Doko: Tween Social Networking With A Twist
Jason Kincaid
17 comments »
Today sees the launch of Doko, a social networking game aimed at the tween market which claims to be “The World’s First Global Trading Game”. The game revolves around metal discs about the size of poker chips that are emblazoned with unique identifying tags. Friends are encouraged to trade discs with each other, which accrue virtual points on the Doko website (these in turn can be exchanged for real-world prizes).
Dokodiscs will be available for purchase at retail stores including Toys R Us. Kids are encouraged to register on a family-friendly social networking site, where they are assigned overly innocuous screen-names based on their favorite number and animal (I was given musmus13, a real keeper). From there, they can enter the codes found on each coin to receive their Doko Points, which can be traded in for prizes. The more often a coin is traded with other players, the more valuable it becomes (though it expires after five trades). The site tracks each coin during its journeys across the world, offering a cartoony 3D world perspective that reminded me of TwittEarth.
The game sounds like it could be a hit, but I’m left wondering what kind of strange effects it could have on its target audience. I can’t help but envision a bizarre, pre-pubescent mafia that will horde and distribute discs in an attempt to maximize profits. Or maybe I’ve just read Lord of the Flies too many times.
In any case, the social networking aspect of the site will likely appeal to many parents who would like to foster their child’s social interactions without letting them graduate to the “big kid” networks like Facebook and MySpace. Among Doko’s competitors for the tween market include Zwinky, Club Penguin, and Gaia. Even Facebook is making attempts to appease parents - yesterday they announced a number of new policies designed to safeguard against sexual predators.
Doko is a product of the Mammoth Brand of NSI International. Mammoth has been responsible for marketing more than $700 million worth of toys.
Jason, as a concept this would resonate with the age demographic they are targeting, but kids these days have club penguin and runescape as benchmarks - this falls way short.
The key word on Doko Drop is “Drop”.
gosh. here comes another place thats going to be abused by people looking to make money online. get in early in the action to benefit and learn, master and apply all the loop holes.
You are worried right Jason, I also wonder what effect it will do on its player and specially when they are children.
don’t we have enough of these?
They ask for your parent’s emailaddress….. So why is this on techcrunch?
If we learned anything from Halloween III, it is that shiny metal discs are not all that they seem to be. Do not trade the Silver Shamrock edition…
Makes me think of the pogs craze in the early 90s crossed with the whole pokemon thing.
don’t tell my tween about this. she already spends hours on club penguin.
It’s genius. They can slice and dice this a dozen ways. Add a hole and make the discs wearable after the trade has expired. Create limited edition discs creating scarcity…branded discs to promote films…get the disc when you attend a hilary duff or miley cyrus concert - status symbol…
Discs? I remember being a kid, and don’t imagine any of our kids would care for discs when they have power rangers…
I checked it out and actually think it’s got some serious potential. Allowing kids around the world to connect safely? I think that’s pretty cool. What better way to make a better world than having the next generation realize that for the most part they are all the same? Look at their globe - there are [apparently] tweens all over the world using it already. Curious to see where it goes…
My son got one of the Doko at the Toys R Us in NYC a last week. Once you see what it is all about, it is really quite interesting and different. When you register a Doko you trade it and see where it goes. My son’s already traveled 34 miles. I am not sure what they will cost but regardless, it beats the Club Penguin subscription I get shaken down for every month.
As a salesman at a toy store in Wisconsin, I was fairly interested in the Doko system when we received the product about two weeks ago. Not really caring to invest in it, I shrugged the product aside until we received a promotional disk shipment. I told my boss I was going to take one home and check out the Doko Drop site, as it were.
Once I logged in and registered the Doko I picked up, I started to read about the whole concept and how the system works. Really, for the younger kid/parent relationship system: It’s considerably cheaper than the Webkinz we see on a day-to-day basis and allows for kids to create a cool little social system by trading dokos with one another while also seeing if they can get their Doko to travel distances. For high schoolers and young adults: This audience can also find amusement in the system.
As a high school student, I saw a messenger bag that you can earn with points on the Doko Drop web page and decided I’d work towards it; in the process, I also wanted to see the miles my Doko traveled, so, I told my best friend to give a Doko that I have (in Wisconsin) to her boyfriend in Indiana to really test the system and we are enjoying how this is working. Doko Drop seems to be a great new system and is really making their stand here.