Since its release in March of 2012, Fox’s mobile game “The Simpsons: Tapped Out” has, according to developer EA, made more than $100 million through its freemium model of in-app purchases. So it came as no surprise when another high-profile, Fox-inspired mobile game, “Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff,” emerged this April.
Mobile games based on TV properties with worlds and fan bases as rich and robust as “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” can be big business if done properly, but they also offer endlessly intriguing opportunities for promotion. With more than 800,000 current likes on its Facebook page, one can only assume “Tapped Out” has reached at least a million people during its run. In today’s ratings climate, that’s a number on par with some series’ weekly episodes.
Fox Digital Entertainment has made the most of that captive audience over the game’s two-year run by releasing themed content updates in sync with special episodes. For instance, for last season’s “Simpsons” episode “Whiskey Business,” the game tied in a bonus “Respectable Moe” costume for the iconic bartender as well as a black limo – both of which could be purchased for the price of 40 donuts. But before any of that appeared in players’ inventories, they had to navigate a notice reading, “In this Sunday’s episode on Fox, Moe gets a new suit and a new lease on life.”
“Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff,” in which users must build their own version of the show’s hometown of Quahog, features a standalone story for now, but will by next fall feature weekly content updates that tie into at least two episodes a month. So reported Fast Company in a recent article featuring Matt McMahon, VP of mobile for Fox Digital Entertainment, who developed “Quest for Stuff” with gaming company TinyCo and “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane’s production company Fuzzy Door.
McMahon told “Fast Company” his team is trying “push the envelope with this app… we’re looking to drive new business, and create an ongoing engagement platform for fans – not just by putting promotional brands in the game, but integrating storylines from the franchise.”
Given that actual “Family Guy” writers will be helping flesh out those storylines, this agenda sounds like it could be a fruitful one. For now, the game’s developers seems to be working out the kinks before making the push into interactive marketing and cross-platform plotting efforts. “Quest for Stuff’s” Facebook page currently hovers around 35,000 likes, which seems low considering the show itself has more than 55 million. That number will surely rise, especially if the game keeps dropping promos like the one below, featuring Adam West aka the Mayor of Quahog, in a bid to be a real mayor of a real town. When it does, Fox will be there, with innovative mobile content that is raising the stakes for what a TV show app can do for a brand and its fans.
Tags: