Pogo Puppies retired; players asked to join Pet Society instead

Staring December 31, Electronic Arts' pet simulation game for Facebook -- Pogo Puppies -- was sent to the pound ... permanently. Now, when you visit the former home of the puppy game, you're greeted with this colorful ad that urges players to "Check out Pet Society!" instead.

The company's official word about shuttering Pogo Puppies: "With the recent acquisition of Playfish, a leading creator of social network games with more than 60 million monthly active players, EA's current social networking portfolio was evaluated and the retirement of Pogo Puppies eliminates overlapping development, marketing and support efforts."

Pogo Puppies certainly looked great, but wasn't as fun to play as Pet Society. Once you adopted a pet and decked out its pad, the remaining activities were rather limited. EA is trying to cushion the blow to fans crushed by the news by also offering an exclusive Pogo Puppies plushie (available in February) for joining Pet Society by January 12.