When last we checked, way back in June of last year, Free Realms had just surpassed the three-million player mark. If you recall (or know how to click a link), I said we’d check back in when they reached ten million. Apparently I lied.

So how does a kid friendly game gather eight million-plus players? According to Sony Online Entertainment, it’s all about listening to the players and giving them what they want.

“Free Realms is more than just a virtual world for our players; it is a portal for imagination. A place where players transform their house into a jumping maze for friends to compete or a petting zoo that boasts all their pets,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Our job as developers is to listen to and predict what they want and give them the tools that inspire and compel them to share their experiences with eight million others.”

I’d say it also has a lot to do with being free. Free is nice.

You can join the eight million plus players right now, by visiting the official Free Realms website.

Here’s a closer look at the kid-friendly Pets vs. Monsters, the first game from Funcom’s new casual studio, SweetRobot, heading for open beta testing before the month is out.

Pets vs. Monsters is a free-to-play MMO targeted at children between the ages of eight and 12. Kids create an avatar, select between dogs, cats and bears (just like at the pet store, only with bears!), and set off on an adventure destroying monsters while riding on the back of their trusted companion.

Like Sony Online Entertainment’s Free Realms, Pets vs. Monsters will integrate streaming technology, allowing children to start playing within minutes of download. Parents worried about exposing their children to foul language and internet predators need not worry, as Funcom has included a constructed chat system to ensure that no foul words pass their players’ fingertips.

Check out the game in action, along with a couple of screens, or visit the game’s website for more information.

KingsIsle is decorating the world of Wizard City and promising a “special surprise” for all players of Wizard101 this month as they celebrate one year of card-based, free-to-play magic duels for the whole family. Response to the title has been overwhelming, with more than five million players signing up to give the game a spin since it launched in September of 2008.

“Quality family entertainment doesn’t have to be expensive,” said J. Todd Coleman, creative director of Wizard101. “The success of Wizard101 clearly shows that it is possible to produce a fun and challenging game that is both wallet-friendly and appropriate for all ages – and that it’s something people are looking for in these tough economic times.”

While I’m not sure these tough times are quite as tough as they were a year ago, there’s definitely something to be said for a game you can sit down with your child and play until he or she gets so engrossed you can slip away to play big people games in the other room.

And more celebration gear is indeed on the way. Following the free t-shirt and Sony Station Cash given to players at the 1 million milestone and the party pack delivered upon reaching 2 million, the big 3-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh has SOE passing out a “3M Pet Party Pack”, which features all sorts of goodies your cats and dogs can wear in the game. John Smedley once again has words to mark the occasion.

“SOE worked diligently over the past four years to ensure that Free Realms would take the online space by storm,” said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “We are pleased to be able to provide such a vast, in-depth and, most importantly, fun world to an average of 500,000 new gamers per week.”

And with that, I propose we stop following these announcements until they reach 10 million. Thoughts?

The player population of Free Realms continues to grow at a ridiculous rate, hitting the two million player milestone within a month of the game’s official launch. According to SOE, the game is a big hit with its target audience, with 75% of its registrants under age 17 and 46% under 13. Female gamers are particularly taken with the title, representing a third of the population. Once again, SOE president John Smedley is beside himself with excitement.

“In less than a month, Free Realms has captivated a core player base of tween and teen gamers, while also strongly resonating with MMO gamers. We wanted to create a game to play with our families and are excited to have hit the mark with our intended audience.”

SOE will be distributing a “party pack” of items so players can help the company celebrate this latest achievement. Hopefully it includes a little more Station Cash, as I could really use a ghost kitten to accompany me while I mine for silver. *sigh*

What better way to herald the launch of Sony Online Entertainment’s new family friendly online game Free Realms than a launch trailer narrated by a flying squirrel with a mohawk?

He might actually be a sugar glider or some other airborne mammal, but Chatty does a fine job of explaining the various merits of Free Realms to the uninitiated. Certainly a much better job than I generally do. I should probably just transfer this video to my unspecified portable media device and play it whenever someone asks me about the game.

To give the game a go, head over to FreeRealms.com and sign up. You’ll be in-world within minutes, unless launch day madness brings the servers to their knees. Stranger things have happened.

“It’s your world and nothing’s impossible,” exclaims Free Realm’s theme song by Southern California trio The Dares, and apparently that includes one of the shortest closed beta tests in history. Weeks after entering the final phase of testing, Sony Online Entertainment’s family-friendly online game is about to open for business, with servers down for final patching and tweaking before tomorrow’s launch.

I’ve played around quite a bit in Free Realms during the beta, and it still holds up to my impressions from E3 last year. It’s one of the most intriguing massively multiplayer online games to come out this year. It incorporates pet training; cart racing; Cooking Mama-esque mini-games; puzzles; and your standard hack and slash gaming into a world that will keep both kids and adults entertained for quite a long time.

My favourite feature? Name approvals. Every character name goes through an approval process before being applied, with players stuck using a generic name until their selection passes. As a frequent player on role-playing servers, I approve wholeheartedly.

Free Realms is of course free, though a subscription fee of $US4.95 a month earns players more characters and additional jobs to perform, adding even more game play to the ridiculous amounts included in the free version.

Free Realms launches Tuesday [Massively]

EA dropped a press release today to announce the overwhelming success of the family games resulting from their long-term agreement with Hasbro, with 2 million titles sold globally since launch.

Calling their Hasbro lineup “hot holiday must-haves”, EA applauds the performance of games like Littlest Pet Shop, Nerf N-Strike, Monopoly, and Hasbro Family Game Night for their performance.

“By innovating with these family brands and delivering a quality, fun game experience our EA Hasbro video games are something parents and friends can gift with pride this holiday season,” said Chip Lange, Vice President and General Manager EA Hasbro. “Our focus on creating audience-appropriate games has paid off with the consumers we wanted to reach and made EA Hasbro titles THE gift to give this holiday.”

This partnership was really a win-win for both companies. Partnering recognisable family-friendly Hasbro brands with video games created some of the most worry-free video game buys a parent could find on retail shelves. Hell, even I bought Littlest Pet Shop, which is “teeming with adorably cute pets that girls can collect.” *cries*

Family Gamers Choose EA Hasbro Games This Holiday
LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF “N-STRIKE”, MONOPOLY and HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT Video Games Prove Hot Holiday “Must-Haves”

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—A video game for girls, a game and NERF blaster combo for boys and two video games for everyone in the family to play prove hot holiday sellers for Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS). The first wave of console and handheld titles under the EA and Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS) long-term agreement have combined to sell two million units globally since their respective fall launches, according to internal EA sell-thru data.

LITTLEST PET SHOP for the Wii™, Nintendo DS™, and PC reached store shelves in October and according to NPD aggregated DS skus were the #2 overall Nintendo DS title in the US for the month of November1 and the #1 Nintendo DS title in France in October.2 The game, inspired by the Hasbro blockbuster toy line, is teeming with adorably cute pets that girls can collect, take on adventures in four vibrant worlds, or play with via a myriad of mini-games.

NERF “N-Strike”, available on the Wii since October, was the #10 title according to NPD for the month of November. The game, inspired by the globally popular Hasbro franchise, features non-stop NERF-style pandemonium where players are faced with a series of challenging missions that put blasting strategies and skills to the ultimate test. NERF “N-Strike” also ships with a custom NERF SWITCH SHOT EX-3 blaster, the first ever 2-in-1 video game and toy peripheral bundle to hit the market.

HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT, available on the Wii and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, launched in November and was awarded a Toy Wishes 2008 All-Star Award. Featuring six games including: BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, BOGGLE, CONNECT FOUR, SORRY! and the all new, SORRY! Sliders. Both MONOPOLY which is available for the Wii, PlayStation2 and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment systems and HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT had strong launches and continue to build momentum through the holiday.

“By innovating with these family brands and delivering a quality, fun game experience our EA Hasbro video games are something parents and friends can gift with pride this holiday season,” said Chip Lange, Vice President and General Manager EA Hasbro. “Our focus on creating audience-appropriate games has paid off with the consumers we wanted to reach and made EA Hasbro titles THE gift to give this holiday.”

Honestly I think I am far more inclined to play an MMO that randomly affixes farm animals to your head. Great job, SOE. You just alienated a very small, very disturbed portion of your fan base.

Sign Up For The Free Realms Beta Here [Free Realms]