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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV5-J-qHVUo
But really, I wanted to check it out because my kids already have the VIPs (at least one each for the older ones), with the older littlest pet shop online game. I wanted to know if there was any reason to buy them their favorite animals all over again in the new LPSO pets for Littlest Pet Shop Online.
And the answer I came to was: yes, and no, depending on the age of the child.
Littlest Pet Shop online is fancier than the VIPs world. The graphics are updated, the play is more sophisticated, and there's definitely more of a quests and MMO (massively multiplayer online game) focus. Because of the quests, there's more reading involved, although I suppose a player could just ignore them and do their own thing.
My eight-year-old is ready for LPSO, or almost so, while my (nearly) four-year-old will be happier and less frustrated staying at VIPs. At least, these are my first impressions.
With VIPs you had to buy a plush pet to have a virtual pet.
With LPSO, your child can create one free pet (a dog), customize it, and play in the online world with it, without ever entering a code from a plush pet. If you do buy the plush LPSO pets and enter the code, they get a virtual version of the pet in the game.
Entering your first code also gives a free month's trial of the premium account features (which are relocked when the trial runs out). I haven't seen anything associated with the premium accounts my daughter will really need to enjoy the game, though, so I'm not worried about that. They seem to have done a fine http://petshopmaui.com/ job of balancing the free and premium content so that kids who buy the plush but don't subscribe still have a full, fun game to play, and kids who can't do either will be able to play the game, too.
One other thing I should mention is that right now, LPSO is only for the U.S. and Canada. They plan to include Europe next year.
I have screenshots, videos, and pictures of the LPSO plush pets here: Littlest Pet Shop Online
For more of a comparison of the two sites PLUS the free mini game site Hasbro has for Littlest Pet Shop and their other brands, I have that here: Littlest Pet Shop Online Games
The official site link for: Littlest Pet Shop Online
The official site link for Littlest Pet Shop (just click on VIPs to check out that section).
