The 'Habbo Fansite Downfall'

[:Pringles,]

Is the end of Habbo Fansites near?

As you will all know now since the merge of Habbo Hotel, Fansites have all had their fair share of problems. Many of the Habbo Fansites available just two years ago has more than halfed to just one successful fansite available today known as "Habbox".

Me, being a previous fansite owner will know fully well what the main issue is, and it was indeed the merge. The fall-out of Habbo Staff, the downfall of the rare values and the confusion between fellow hotel users with the sudden and painful merge are all the cause of the collapse of our most loved Habbo Fansites.


KissHabbo
TryHabbo
Habb-Radio
HFFM
Great La
FlameHabbo


... and many more just indicating the great loss we've had. Is Habbox next? Possibly.

Habbox was renowned for its 100+ listeners a day on Habbo Hotel, and the listener rates now are upto 30 on a good day. So what exactly is happening?

People are getting bored of Habbo Hotel. Habbo Hotel is changing every single day! From the loss of our retro hotel, the navigator and now our old hotel view! It's too much to take; then VIP came in, then we saw the price for Credits increase, and the exchange also increase, it's mad!!!

In conculsion; Habbo Fansites and the traditional habbo users who were members from 2007 are all getting bored of how rubbish Sulake is being, leaving Habbo Hotel because of its unpopularity allowing it to be opened upto "bacon noobs" and people of the age of around 5, and thus, fansites are collapsing.

Thanks for reading.

[Samantha]

KissHabbo and TryHabbo are the sake thing and is now called HabboHub.

Anyway I do agree the merge didn't help nor did the audience being aimed far too young Habbo has changed but everything does at some point. Nice thread.

[Mathew]

There's some interesting points raised, but I disagree. It's not the fact that "traditional users from 2007" are "getting bored of how rubbish Sulake is being", it's simply the fact that they are growing up. Think about it. We're surrounded by hormonal teenagers who are progressing through one of the biggest stages of their lives. They're beginning to understand society, progress through education, create relationships and decide how they spend their leisure time. It's not that Habbo is becoming "rubbish", it's the mere fact that me, you, and most people we speak to are growing up and moving on in their lives. Back in 2007, people said Habbo was better in 2001. In a few years time, there will be people saying Habbo was better in 2012. Habbo changes. People change.

Indeed, one of Sulake's latest press releases (http://www.sulake.com/press/releases/sulake-expands-mobile-strategy-for-habbo/) states that Habbo Hotel is the world's largest social game and online community for teenagers at 10 million monthly unique users". That doesn't suggest people are getting bored of Habbo to me. A large bulk of those 10 million users will have no idea what "our retro hotel" looked like. Habbo needs to satisfy and reach out to those new users who are joining Habbo now, because in 5 years time, they will be the ones creating similar threads because they will have grown up on the site.

I think there's a slight false causation when we relate Habbo's alledged "unpopularity" to the "downfall of fansites". Personally, I think it's a mix of factors, but I wouldn't know where to start. I think it's pretty safe to assume that the merge played a role, but perhaps that's only because the so-called "downfall" started around that time. Perhaps it's just my perception of things, but I get the feeling that Habbo used to be a lot smaller - more like a community rather than a giant empire that it is now. You could go about your daily business on Habbo UK, running into the same people day-in, day-out. You wouldn't get this now; the community spirit has been lost. People are spoilt for choice in terms of the fansite that they wish to join so they're either dispersed amongst many, or they just don't bother.

The latter is probably quite credible too. What can fansites offer Habbos that the client itself can't? Users no longer need to trade on fansites due to the Marketplace. They no longer need to attend events due to the ridiculous amounts of Battle Banzai and Freeze games. They no longer need to attend Help Desks due to the FAQs and the soon-to-be new Habbo Helper system. They no longer need to join a forum community because they're able to visit a group room and meet people that way. Habbo Fansites need to provide something that the client can't, and that's where Habbox needs to step up to the plate and make a difference. HxSS is successful because it provides something that Habbo can't. Habbo don't provide such frequent events and then offer huge prizes, so Habbox is in the clear. Then again, Habbo don't provide a radio but HxL would be included in the fansite bracket too. It all boils down to community and following your friends.

As I've said, interesting thread and some good points have been raised, but I do not think there is a link between Habbo being "rubbish" and a "downfall of fansites".

[Inseriousity.]

Lol it's not Habbo although they certainly haven't helped. Quite frankly, fansites (and micro-communities in general really) need a mixture of bacon heads and older people. The bacon heads keep the community going, they enter the comps, they go to the events, they listen to the radio and then they are guided through it all by the older people and then they grow up and in theory, they become the older people and they look after the next generation of bacon heads and so the fansite remains intact.

Fansites collapse when the older people get snobby about "bacon heads" and treat them like dirt so they don't enter the comps, they don't go the events and they grow up somewhere else while the older people also grow up and naturally leave because "they're too old now" who leave behind a group of slightly-younger people saying "Why is no-one at our fansite? What's going on? It was okay back in the day and now it's crap!" (I have first-hand experience of this downhill spiral) and then they leave too and ta-da, fansite collapsed. When you point the finger, just remember there's 3 pointing back at you.