Next week, Enrique Iglesias fans will be blessed with an Avatar of the popular singer for the Zynga’s “CityVille” social game. The game is the company’s most popular title with 71 million monthly visitors.
On Tuesday, players of the Facebook game will be able to interact with Iglesias character when he visits their cities. They will have opportunities to collect items the singer is known for and even get a glimpse of his previews relating to his newest music videos.
Rightly so, there is a financial deal between Zynga and the singer, but the company did not offer those details. It would be interesting to know how much a celebrity makes for guest appearances on social games, another avenue for extra revenue for celebrity endorsements.
Iglesias’ team approached the gaming company with the idea for a game integration. The team has been involved with the the design from the beginning. Deciding things like what the characters could do and what players can collect, including virtual hats, boots, bling and a speed boat — relating to Iglesias life in Miami when he owned his very own speed boat. I wonder if he will be offering rides on platform.
“CityVille” is a pretty cool social game where players build and run virtual cities. The cities are developed with buildings, farms and the usual infrastructure in a real city. The game is free with Zynga earning money by charging for virtual decorative items for players who want to get ahead in the game.
Iglesias told the media he played the game only once — ouch for Zynga. He avoids video games because of their attention-grabbing effects on him. As a boy, he couldn’t pull himself away for video games – he steers clear of them.
