusements are added to the site regularly, usually between 4 and 11 p.m.
“I would wake up, like, at 5 in the morning and go on if I could,” says Max, who has three Webkinz. “It’s kinda addictive.”
Since it’s inception in 2005, kids across North America, where Webkinz are sold, have been clamouring for the toys. From Tree Frog to Cheeky Monkey, Clydesdale Horse to Polar Bear, there are 46 animals known as Webkinz and 28 smaller ones called Lil’ Kinz.
Each critter has a code, which gives its owner one year of Webkinz access on the Net. Ganz, the Woodbridge-based company behind the craze, won’t release numbers, but says even children and tweens in Europe and Asia have bought the creatures from online retailers and are logging on.
(the Star)
