GoPets

Players on GoPets had the ability to create a pet. After selecting which animal they desire, they had the opportunity to customize their new GoPet by selecting from a list of pre-set colors and patterns. Once the initial creation process was complete, the GoPet was brought into existence to reside on the player's desktop.

If players desired further customization, they could dress their pet up with unique clothing items, and equip different transportation vehicles such as cars or planes. Many equipable items hold trainable animations that GoPets could be taught to use when their stats were at a certain level.

GoPets were social, and enjoyed interacting with other GoPets. These interactions included conversations, games, and professions of love and friendship which may result in a communal dance. GoPets loved to travel around desktops of players all around the world in search of other places where there were treated politely and affectionately.[1]

GoPets never died or became sick, despite the lack of care or how low their status might have become. However, GoPets would respond negatively to ill care and leave their owners' desktop frequently. For example, when very tired, GoPets would fall asleep often.

GoLand was a GoPets term referring to a players desktop. New users were taken to a community desktop where books, food and clothing are able to be purchased. A user could purchase their own piece of GoLand by using the GoLand Map and searching for either a camping site or a tier 1 land. Camping sites were shown by a green paw, and only cost 1000 green shells; while the tier 1 lands were shown by an orange paw and cost 75 gold shells. Camping sites only allowed 75 items to be placed onto the desktop, while a tier 1 land allowed 250 items for non-subscribers, and 400 items for premium subscribers.

Players could decorate their desktop with countless objects and toys for GoPets to play and interact with. GoPets could use many of the items by themselves. One popular item was a bathtub, which GoPets would utilize when their cleanliness status is low. In addition to toys and food, GoPets owners could place decorative items on the desktop, such as trees, shrubs or ponds. They could also mark items for sale, allowing visitors to their desktop to purchase these items at will.

The GoPets currency was known as the shell (they are simply colored seashells); green shells were the lowest denomination, pink shells were second, and gold shells were considered the most valuable. Gold Shells could be purchased for real money through Gopets, for US$0.10 per shell. At the trading forum, some players traded shells for another, but the exchange rate could be rather outrageous ((100 gold shell: 500 pink shells: 20000 green shells)). All types of shells, as well as numerous items, could be found in fortune cookies; Green Tea Fortune Cookies were given Daily to un-subscribed users, while special Premium Fortune Cookies were given to the Subscribers.[1]

The player's currency of Gold Shells to Pink Shells to Green Shells changed after GoPets discovered a flaw in their fortune cookie system which gave a higher payout of gold shells than a person who would buy the prepaid cards. Due to this, GoPets changed and revised the fortune cookie system making a daily maximum payout of 10 Gold Shells from pink fortune cookies.

Pink shells could only be used by Subscribers.

One of the GoPets stores is devoted completely to mini games. These small games can be purchased just like any other GoPets item and played on the owner's desktop. When a GoPets user purchases a mini game, it will appear in their Inventory. To play it, double-click on its Inventory icon. However, the most recently released games are downloaded and played independently of the GoPets' client.[3]

Previously, there were three other mini games available: Freethrow Shootout, BullsEye, and SkeeBall. However, these games were retired. All games released after the retiring of these games had different rules, a different prize point payout, and were downloaded separately rather than within the Gopets client.[3]

There were seven Mini Games available ."[3] , they are: Poker, Diner Dash 2, Eets, CandyShot, Sudoku, Shangai, and Magic Ball.

GoDance, a rhythm game, was released for free to GoPets users. There was a forum dedicated to GoDance which includes the latest link to download the updated GoDance game as well as talk to other GoDancers.

From summer 2007 to July 2009, GoPets was available on Windows Live Messenger via partnership with Microsoft. Players could access GoPets from MSN Messenger, playing the game and gaining access to a unique panda pet. Press coverage of the partnership referred to GoPets as "a global dog park for the 21st century" for how players could meet through their pets across global distances.[5] The GoPet ambassador to MSN Messenger was called Lily Panda.[6]

In the Spring of 2007, Konami Digital Entertainment (Konami Corporation) released GoPets Vacation Island for the Nintendo DS.[7]
Developed by 1st Playable Productions, the game would allow the player to make and visit friends, as well as play minigames, design foods and items and dress their pets up in clothing. The DS game, like the web version, had IKU chat and minigames.[8]

In early 2007, One Nine Studios developed a mobile game called GoPets: Matchu Petchu, where players could play minigames on mobile phones and unlock a special monkey pet.[9][10]