When SGN founder Shervin Pishevar took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt this past September to preview his latest game, MiniTycoon Casino, he made a big bet. He predicted that the game would eventually be doing $1 million in revenue a month for the company. Well, the game launched in November, and now, just a little over a month later, they’re close. They’re on track to hit the number sometime within Q1 2011, Pishevar tells us.
And that’s possible because MiniTycoon Casino has already been a big hit for SGN. The game already has over 600,000 users who have collectively generated 300 billion chips. Some other quick stats: 400,000 virtual gifts have been sent. Over 8 years and 3 months is the total time spent playing the game in aggregate so far. And 76,000 friends have been “hired” in the game to staff the casinos. Business is booming.
After it launched, MiniTycoon Casino quickly shot to the top of the iPhone social gaming charts. It has since lingered in the top 40 app space, and right now it’s the 40th top free app overall in the App Store. So how does the free app make money? The virtual good model. Users buy up “Tycoins” to build up and maintain their casinos. You likely know Zynga’s FarmVille and CityVille, this is the same idea — but with some really nice graphics and interactions that the iPhone and iPad allows for.
For the holidays, the game has some new holiday-themed sets as well. Because nothing says Christmas like a big snowy casino with ice floors.
MiniTycoon Casino is just the first game of the MiniTycoon brand for SGN. There will be three more coming soon, Pishevar tells us. We should expect the first early next year. Pishevar also says that he expects the holiday themes (and the holiday buying gift season) will help the Casino game break 1 million users by New Years.
You can find MiniTycoon Casino here in the App Store.
SGN (formerly MindJolt) connects people around the world through great games. As a top cross-platform developer and publisher of games on Facebook, iOS, and Android, SGN lays claim to hit titles such as Fluff Friends Rescue, Jewels of the Amazon, Bubble Atlantis, Panda Jam, Skies of Glory, FAST, and MindJolt. To date well over 200 Million SGN games have been installed on leading mobile and social platforms, making SGN one of the largest cross-platform gaming companies in the world. SGN represents the...
Apple’s iPhone was introduced at MacWorld in January 2007 and officially went on sale June 29, 2007, selling 146,000 units within the first weekend of launch. The phone has been hailed as revolutionary with its bundle of advanced mobile web browsing, music and video playback, and touch screen controls. The iPhone is exclusively carried on the networks of both AT&T and Verizon in the U.S. An iPhone can function as a video camera (video recording was not a standard feature...
Austin, TX
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Boston, MA
Disrupt Europe: Berlin Hackathon
Berlin, Germany
