Wanted, the action movie starring Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie, is premiering in Denmark tomorrow. Its world premiere two months ago was accompanied by Massively Multiplayer Online game, www.wantedthegame.com.
This kind of parallel entertainment distribution across media platforms is a strategy gaining in popularity as revenue from video game sales are actually surpassing that from box-office ticket sales. It’s speculated that the two media platforms are actually competing for the same audience.
The Wanted MMO is free-to-play, however. Rather than being a parallel revenue-maker, it’s a FIG. Swedish game developers, Stillfront, specializes in FIGs and in the press release announcing WantedTheGame, they explain:
“Fan Immersion Games (FIGs) are casual, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) that are free to play yet also include opportunities for players to buy advantages and premium accounts using micro transactions payable via SMS messages and credit cards. These games deliver high fan engagement through their story-driven design and community elements.
According to the Casual Games Association, the North American online casual games market is estimated to reach $690 million with worldwide revenue of over $1.5 billion. DFC Intelligence states that the worldwide online games market is forecasted to reach $13 billion in 2011.”
So even though it incorporates a microtransaction model enabling players to buy and exchange weapons and hit orders, the Wanted FIG is not primarily launched to secure game revenue but create awareness about the whole Wanted universe and get people in line at the box-office.
Two weeks ago the Wanted brand became even more immersive when the game was officially ported to the iPhone. Besides taking advantage of the iPhone tilt-function for navigation, the mobile edition has in-game benefits for players who log in on a regular basis. Regular immersion is rewarded so to speak.
I would love to hear from anyone who’s tried the game. Wonder if it has an impact on the Danish premiere as well. I doubt it.
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