Is Poptropica Too American?

Tall Cactus 6 Comments

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We all know Poptropica is an American-made game. Its headquarters are in Boston, after all. Even so, there are Poptropicans all over the world, and the Creators sure know this. Or do they? Is Poptropica too American?

You may not agree with this, but let’s just look at all the evidence…

  • Poptropica is only available in English.
  • Nearly half of the events in Time Tangled are American.
  • Mystery Train Island, period. Oh, and Wild West, period.
  • Sure, it may seem like a ton of islands are based off of places around the world, and that is true. But look closer…

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(Pictures from the Poptropica Help Blog)

  • The whole “Winter is Coming” advertisement on the home page: what about the people who live in the Southern Hemisphere? It’s summer for them…
  • Stating only the Northern Hemisphere’s season has been done by the Creators several times before. Like, when Worlds was announced to be releasing in spring 2017. Some poor kids in the Southern Hemisphere could get confused and think it’s coming out in what’s fall for the people living in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • The Poptropica flag in Lunar Colony sort of references the American flag, with the stars representing the islands/states.
  • In Reality TV, that magazine says that Bucky Lucas is running for president. In many countries, leaders are called prime ministers, etc, not presidents.

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  • The ads. It’s possible that some of the ads are not accurate for other countries. Like, the release date for a movie could be different around the globe, or the thing something is advertising may not even be available to purchase in other nations.
  • On the membership page, the costs are listed in American dollars only, I think. I’m not too sure on whether they show other currencies, but it’s probably just in US dollars.
  • Some of the contests from a few years ago were available to US citizens only.
  • On the World Champions maps for the SUIs, there is a completely separate map for the US, but not for any other countries.
  • Etc, etc, etc…

As you can see, Pop could possibly be just a little too American, and I seriously hope that Pop Worlds is a more global game. Will that actually happen? I have no clue.

Oh, I almost forgot: Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤

-Tall Cactus

 

6 thoughts on “Is Poptropica Too American?”

  2. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! I’m so lucky to have you as a friend who is still there for me. I can’t believe it’s already been a year! Thank you so much for everything, you beautiful cactus, you. Long live Tall Zactus!!

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  3. “Poptropica is only available in English.”
    Poptropica actually has set up a system for allowing different languages. Accurately translating all the dialog was probably just too taxing on the development team.

    “Mystery Train Island, period. Oh, and Wild West, period.”
    Where else would Wild West take place? It’s a fairly unique genre that will be recognizable to most players.

    “The whole “Winter is Coming” advertisement on the home page: what about the people who live in the Southern Hemisphere? It’s summer for them…”
    That’s why they made the tropical costumes in November…

    “The Poptropica flag in Lunar Colony sort of references the American flag, with the stars representing the islands/states.”
    It’s good symbolism, and besides, they shouldn’t spend hours designing a flag we’ll only see once.

    “In Reality TV, that magazine says that Bucky Lucas is running for president. In many countries, leaders are called prime ministers, etc, not presidents.”
    Reality TV shows are largely made in America. The island main street also takes place on a seemingly American desert. (I’m ashamed of you, Tall Cactus. How could you not notice your own kind while waiting outside the motel for Bucky’s pizza?!)

    “The ads. It’s possible that some of the ads are not accurate for other countries. Like, the release date for a movie could be different around the globe, or the thing something is advertising may not even be available to purchase in other nations.”
    Recently, the Creator’s Blog has specified that island releases and deadlines are in eastern time.

    “On the membership page, the costs are listed in American dollars only, I think. I’m not too sure on whether they show other currencies, but it’s probably just in US dollars.”
    Lots of smaller companies do this. It’s just not worth having to convert earnings into a currency the seller(s) can actually use, compared to the method that’s currently in place.

    “Some of the contests from a few years ago were available to US citizens only.”
    Mostly legal stuff.

    “On the World Champions maps for the SUIs, there is a completely separate map for the US, but not for any other countries.”
    That’s because the United States consists of multiple parts, and most of their playerbase is in the U.S. as well.

    As long as the creators don’t say something like “The U.S. is the best, everything else is terrible”, I think I’m OK with the “issues” you pointed out.

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