December 10, 2008
ARE YOU SKILLED ENOUGH TO RUN A
DAIRY QUEEN ?
DQ Tycoon video game available at
Target beginning Dec. 12
Ever since Mark Cuban quipped that
“Ed Rush might have been a great ref, but I wouldn’t hire him to run a Dairy
Queen,” managing a Dairy Queen® store has become a gauge of business acumen.
Cuban accepted the challenge to run
a Dairy Queen store for a day and now you too can test your skills at DQ®
management with the launch of DQ® Tycoon which hits store shelves nationally at
Target Stores on Friday, December 12, retailing for $19.99. The announcement of
the new game comes just in time for the holiday season and was created by
Minneapolis-based GameMill Entertainment and Spark Plug Games in close
partnership with American Dairy Queen Corporation.
Also available for purchase online
now through Big Fish Games, DQ Tycoon will be included in the Scholastic Inc.
January catalog which is distributed to nearly every school in the country.
“We are excited about DQ Tycoon, as
it is a way for us to reach out to our fans and to consumers in a new, fun way,”
said Tim Hawley, vice president of marketing, communications for American Dairy
Queen Corporation. “This is a great last minute gift idea, particularly for
video game fans.”
DQ Tycoon is one of the first PC
time-management games to have a strong brand behind it. Throughout the game,
players will create Blizzard® Flavor Treats, serve Dilly® Bars, and decorate the
popular DQ Cakes. After store hours, players will manage the operation of up to
four DQ stores, upgrading machines, managing staff, and keeping business running
smoothly.
“Our goal was to create an
entertaining game that also embraces the rich history of Dairy Queen and its
place within the community,” said Brian Kirkvold, Executive Producer for
GameMill Entertainment.
“In addition to the great excuse to
visit our local Dairy Queen store for ‘research’ purposes, it is fantastic to be
working on a strong brand that is recognized for its community involvement,”
said John O’Neill, President of Spark Plug Games. “We are building a product
that represents our passion to build entertaining games for the mass market.”
Although DQ Tycoon is rated E (for
everyone), the game is equally fun for adults. According to Pew Research, “more
than half of Americans age 18 and older (53 percent) play video games and about
one-in-five (21 percent) play everyday or almost everyday.”
For more information, visit Dairy
Queen’s Web site at www.dq.com.
