My Muppet Show App Discussion/Updates

[muppetlover123]

Wow that sucks!

 

[jvcarroll]

To be perfectly honest, this whole Muppet Man is nothing but a big joke and not even worth my time. I got rid of it not too long ago because like I said, it's not worth my time.

There seems to be a disconnect between the game builders and the Muppet fans and Muppet Man is the biggest indicator of that. Fans of the Singing Monters game have an equivalent to this and they like it a lot, but it doesn't fit into the Muppet world and a lot of fans like me aren't avid gamers so this come off as an offensive ploy built to waste my time. Maybe I should send them a resume.

 

[Muppetboy09]

I love that I have to upgrade my digitizer to add all the Muppets, because I don't feel like yanking out my level 10-15 fed Muppets...

 

[Gonzo14]

I wish they would add more dressing rooms, I was starting to make duplicates of all the main muppets down below the stage for an orchestra and I have to pick and choose who to keep

 

[Slackbot]

I finally filled my Muppet Man costume yesterday and tried to cue it up. And got the message that I didn't have enough dressing rooms.

What the Fraggle?

I spent about a week generating characters so I wouldn't have to kick any maxed-out characters off the stage, and I had to chuck a few anyway. That's a nasty trick to play on your users, BBB. If Muppet Man takes up dressing rooms, the game should let us know by putting it in the description, or taking up the dressing rooms as soon as we place it, the way it does with the Wubbox.

For the record, Muppet Man doesn't really add much value. It thrashes around weirdly, and I guess there's sort of a beat, but I don't remember because it wasn't interesting enough to listen to for very long. It has a huge footprint, and one of its "likes" is Le Maximum, which also takes up a fair slice of real estate. Its one plus is that it earns loads of cash; at level 15 with four hearts it can get up to half a million dollars. Of course, by the time you can afford to buy the costume you're probably not strapped for cash.

 

[TheCreatureWork]

Disney just announced they are closing the app Jan 09, 2015.

 

[jvcarroll]

I guess they've pulled the plug on the app.

This doesn't seem to be a decision of the app company. The lack of playable characters like Bunson and the empty space next to the five other levels all point to plans to expand the game. The cryptic message makes this look like Disney's decision to not renew the contract. Maybe they've plateaued in the number of users. Maybe Disney has decided to greatly downscale the Muppet brand.

I'm miffed at how they've hosed the players and won't likely be playing another app of any sort again. I'm not really an app/game person to begin with.

I'm most concerned about the larger picture. What does this truly mean for the Muppets brand under Disney? This is the first time I'm really questioning these things.

 

[Slackbot]

Yeah, this is not a nice development. Not because we'll all miss the game so much, but because of the implications. Said implications actually occurred to me well before this announcement, because I noticed that there had been no ads on the game for months. They were not even bothering to monetize the app. That tells me that it's on its way out.

For the record, this is the announcement that was posted to Facebook:

Dear My Muppets Show community:
As our valued players, we want to let you know that in-app purchases are no longer available in this product, and the product will not be available for download after today. You will still be able to play the game until January 9th, 2015.
However, Disney will not be able to refund or credit you any virtual goods, game currency or other items purchased by or provided to you. Thank you for your kind attention, and for sharing in the digital Muppet experience with us.

 

[jvcarroll]

Yeah, this is not a nice development. Not because we'll all miss the game so much, but because of the implications. Said implications actually occurred to me well before this announcement, because I noticed that there had been no ads on the game for months. They were not even bothering to monetize the app. That tells me that it's on its way out.

For the record, this is the announcement that was posted to Facebook:

This reportedly has happened to other Disney apps for popular properties like Marvel's Avengers, so it could just be that they plan for these to have short life spans. Maybe once the number of new users starts to diminish, so does the app. They they can wait for a new project, create a new app and double-dip on everything. That might not be the way a lot of apps are done, but that could be the Disney model. I can see the reasoning behind it so maybe this has little to do with the Muppets brand and more to do with cyclical promotion. Trying to find the bright spot.

 

[Drtooth]

This reportedly has happened to other Disney apps for popular properties like Marvel's Avengers, so it could just be that they plan for these to have short life spans.

I'd say that's the positive way to look at it, and it's a good thing it isn't specifically some anti-Muppet conspiracy on their part. Movie doing meh or not, the merchandising brand seems to be a moderate money maker. I've noticed J.C. Penny started stocking the newer Kermit and Piggy plush from Disney Store, and they've rarely stocked newer Disney movie stuff. Not even that much Big Hero Six merchandise outside a scaled down version of Disney's figure set. And with Disney Stores not being as big in malls anymore, this is pretty much the most mainstream they have outside of a website.

Apps are fleeting anyway. Unless you've got a powerhouse like Angry Birds, and even then they keep rebranding themselves.