The Print Country iPhone game is a blatant advertising game, there's no doubt about that. What's different about it, though, is it actually rewards players for playing through its ad-riddled product, offering discounts of up to $20 off future purchases from Print Country's website.
We've seen iPhone games from American Express, GameStop, and all sorts of other companies looking to the platform as nothing more than an advertising vehicle. They don't reward customers for spending the time to play their games. Print Country has a different idea on how to use the iPhone to promote its brand.
The online retailer's customer service manager Mylan Le says the company's new iPhone game lets players build up points, which can be used to earn real-world discounts on the store's website. "This is a unique feature of our game," said Le in a press release.
The game itself, which is simply called PrintCountry, is a basic time management game that takes place inside a printing shop. Players need to fulfill customer orders on time to ensure their "mood meter" doesn't drop too low. They manage their supplies, gauge which customer orders are easiest to fill, and try to reach the target score before time runs up.
Successfully completing levels and earning high scores in turn opens up the ability to "buy" discounts at PrintCountry.com, which sells inkjet cartridges, toner, and other electronic accessories.
It's not an earth-shattering game by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're gonna play a game that a company made for no reason other thanto be abig ad, you should at least get rewarded for playing it, right? We still probably won't play it.
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