Win Olympic Gold, Get Your Own Game

[bean19]

Gamespot reports that 19 year-old Shaun White, the American gangling redhead who just won a gold medal in this year's Winter Olympics for snowboarding in the half-pipe, is getting his own game (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144222.html).

Now, White is getting his own game. Ubisoft announced today that they have signed the teenager to a deal to make games featuring his name and based on his snowboarding style. No specific platforms were mentioned, but a statement from Ubisoft says the games will appear on both current- and next-generation consoles sometime in 2007.
Shaun White is a hero to all of us scrawny white kids. Congrats on the medal and the endorsement deal.

[agentgray]

His runs are the only things I saw of the Olympics so far (NBC is doing a horrible job in HDTV, especially with action...you can tell they are upsampling in parts). That guy can move, and he can move smoothly.

Congrats to him.

[drakkarim]

snowboarding game? sigh, i guess kids will buy anything these days.

congrats to the kid for the medal, and i hope he's laughing (at the idiots) all the way to the bank.

but knowing ubisoft, they'll pay more for the rights then they'll make from the game sales anyway.

[bean19]

drakk - curmudgeon.

Both of the snowboarding game franchises that I'm aware of SSX and Amped are really fun to play (though Amped just got really fun to play in it's most recent installment "Amped 3").

I'll never buy these games on release or anything crazy like that, but I do have quite a bit of fun playing them. Amped 3 is a must-rent for every X360 owner anywhere, says I.

[drakkarim]

drakk - curmudgeon.


hehe, yeah, i think that applies to me quite well in the mornings before i have my coffee :)

you're right though, i'm sure the games can be fun, if the price is right, but i can't (personally) imagine they're $40-$60 type of initial release type of fun.

but for $10 i'm sure you can get quite a bit of enjoyment out of it. probably much more fun then a 90 minute movie these days.

[skribb]

I just can't help but think: Would this happen if, let's say, someone from Japan, Sweden or Gambia won the gold medal?

[bean19]

I just can't help but think: Would this happen if, let's say, someone from Japan, Sweden or Gambia won the gold medal?

Yeah. Endorsements are about more than winning for sure.

I also don't think it would happen if the winner were American and didn't fit the target demographic. . . like he was all clean-cut, or overweight, or female, etc.

Still, that's the way endorsements work. If there was a really well known Swedish person that won and fit the demographic better, they might get it. Nationality is only one of the things that they are looking for after all.

[Hizawky]

Hanz Gruber's SNOWBOARD FRENZY ICH BIEN SCIZENFLAGENZAGGEN!

(Shi-Zen-Flaag-En-ZaahG-in)