Surprisingly, KHInsider started off rather differently then the site you see today. Around the fall of 2003, the Kingdom Hearts Online Community was sprawling with hoards of fans pumped up for Kingdom Hearts 2, which was at the time just newly announced. There were countless websites providing a wide variety of Kingdom Hearts 2 content, but this site, established by Deven, would become rather distinct. It would eventually grow into the largest Kingdom Hearts Community ever established.
Unlike numerous other websites, KHInsider started off as a simple mailing service. Instead of fans having to come back to a website daily for their news, KHInsider, then called Kingdom Hearts 2.net, was just a simple Email Address form for visitorss to type their email in, and have news sent to them directly to their email inboxes, as soon as it arouse. This simplicity was tremendously ethical and useful, as fans could get updates sent directly to them! In a matter of weeks the numbers added onto the mailing list, and soon, a link of Kingdom Hearts fans was created through a simple email service.
To further expand onto this tiny community, Deven decided to start up the forums. In October 2003, the Kingdom Hearts 2.net Forums were established! Sadly, the forums grew at a slow pace, and had less then twenty members. Nonetheless, these members were very dedicated, and the community continued to grow along with the email services.
The site continued to grow, and by this time, new information surrounding Kingdom Hearts 2 was popping up all over the place! In December 2003, Kingdomhearts2.net opened up, not just as a simple email form, but as a full-fledged website! It featured a layout, which was, at the time, rather organized. Pages were being updated on the daily! The site developed tremendously fast, as visitors spread the word quickly! Alongside, the forums were re-launched.
As time flew by into 2004, the site quickly progressed, surpassing most Kingdom Hearts Websites of the time. By August 2004, the site appeared as number one on Google.com for all Kingdom Hearts related searches! It grew so tremendously, so quickly, that it became the hub for everything Kingdom Hearts related, mainly through its forums. There was never a minute where hundreds of fans WEREN’T discussing the latest information on Kingdom Hearts 2 or the soon to be released Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
In December 2004, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was released. The site accommodated for this by providing nonstop content and support for new players surrounding the release for the game. The community rejoiced as new theories and thoughts had arisen from the release.
Deven simply could no longer handle both the forum community, and the website, since they were both growing at extreme paces. Kingdom Hearts 2.net Forums was officially the number one hot spot for the Online Kingdom Hearts Community, and there was no stopping the site’s growth! Deven hired The Midnighter, an expert on forum and coding, to help manage the forums.
The forums were changed from InvisionFree to Vbulletin in January 2005. It was a huge success, as the countless new features helped expand the forums, including the newly released RPG Inferno, which was reminiscent of an MMORPG, but attached to the forums themselves! These new features, along with the on flowing Kingdom Hearts news from special events such as Jump Festa, E3, Square Enix Parties, and the Tokyo Game Show, would allow the site to continue to grow throughout 2005. By the summer of 2005, the site would easily have hundreds of visitors online at once, with traffic at nearly 50,000 visitors daily! In response to such heavy activity, Kingdom Hearts 2.net upgraded its servers drastically.
It was also in the summer of 2005 that, due to a lawsuit and the belief that the site needed to revolve around the entire Kingdom Hearts Series, Kingdom Hearts 2.net was renamed Kingdom Hearts Insider.com.
In Decemeber 2005, Kingdom Hearts 2 was released in Japan. Kingdom Hearts Insider dominated with new updates daily. The fans responded on the forums with tons of hype and a heap of discussion.
During the early months of 2006, KHInsider continued to dish out its services. Activity once again spiked, as we got closer to Kingdom Hearts 2’s March North American Release. The site celebrated, providing numerous contests, and a release party for all the members!
Sadly, by April 2006, Deven realized that he was not what was best for the site. He decided to sell the site to Yusuf.
The change bought great things. Yusuf, along with his large team, were prepared to completely revamp the site. A new layout, completely new content, and the removal of ads were all at the top of their list!
Today, Kingdom Hearts Insider continues to provide ongoing content and up to date news surrounding the series, as new games are announced. It still remains the largest Kingdom Hearts Community and Fan base on the web!
