Ski Challenge 09
Season officially under way, with over 1.3 million downloads chalked up in its first week.
On 9th December Ski Challenge 09 got underway and therefore kicked off this year’s challenge boom. In addition to the fixed media partners – ORF & Kronen Zeitung (Austria), Pro7, Sat.1 (Germany), SF (Switzerland), 24sata (Croatia), Zurnal (Slovenia) and NRK (Norway)– further countries will be added to the line-up throughout the season. Last season 3.3 million active players were drawn in, 300 races were completed and 14 billion ad-impressions were recorded. Between 3.5 and 4 million gamers worldwide are expected for the new season. For the first time the mobile version of the game will be available in several countries in addition to the PC version.
Eberhard Dürrschmid, Greentube CEO, on the new season: “The fourth season of our most successful cross-media format has arrived. Ski Challenge has proven that there is no limit to the appeal of a game in such a format. We are absolutely delighted about the sensationally positive feedback from our international fans, who, along with our media partners, have made this success possible. Even when the topic of in-game advertising is still seen somewhat sceptically, we have proven how successful it can be. Moreover the mobile version of Ski Challenge and its circulation have shown that there is further potential.”
Building on last year there are a number of improvements for the game. Some of the runs have been extended (Gröden) and adapted to match the World Cup runs (Val d’Isere). The GUI (Graphical User Interface), graphic effects and sound have also been tweaked. The video and training mode have been adapted allowing gamers to start from the checkpoints, allowing them to practise specific stretches of the runs.
Alongside the improvements and revisions there are a number of new features. The run from Garmisch-Partenkirchen has been added to the pistes already available. Another new feature is the online World Cup – the run in Val d’Isere will be on offer as its own competition parallel to the actual World Cup run, including its own World Cup ranking. The most interesting of the additions is the so-called ‘Battlemail’ feature. This enables players to invite others to a private tournament with its own conditions. Invited gamers will be informed about the ‘battle’ by e-mail and will be led directly to the Battle Mode via a community ActiveX component. For the first time this season, Ski Challenge can be played in a web browser, further increasing the game’s user-friendliness. This also means that the usual web-based functions will be better linked to the game itself.
Many new players are expected to register to add to the huge fan community from last year. And once again numerous prizes are on offer alongside those for the top three.
Find out more about the new season, including the new features and hints and tips at www.ski-challenge.com
Contact:
Doris Mayer
Greentube I.E.S. AG
presse@greentube.com