[Headie]

Endemol to launch virtual series of Big Brother in new official game
Users can follow action for free - or pay to become housemates and play for 'life-changing' prizes

Endemol Shine has announced a revolutionary new “globally interactive” mobile game which will allow players to compete in virtual editions of Big Brother – with real “life-changing” prizes up for grabs.

The production company has teamed up with Irish development studio 9th Impact to create ‘Big Brother: The Game’, which it boldly claims will introduce a “new genre of reality gaming”.

Users can take part in the “world’s first online multi-player reality TV show” and experience life as a Big Brother contestant, playing a social, psychological and interpersonal game.

Housemates must make “strategic choices” in order to avoid getting evicted from their virtual house.

At the end of each ‘series’, the most successful contestant will be crowned winner and receive a “life-changing prize fund” – although details of what these prizes may be are yet to be confirmed.

Big Brother: The Game will be available for iOS and Android devices and features two modes, ‘Spectator’ and ‘Housemate’.

‘Spectator’ enables users to watch and follow these virtual series for free, with optional in-app purchases available for additional features.

In order to become a ‘Housemate’, users will have to buy ‘Tokens’ as an in-app purchase, which they can then use to enter the house.

Dr Finn Brewer, Head of Development at 9th Impact – which specialises in TV tie-in games – explained: “Our approach to designing this game was to think of a person’s mobile device as their portal into a massive online Big Brother season.

“The player will face competitions, chores, nominations, evictions and have to navigate all the same complex social relationships and intrigue that make the TV show so compelling.”

Anil Mistry, Endemol Shine’s Director of Gaming and E-commerce, added: “This project was an ambitious undertaking and we needed a partner who had the vision, the capability and the creativity to deliver something truly unique that would both appeal to strategic gamers and delight Big Brother fans.”

While some versions of Big Brother have had their own companion apps, Big Brother: The Game is the first app based on the show that Endemol has made for global release. However, it is not the first time that the company has adapted the format for virtual platforms.

In 2006, official spin-off Big Brother Second Life was launched in the online virtual world of the same name.

For one month, fifteen housemates from three timezones were required to spend eight hours a day completing tasks in a 3D Big Brother house, with other users able to vote on who would be evicted. The eventual winner, Hungarian Madlen Flint, received a virtual island as a prize.

Big Brother: The Game will debut around the world later this year.

Read more: http://www.bbspy.co.uk/bb19/news/050...#ixzz6LbOG878Q

Some pics from the game:

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