With a mass of of indie and established developers flooding the world of iOS gaming, it can be incredibly hard to find any real innovation. Most of the ideas that have made it to store shelves are either re-hashed versions of already popular games, or are playing off an already over-saturated genre. But the developer Days of Wonder is proving that there are still some crazy, unique, and powerful ideas hidden beneath the mundane film that covers iOS gaming today. For anyone unfamiliar, Days of Wonder are the masterminds behind the widely popular mobile game “Ticket to Ride.”
The company has managed to lock in a fairly steady profit flow and collects between 10 Million USD and 20 Million USD each year. A love of this pocket revenue comes from the Ticket to Ride iOS title, but the developer has recently discovered what they consider to be an “untapped source of income.” Many players who are avid Ticket to Ride fans might be surprised to know that the game has evolved into more than just a mobile release and is now a full-fledged cardboard board game. Days of Wonder recently brought their 50 USD tabletop game to market and has been seeing a mass of success with it. In fact, they state that around 1 in 4 board game players actually play the tabletop release once a day.
There was some resistance though, when developers first set out to craft the physical counterpart. The company expressed that this is a lot more information and thought that has to be put into a board game and that not all physical games are widely successful. Days of Wonder crafted their board game to be incredibly detailed, and a lot of analysts suggest that that may be one of the reasons that so many people are enamored with it. The better looking and more detailed the physical space, the more likely it is to attract “on the fence” players.
According to Ticket to Ride’s success, this may be a new growing trend in the world of iOS gaming. If companies start producing physical counterparts that work in turn with mobile games, we could see a whole new trend develop. Thanks to Days of Wonder and their innovative idea, don’t be surprised if you start seeing more board games of your favorite iOS and mobile titles hitting store shelves soon.
Photo Source: Giagom
