October 7th, 2009 by Arjan Olsder Posted in Adult Games, Platforms: iOS | No Comments »
Earlier this week, we received an e-mail from 'Dr. Digs' about his latest adult mobile game that targets the iPhone demographic. Just like various casino's, he uses the Safari browser to avoid being turned down by Apple.
The news of bypassing Apple via the browser is far from fresh, but the way these guys promote their new game is something new. Their press release stood out from everything we see on a daily basis. Apart from being well structured, they also played with purple tests to attract attention but still in a way that doesn't look too cheap and it was sent and replied to by 'Dr. Digs' himself (aha).
Apart from earning money on pay per play basis, 'his' mission is to;
a) demonstrate how next generation smartphones, and particularly the iphone – as well as sensor rich devices such as the ipod touch – open the door to novel interactive and fun experiences in the mobile market. with "ladylover: heavy petting" we are taking the first official step (albeit in the adult market), knowing and preparing for several other possibilities, such as integrating geolocation into mobile gameplay, integrating with social platforms etc. …
b) bypass (and somewhat challenge) apple's restrictive app store policy. apart from really wanting to create a touch-enabled adult game for a cool device we were not really thrilled by apple's distribution policy, so we considered how to deliver an experience that looks and feels like an app, but is actually browser-based, circumventing apple's awkward approval process and paving the route for a different distribution of mobile services.
c) if i may say so – build dr. digs to become the leading mobile brand in the area of interactive mobile entertainment for adults.
To pull more gamers to the game, the company has set up various accounts on Twitter and Facebook that are maintained by 'the girls' so players can keep being in contact even outside the game. Apart from all the good marketing examples, we did find one turn-off in the conversation. The 'Cumming Soon' joke is sooo 1999!
Though this is adult themed, it might serve an example for many game developers out there.
