Why No NASCAR Casual Games?

Why No NASCAR Casual Games?

Two years ago, when Jenkat was doing casual game development, we pitched the idea of NASCAR/racing-themed games to several publishers. The reaction wasn’t what we had hoped. However, based on demographics and social media statistics, there seems to be a huge crossover between NASCAR fans and causal gamers. We think – if done right – that NASCAR and racing inspired games would find a large audience.

We pitched two-types of NASCAR/racing games. One was a time management game like Diner Dash, where you managed your car and driver in the pits from practice to qualifying to the actual race. To win the game, you would need to field the best driver and team, thus winning a “Winston Cup”-like trophy. Locations for the game would have included different cities (Charlotte, Daytona, Phoenix, and more) and different settings at the race track.

The other game was a hidden object game that we had a working title of “Day at the Races” where a family of four have won, ironically, a day at the races.  Their day would start at home and they would eventually make their way to the race track. Along the way they’d have to search for many items in many different locations, including having to find their keys, pack the car, stop for breakfast, pick-up lil’ Jerry from baseball practice, get an oil change, make it to the track, park, find their seats, go on a tour, get some lunch, watch the race, and finally celebrate in the Winner’s Circle.

Our target release date for both games was going to be the week of the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600, which is the biggest weekend of racing each year. Those two events traditionally take place on the same weekend in May.

In the end, neither game has materialized, however we still hold out hope. We’re casual race fans and casual game fans, and we believe that if those two worlds collided it would produce some entertaining games.

Racing Weekend May 2011, anyone?

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Sugar Games Coming to Jenkat

In April, four new games from our friends at Sugar Games will be arriving at Jenkat.  They include:

  • Rainbow Web
  • Rainbow Web 2
  • Rainbow Mystery
  • Wendy’s Wellness

All four titles will join our growing catalog of FREE GAMES at JenkatGames.com.  No ads, no time limits, no e-mails – Just FREE!

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JenkatGames.com Surges to Three Million Unique Users per Month

Casual Games Website Goes From Negligible Traffic in March 2009 to Over Three Million Unique Users in July 2009, as a Result of Strategy Shift and Distribution Deals

LAKE ELMO, MN–(Marketwire – September 9, 2009) – Jenkat Media, Inc., a leading casual game developer and distributor, founded by veterans of Fox Interactive Media and MySpace Games, today announced that its consumer-facing website, www.JenkatGames.com, experienced tremendous growth, in only four months, due to a company strategy shift towards distributing a new casual games Arcade product. The Arcade offers over 300 popular casual game titles that can be played directly from the user’s desktop. According to Media Metrix/comScore, JenkatGames.com had 3.2 million unique users in the United States visit its website in July 2009.

“To go from 27,000 unique users in March of 2009 to more than three million unique users in only four months is a testament to Jenkat’s management team recognizing that a creative strategy shift was necessary to capitalize on a new opportunity in the casual gaming space, offered via a strategic partnership with the W3i Application Network,” said Malcolm Michaels, President of Jenkat Media. “Consumers are finding the stagnant and over-priced casual game space hard to stomach during this economic downturn; they want more value for their time. Since Jenkat adopted the free model for full version, premium casual games, consumers are responding by the millions in support.”

Jenkat Media used its existing partnership with W3i, a network that increases distribution, revenue, and engagement for Windows applications, in order to offer consumers premium casual games content in a free environment. The W3i Application Network brings together publishers like Jenkat Media with W3i advertisers who are looking for additional distribution for their applications. “We created a partnership with W3i that outperformed our initial expectations and is now a part of our core strategy.” We are now actively rolling out our monetization strategy to other casual game developers who are looking to better monetize their casual game catalogs,” says Michaels. “The collaboration between W3i and Jenkat Media shows the power of taking a network approach creating a win-win for application publishers and advertisers,” comments Rob Weber, VP of Business Development and Co-Founder of W3i.

About Jenkat Media, Inc.:

Jenkat Media seeks to disrupt the traditional casual games value exchange by giving consumers full version, free games while providing game developers with revenue streams that are typically 2-3x that of the traditional try-and-buy casual games model. This free model for premium games has already been adopted by millions of consumers. The JenkatGames.com website features over three million unique users per month in the United Sates. With over 20 years of collective experience in creating successful consumer websites, the Jenkat management team has engaged hundreds of millions of users over the last decade with casual games, social media, and other viral content. To learn more about Jenkat Media Inc., or if interested in participating in Jenkat’s casual game monetization platform, visit www.JenkatGames.com andwww.JenkatMedia.com.

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Jenkat Games and J2Play Deploy The Santa Express Game On Major Social Networks

Development & Distribution Agreement Partnership to bring Jenkat’s original games to major social networks, including Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Orkut, Friendster, & iGoogle

Lake Elmo, MN – December 12, 2008 – Jenkat Media, Inc., a leading casual game developer and distributor, founded by veterans of Fox Interactive Media and MySpace Games, today announced they have entered into a distribution agreement with J2Play, provider of an integrated platform allowing game developers to convert existing games with leading social media sites. Jenkat and J2Play will work to distribute 12 of Jenkat’s top game titles, including (i) Café Majhongg, (ii) Fresh Air Solitaire, and (iii) Finders Keepers, Jenkat’s #1 hit treasure-hunting game.

The first game launched under the partnership was The Santa Express. As the classic Christmas song goes, Santa “knows if you’ve been bad or good.” This Christmas, Santa will make his deliveries of presents for good little boys and girls and lumps of coal for naughty children with the help of The Santa Express; Santa’s souped-up sleigh, fully-equipped with turbo boosters to help him through the Christmas rush.

“We at J2Play have built a very important foundational concept – the Social Games Graph – to truly make it possible for key developers like Jenkat to build additional revenue streams through the ever-popular social web,” said Rob Balahura, Founder & President of J2Play.

”We knew we found the right strategic partner in J2Play to help us traverse through the nuance of making our games compatible with social media sites,” said Malcolm Michaels, President of Jenkat Media. “We will be able to expose our popular online games to 270+ million users in a matter of minutes, while also creating over 10 additional engagement features into our games.”

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Jenkat Media and W3i Enter Into Distribution Agreement

Partnership will extend Jenkat’s casual games from a try-and-buy model to a more consumer desired, free ad-supported distribution model.

Colorado Springs, CO – May 7, 2008 – Jenkat Media, Inc., a leading casual game developer and distributor, founded by veterans of Fox Interactive Media and MySpace Games, today announced they have entered into a distribution agreement with W3i, provider of integrated desktop and mobile marketing solutions. Jenkat and W3i will work to distribute Jenkat’s original game titles to W3i’s 15 million monthly unique users.
As a provider of integrated desktop and mobile marketing solutions, W3i provides its users with useful, safe, free software and utilities to improve their Internet experience. W3i’s goal is to connect users with downloads that make their time on the Internet more enjoyable including screensavers, wallpapers and now games from Jenkat Media.

“W3i is a leader in the distribution of free downloadable content on the Internet, having the ability to monetize users in an effective and user-friendly manner,” said Malcolm Michaels, President of Jenkat Media. “Lowering our reliance on the more traditional try-and-buy model of casual games will help lead the way to a better consumer experience and more effective monetization, all while helping Jenkat further its growth.”

“Our partnership with Jenkat further expands W3i’s access to top quality content. Studies show 90% of users will watch ads if it means they can play games for free. Knowing that casual games are one of the hottest and most desirable products for download on the internet, we know partnering with a leading developer of casual games, like Jenkat, will expand our offering of quality products for consumers,” said Robert Weber, VP of Business Development and Co-Founder of W3i.

About Jenkat Media, Inc.:
Jenkat Media has over ten years of collective experience in creating successful socially-based casual games on multiple platforms, including PC and mobile devices. The management team at Jenkat Media has previously created and produced over 100 casual game titles, which have been played online over one billion times worldwide. Coming this summer is Jenkat’s new game, “Mr. Biscuits,” an endearing hidden-object game full of mystery and fun for all ages. To learn more about Jenkat Media Inc., visit www.JenkatGames.com andwww.JenkatMedia.com.

About W3i:
W3i, owner of Freeze.com and Ringtone.com, delivers proven, integrated desktop marketing and mobile marketing solutions. With offers and services tested and optimized on over 15 million unique users each month, W3i can increase your revenue from digital content or provide a receptive consumer base for customized, targeted marketing programs. The three Weber brothers, owners of W3i, are recent winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2006 Award in the Minnesota and Dakotas region. To learn more about W3i, visit www.W3i.com.

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