Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-28666769-20160608031336

Club Penguin is slowly dying. The game's popularity, according to Google Trends, is at an all time low. Just see for yourself: https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=%2Fm%2F0dkw2l

Club Penguin, which started in October 2005, experienced a general upwards trend until it peaked in December of 2010, and then Club Penguin's popularity began to wane. It took its biggest hits in the Spring of 2011 and the Winter of 2011/12. In 2015, many CP offices started shrinking or out outright shut down, like the UK office. But why did Club Penguin start dying in 2011, and what are they doing to save the game? I have a theory.

In October 2010, rsnail announced his retirement. CP headed into 2011 lacking the proper leadership required to keep the company afloat. During the reign of Billybob from Oct 2010-Oct 2012, CP's popularity took a significant hit. Billybob proved to be poor at managing the company and keeping it popular. Towards the end of Billybob's rule, the Takeovers began.

The Sponsored Parties, or "Takeovers", have completely ruined the integrity of the game. Club Penguin had proved that it was no longed about "Making new friends", and now was about "Making more money". Club Penguin had become a sellout, thanks to Disney and Billybob. Takeovers only increased in frequency after Spike Hike inherited the throne. I believe that Takeovers are Disney's way of milking money out of Club Penguin. CP was once a prosperous game, garnering many page searches as seen on the Google Trends graph. However, the popularity declined and Disney needed a way to keep on making a profit, so they opened up the online island to advertising...but kids do not want to be constantly bombarded with ads. In fact, Club Penguin is just a clever way for Disney to advertise their movies to young audiences now. The latest Takeovers have been advertisements for the Disney films Zootopia, Inside Out, and Frozen. More and more kids turned their back on the game, which just hurt the game even more. Now the company is dying and many employees are being laid off. This is where Project Super Secret comes in.

This alleged "Project Super Secret", which will aim to modernize the game, is CP's last stand. If this update flops, then the game is over. Club Penguin cannot afford to loose any more players. This is Spike Hike's attempt to fix what Billybob and Disney have destroyed. The trends MUST be reversed in order to save the game; this is a fact.

Club Penguin needs a leader that can rise them up from the hole they have gotten themselves into. Rsnail, inarguably the best leader Club Penguin has ever had, is gone. Billybob just couldn't keep the website afloat. Spike Hike inherited the mess Billybob left behind, and is making his last stand. If Project Super Secret works, Spike Hike will be remembered as the savior of the game-but if it fails, he will be remembered as the man who sealed CP's fate. In the event of failure, I wouldn't be surprised if Club Penguin shuts down or ceases to update by the end of the decade in 2020.

An analogy would be that if rsnail is comparable to George Washington, the mighty founder and great leader of the nation, then Billybob is James Buchanan- widely regard as the worst president in US history for his inability to prevent the Civil War. Spike Hike will either be Abraham Lincoln and preserve the union, or fail and just be a Spike Hike. And NOBODY wants to be a Spike Hike.

Assuming Project Super Secret fails, which seems like the most likely scenario, I foresee Spike Hike leaving the game in defeat, unable to fix what his predecessor Billybob left behind. The next leader of Club Penguin will inherit a small and dying company. In fact, I think only a skilled businessman can save this game now. We need someone who can Make Club Penguin Great Again.™

Thank you for reading. What do you think will happen to Club Penguin? Do you agree with me that Billybob has been the most inept leader Club Penguin has ever seen? Leave your thoughts below.

---123gato1 