GAME releases free-to-download ‘Christmas Shopper Simulator’ game
By Rich Leigh on Friday, December 5, 2014
Video game chain GAME has only gone and created… a third person ‘adventure’ game, in the Goat Simulator mould.
Christmas Shopper Simulator is a free-to-download (for PC and Mac), tongue-firmly-in-cheek offering, giving you the chance to:
Embark on an epic quest to do a bit of Christmas shopping, complete with all the disappointment, frustration and suspension of the laws of physics that you’d find in a real shopping centre!
The ‘Christmassy, shoppery, simulatory and totally free’ game is utterly, utterly ridiculous. In a way that appeals to my childish sense of humour.
Here’s a screengrab I’ve just pulled, showing the sort of thing they’re going for, which I’m sure will (and was intended to) wind vast sections of Twitter up:
Here’s the… trailer? I don’t know, it’s a video about the game, have a watch:
I haven’t played the game for any great length of time and I’m certainly no reviewer (MCV took a look here), but an awful lot of effort seems to have gone into this.Unfortunately for me, what with my ancient laptop, there was just too much lag to enjoy it.
The game doesn’t look terrible and there appears to be a lot you can do in the game, from missions to unlocking achievements. There are even a dozen or so fart sounds you can elicit from your chosen shopping avatar, which pleasingly make the in-store products wobble if done near the shelves. Small things, ladies and gentlemen.
The game was conceived and produced by ad agency 101_London, made by two-month old developer Freak Storm Games (not a bad early gig, eh?) and can be downloaded from the Christmas Shopper Simulator page.
As well as the free download, limited edition copies of the game are hidden in selected high street GAME stores. If you find a copy, you’ll apparently win exclusive prizes in store.
Despite being sure the budget is considerably more than last year’s Christmas Tinner effort and as somebody that likes it when brands don’t take themselves too seriously, I’m going to say this is one of my favourite Christmas PR/marketing efforts so far.
Involved agency:
