Rumored AJ Merch + TV Show!?

Hey Jammers! By now you've probably noticed that a habit of mine is to take reeeeeeally long breaks from posting during the week due to how exhausted I feel from all the homework I get. 

I've been trying to break that habit, but I was planning on getting all up to date on Friday when, lo-and-behold, I got too sick to do anything more than lie around and feel sorry for myself! What great timing.

I'm still sick, but better enough to sit upright and type this out. There's actually quite a lot of news I have for you today that I think you'll find interesting!

However, because I've missed so much, here are some screenshots of all the items I've missed out on updating you with:

...And because tomorrow is the 14th, you should expect a whole slew of Pi Day items in Jam Mart Furniture!

And now, on to the crazy news of the day! Brace yourselves...

I admit that none of this information is mine. The one who did the research and put all the clues together is Snowyclaw, AJ blogger and YouTuber. This info ain't mine, but I think this is really interesting!

Here's what various sources are saying about the details of upcoming AJ merchandise, including new info about the figurines coming out in June.

A New Master Toy Partner?

First off, Animal Jam is partnering up with toy company Jazwares to make and distribute their merchandise as their Master Toy Partner! I'm not entirely sure if they're still with Commonwealth Toy & Novelty as we'd thought in the past, but it's sure they'll have a lot less involvement if Jazwares is to be AJ's Master Toy Partner.

Pricing Info for Figurines, Plushies, and Play-sets!

I love that butterfly!

These are the "Adopt-a-Pet" Figurines and they will be sold for $3.49 US Dollars each, including a little house.

Four of these little friends will be sold together for $4.99 US Dollars. You can dress them up, too!

These are called "Light-up Friends" and are sold for $8.99 US Dollars. They come with a magic blacklight ring that shows hidden patterns!

Themed dens will be sold for  $14.99 US Dollars.

Small plushies will be sold for $6.99 US Dollars. 

Deluxe plushies will be sold for $14.99 US Dollars.

A whole model Club Geoz including lights, sound, and special figurines will be sold for $29.99 US Dollars. Jeez!

Exclusive Online Features?

All of these products will apparently unlock exclusive online features. Because the majority are figurines of things in Jamaa already accessible (dens, animals, pets), there's a slight possibility that things in Jamaa could be changed drastically. 

For example, because you'll be able to get an arctic wolf from a code on an arctic wolf figurine, the Diamond Shop wouldn't be needed anymore. Additionally, because buying a toy is more profitable than slowly collecting diamonds, the Diamond Shop would shut down altogether!

That's an extreme possibility and seems like it would shake things up way too much to be implemented, so don't worry. For now...

Another possibility is that the digital things unlocked from toys already represented in Jamaa will be completely new. For example, purchasing an action figure of an arctic wolf could get you a digital version of that action figure, rather than the arctic wolf itself. 

Or perhaps, the online feature yielded from the toy could be unrelated or only loosely related to the toy itself. Maybe a panda plushie gives you special armor. Only time will tell...

Animal Jam TV Show!?!?

And now, the most exciting and terrifying news of this post. 

I'm gonna spell it out slowly for you so you keel over backward with shock:

In the future... Animal Jam... may... have... a TV show. And I'm not talking about that weird kids show called Animal Jam with the weird puppets that used to come up whenever I Googled AJ. An actual TV show! For Animal Jam! Are you scared? I KNOW I AM.

There are no press releases concerning a possible TV show, so for now it's only an idea. However, it's an idea that WildWorks seems to want to see happen. 

Personally, I really don't think a TV show would be necessary. I think one of the big reasons why AJ is so successful is that it's really personal. Sure, it's the most popular kids game out there, but there's a strong community and a sense that Animal Jam is much more than just a money-sucking kids game. Unless WildWorks does something really unique and special, a TV show would make AJ feel a little more impersonal. 

TV shows for products are just ways of advertising, albeit a little more complex. They add more interest to games that lack storyline, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pokémon– but an MMO? I really haven't seen any TV shows for MMO's that ever worked out. 

Sorry if you're excited for a TV show and this post seemed kinda negative. It's just a personal opinion because I'm kind of afraid how a TV show would affect Animal Jam. I've seen things special and unique that were made hollow by being brought into the filtered world of TV and movies, so I don't want AJ to be a repeat of that.

But who knows? WildWorks made an amazing kids game, so why not a good TV show, too?

Possible Trading Cards

And now, a rumor that's a little less controversial: Trading Cards!

It's not certain as to whether this idea is going to actually be introduced, but it sounds really fun! An Animal Jam trading card game is something I could get behind. 

They apparently tried out this idea during the beta days and released a handful of Alpha trading cards in an issue of Nat Geo Kids Magazine. (Nat Geo Kids actually has some really interesting stuff in it, occasionally AJ codes as well. Did you know that some rainbows can be only many shades of red?)

All of this information is credited to Snowyclaw in this video.

That wraps up this daily post. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to comment! :)

See you in Jamaa!