Mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood has made more than $113m (£73.2m) according to its developer Glu Mobile’s financial results. No wonder so many celebrities are following in her footsteps.
Glu alone has signed deals to make games for Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj, but they have all been beaten to the app stores by Shakira, via her partnership with Angry Birds developer Rovio Entertainment.
Love Rocks is a gem-swapping puzzle game released for smartphones and tablets in October, with a Candy Crush Saga-style system of in-app purchases used to buy power-ups. However, both parties say it is more than a cash-in.
“It really is a joint venture, not just a simple licensing deal. She has been super hands-on with the game design, with a lot of input on the details and the music,” Rovio’s marketing chief Peter Vesterbacka told the Guardian.
Love Rocks is intended to be a wider brand, starting with a mobile game but moving into fashion, merchandise and other products.
“We are taking the Angry Birds model and applying it to Love Rocks, building a franchise around the brand. The game is the first thing that is out and visible, but there will be many other things,” he said.
“We are looking at lifestyle, fashion, that kind of thing. It just so happens that in the last few years, games have become super-powerful for building a new brand at a very fast pace.”
Love Rocks is also a new way for Shakira to distribute her music. Players who reach level 12 in the game’s Android version get a code for a free download of her 2009 album She Wolf. If they reach level 82, they get another download.
For now, the giveaway only works in the Android version of the game in 10 countries: the US, Canada, Brazil, Spain, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Australia.
“That mechanic could be used for any music, or any digital download,” said Vesterbacka. “What we have with Love Rocks is a massive new channel to distribute music and other digital content. And a way to engage with the fans every day.”
Shakira agreed. “There are so many fun ways that we want to incorporate it … ways to link it with new music or tours. It’s just another way to have a more direct dialogue with your fans,” she said.
Shakira said she hopes it will show the industries of music and tech can work well together.
“I think in the last 20 years the line between art and technology has blurred quite a bit and now, rather than being worlds that are at odds with one another, they complement each other,” she said.
“Technology can bring art to another level if it’s done right, and though you may not realise it, art has a huge influence on technology too. This game was such a fun way to bring an artistic sensibility to a gaming world.”
