Habbo Com
Habbo is a teen community where you can meet people, play games and create your own online space. Create your very own personal Habbo page and customize it to your heart’s delight.1
Habbo is a new kind of youth community rooted in a richly colorful, multi-dimensional virtual world. The attraction of Habbo is based on the camaraderie of the community and the opportunity for self-expression and creativity.2
Originally launched in 2000 as a two room space made to promote a Finish pop group, Sulake was surprised to find the place swamped by international players who couldn’t even speak the language; they retooled and expanded as Hotel Goldfish, then re-dubbed to become Habbo Hotel. Throughout that time, Habbo has retained the same look of blocky, pixel-heavy, 2.5D graphics.3
Habbo is a website made by a crack team of escaped mental patients with a degree in Computer Science III. The site itself is made of rooms in a ‘hotel’ in which “people” make avatars that can interact with each other.4
In August 2007, Habbo’s Chinese community closed down temporarily, the first time a Habbo website has closed. The challenging Chinese market and high operational costs led to the decision of closing the service.5
In fact, Habbo Hotel is a teen community full of depraved individuals whom should spend more time outdoors in a social environment than indoors pretending to be in such. Habbo Hotel advertises,and even emphasises, free gameplay.6
A L?Oreal branded “Studio Hot” beauty salon was designed and created where Habbos could participate in a runway-style fashion show and share beauty tips with their friends. A Makeover Madness competition gave Habbos a chance to win cool new hairstyles for their character.7