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Draw Something reinvents Pictionary for the mobile Draw Something reinvents Pictionary for the mobile
(7 months later)
Hunched over their iPhones in a bar waiting for friends, fingers tracing patterns on the screen; laughing as they stare at their HTCs on the bus – have you noticed something strange going on with people and their mobile phones recently?Hunched over their iPhones in a bar waiting for friends, fingers tracing patterns on the screen; laughing as they stare at their HTCs on the bus – have you noticed something strange going on with people and their mobile phones recently?
There's a simple explanation: they are playing a game, Draw Something, a sort of online Pictionary that has been downloaded 35m times in the six weeks since it was created by New York game firm OMGPOP. In the last week more than 1bn drawings were created on the game as people tried to illustrate words and names for their opponent to guess. It's now the top downloaded free app in 85 countries across the world.There's a simple explanation: they are playing a game, Draw Something, a sort of online Pictionary that has been downloaded 35m times in the six weeks since it was created by New York game firm OMGPOP. In the last week more than 1bn drawings were created on the game as people tried to illustrate words and names for their opponent to guess. It's now the top downloaded free app in 85 countries across the world.
Draw Something is the latest classic board game to be reinvented for the digital age. Words With Friends is the new Scrabble, Monopoly is a hit online. But none has rivalled the phenomenal growth of Draw. The game has been a winner from day one - it was averaging three drawings a second the day it was launched – and six weeks later the five-year-old OMGPOP has been sold for $180m (£113m) in cash to Zynga, owner of other highly addictive online games including Words With Friends and CityVille.Draw Something is the latest classic board game to be reinvented for the digital age. Words With Friends is the new Scrabble, Monopoly is a hit online. But none has rivalled the phenomenal growth of Draw. The game has been a winner from day one - it was averaging three drawings a second the day it was launched – and six weeks later the five-year-old OMGPOP has been sold for $180m (£113m) in cash to Zynga, owner of other highly addictive online games including Words With Friends and CityVille.
Draw Something was the 35th game created by OMGPOP. They had tried other drawing games but this one was an instant smash. Some words are easy for players to portray – like rainbow, sun and fish. But finger painting Daft Punk or Stephen Colbert with primary school drawing skills is more than a tad tricky.Draw Something was the 35th game created by OMGPOP. They had tried other drawing games but this one was an instant smash. Some words are easy for players to portray – like rainbow, sun and fish. But finger painting Daft Punk or Stephen Colbert with primary school drawing skills is more than a tad tricky.
The game has slight variations across the world. In London you might get "snog" – a word Americans don't use – while in Europe there is no chance of getting Tim Tebow, a star football player across the Atlantic. For Swedish players OMGPOP added Ikea. But what attracted Zynga was its universal appeal.The game has slight variations across the world. In London you might get "snog" – a word Americans don't use – while in Europe there is no chance of getting Tim Tebow, a star football player across the Atlantic. For Swedish players OMGPOP added Ikea. But what attracted Zynga was its universal appeal.
David Ko, chief mobile officer at Zynga, had been a player from day one. "There were all these really nice, surprise moments," said Ko. "The words, watching the drawings, I was really enjoying it."David Ko, chief mobile officer at Zynga, had been a player from day one. "There were all these really nice, surprise moments," said Ko. "The words, watching the drawings, I was really enjoying it."
Ko admits his drawing isn't that good. In the beginning he even scribbled notes in the drawing, which is pretty close to cheating. "I'm OK with chair and ring, then they'll slip in some pop icon."Ko admits his drawing isn't that good. In the beginning he even scribbled notes in the drawing, which is pretty close to cheating. "I'm OK with chair and ring, then they'll slip in some pop icon."
He met up with Dan Porter, OMGPOP's chief executive, and the two hit it off immediately. They both had "hundreds" of apps on their phones and Ko thought Porter and his crew would be a good buy for Zynga.He met up with Dan Porter, OMGPOP's chief executive, and the two hit it off immediately. They both had "hundreds" of apps on their phones and Ko thought Porter and his crew would be a good buy for Zynga.
It is not Zynga's first purchase – but it is the biggest. The firm handed over $53.3m for Words With Friends creator Newtoy in 2010. But with Draw Something it reportedly had to fend off rival bids from Disney and games giant Electronic Arts.It is not Zynga's first purchase – but it is the biggest. The firm handed over $53.3m for Words With Friends creator Newtoy in 2010. But with Draw Something it reportedly had to fend off rival bids from Disney and games giant Electronic Arts.
More than 1bn apps are downloaded every month on Apple devices and another billion on Android, Google's rival mobile system. To stand out, you need something special. Ko says that difference is "social" apps. "People are busy. They want quick ways to say hi, to keep in touch.More than 1bn apps are downloaded every month on Apple devices and another billion on Android, Google's rival mobile system. To stand out, you need something special. Ko says that difference is "social" apps. "People are busy. They want quick ways to say hi, to keep in touch.
"And there is no better way to do that than through games. Maybe you don't have time to call but if you are playing a game together, to me it feels more social."And there is no better way to do that than through games. Maybe you don't have time to call but if you are playing a game together, to me it feels more social.
"I have lots of friends I keep in touch with on Facebook but when I do this one to one thing with Draw Something or Words With Friends, it feels a little bit more special." Clearly 35m other people and counting agree. But opinion is divided over whether Draw Something can really be worth $180m."I have lots of friends I keep in touch with on Facebook but when I do this one to one thing with Draw Something or Words With Friends, it feels a little bit more special." Clearly 35m other people and counting agree. But opinion is divided over whether Draw Something can really be worth $180m.
Michael Pachter, managing director of Wedbush Securities, described the price as "reasonable". "It doesn't require a lot of work to make it popular in several languages, and is the kind of game that will give their international growth a boost," he said.Michael Pachter, managing director of Wedbush Securities, described the price as "reasonable". "It doesn't require a lot of work to make it popular in several languages, and is the kind of game that will give their international growth a boost," he said.
Arvind Bhatia, managing director of Sterne Agee & Leach, disagreed. Most people choose the free version of the game, he said, and Zynga will have to convince them to spend money buying extras like new colours and drawing tools, and Bhatia is unconvinced that is a big business. On top of that, he says, being this month's hot game is no guarantee of long-term success. "You can have the bragging rights to the number one game, but for how long? And it's not that easy to make money on the games," he said.Arvind Bhatia, managing director of Sterne Agee & Leach, disagreed. Most people choose the free version of the game, he said, and Zynga will have to convince them to spend money buying extras like new colours and drawing tools, and Bhatia is unconvinced that is a big business. On top of that, he says, being this month's hot game is no guarantee of long-term success. "You can have the bragging rights to the number one game, but for how long? And it's not that easy to make money on the games," he said.
There were mixed signals for the Draw Something school on Friday when the game lost the top slot for paid apps to the latest flight of fancy from that other mobile gaming phenomenon, Angry Birds. The free version of Draw Something still rules the free charts and Ko is promising that under Zynga's wing Draw will add new features (chat, probably, and maybe a gallery to store your images) and different games that will keep the world coming back.There were mixed signals for the Draw Something school on Friday when the game lost the top slot for paid apps to the latest flight of fancy from that other mobile gaming phenomenon, Angry Birds. The free version of Draw Something still rules the free charts and Ko is promising that under Zynga's wing Draw will add new features (chat, probably, and maybe a gallery to store your images) and different games that will keep the world coming back.
It remains to be seen whether Draw can repeat Angry Birds' success. But if it does not there will soon be another game along that will have us hooked.It remains to be seen whether Draw can repeat Angry Birds' success. But if it does not there will soon be another game along that will have us hooked.
Comments
24 comments, displaying first
23 March 2012 9:33PM
mmm... so when did infomercials become news?
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23 March 2012 9:42PM
(\_(\
(=':')
(,(")(")
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23 March 2012 10:05PM
####
##OO
#c >
# O@===B
I I
OIO__I
I
I
/\
/ \
/ \
Record promotion
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23 March 2012 10:14PM
Ditch your smartphone habit
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23 March 2012 10:19PM
^^^^^^^^^^^\||____
| ============= |||""'|""\__,_
| _____________ l||__|__|__|)
...|(@)@)"""""""**|(@)(@)**|(@)
beep! beep!
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23 March 2012 10:22PM
Someone checked if it uploads the address book?
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24 March 2012 12:05AM
This is nothing new. i was playing something identical years ago.........?
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24 March 2012 12:11AM
Not a patch on iSketch.
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24 March 2012 1:00AM
Well iSketch has become stale for many years especially with it's nonsense policy on recruiting new admin through their recommend a friend policy.
Link to this comment:
24 March 2012 2:33AM
" In the last week more than 1bn drawings were created on the game as people tried to illustrate words and names for their opponent to guess."
ok...can someone please explain this game to me! In pictionary you draw a picture to the best of your ability to try and get your team to guess what it is. Obviously you try to draw well, as you want your team mates to guess correctly.
In this game you draw a picture for your opponent to guess. How does that work? If he is your opponent I presume you wouldn't want them to guess what you are drawing...
Confused.
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24 March 2012 2:56AM
You get points if your friend guesses correctly. So it's still in your interest to draw well.
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24 March 2012 4:45AM
"Arvind Bhatia, managing director of Sterne Agee & Leach, disagreed. "
So critics are drawn on this?
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24 March 2012 7:08AM
@TimothyBlair - The difference between this an iSketch is that it is mobile and its turn based - you wait for the alert before playing your turn - so you don't need to sit down for 15 minutes to play a round - you play your go, then wait for the alert from your friend, then you take your turn - whereever you are.
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24 March 2012 10:08AM
I've been playing 'depict' on the iPhone for years. This game must have had better advertising. Just goes to show the power of advertising, I always thought 'depict' should have been more popular. Goddamit, I could of be a millionaire.
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24 March 2012 10:39AM
Are the Guardian going to run an advert/article on this every day then?
What's up? Is it made by Apple or something?
Link to this comment:
24 March 2012 11:57AM
Pretty obvious what all the Guardian staffers are doing when they should be working.
Two articles about the same app within a 4-hour window? Has anyone ever heard of colaboration?
Link to this comment:
24 March 2012 12:16PM
put your phones DOWN you sad *^#$ers
Link to this comment:
24 March 2012 12:18PM
My 17 year old daughter recruited me to this a few days ago. She's playing nine people at once.
It is a lot of fun, because you get to watch the other person guessing in real time. You end up creating multiple screens with abstract clues to make it harder. The nice thing is it's co-operative, not competitive.
The down side is that some of the words are just ridiculous. Like "gza". Oh right, I see he's a rap star. It feels like they haven't chosen the words very well, often - it does feel a bit raw. And I don't agree with what the article says - the vocab is very US-centric still.
All these sour comments about how the Guardian shouldn't be writing this up ... come on guys. That this game has had such massive immediate success is really interesting, because of what it's telling us about human nature.
Link to this comment:
24 March 2012 12:20PM
Oh I forgot - human nature ought to be different than it is. Then the world would be happy.
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24 March 2012 12:40PM
READ A BOOK OR CLIMB A TREE YOU SHOWER OF SADDOS!!
Strange, that didn't make me feel any better. What am I missing about the appeal of hectoring other people's benign habits?
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24 March 2012 1:01PM
Ha ha! Great.
Maybe it's that you're sitting in front of a computer on a sunny day? Which reminds me ... so am I!
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24 March 2012 1:34PM
It's a great idea, but incredibly badly implemented. Localisation? Don't make me laugh. I'm in Australia. This is a 100% American app. There are normal words, and then maybe 10% of the time you get a fucking American rapper's name that you've vaguely heard of. Makes you want to chuck your phone out the window. And hopefully hit some passing Yank.
Link to this comment:
24 March 2012 3:32PM
Yeah - put your phones down you sad tossers and err... post to online comment treads.
sigh
Link to this comment:
26 March 2012 1:28PM
wait....isnt this basically a "what the doodle" clone?
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Game app created six weeks ago creates download frenzy and $180m deal for firm
Hunched over their iPhones in a bar waiting for friends, fingers tracing patterns on the screen; laughing as they stare at their HTCs on the bus – have you noticed something strange going on with people and their mobile phones recently?
There's a simple explanation: they are playing a game, Draw Something, a sort of online Pictionary that has been downloaded 35m times in the six weeks since it was created by New York game firm OMGPOP. In the last week more than 1bn drawings were created on the game as people tried to illustrate words and names for their opponent to guess. It's now the top downloaded free app in 85 countries across the world.
Draw Something is the latest classic board game to be reinvented for the digital age. Words With Friends is the new Scrabble, Monopoly is a hit online. But none has rivalled the phenomenal growth of Draw. The game has been a winner from day one - it was averaging three drawings a second the day it was launched – and six weeks later the five-year-old OMGPOP has been sold for $180m (£113m) in cash to Zynga, owner of other highly addictive online games including Words With Friends and CityVille.
Draw Something was the 35th game created by OMGPOP. They had tried other drawing games but this one was an instant smash. Some words are easy for players to portray – like rainbow, sun and fish. But finger painting Daft Punk or Stephen Colbert with primary school drawing skills is more than a tad tricky.
The game has slight variations across the world. In London you might get "snog" – a word Americans don't use – while in Europe there is no chance of getting Tim Tebow, a star football player across the Atlantic. For Swedish players OMGPOP added Ikea. But what attracted Zynga was its universal appeal.
David Ko, chief mobile officer at Zynga, had been a player from day one. "There were all these really nice, surprise moments," said Ko. "The words, watching the drawings, I was really enjoying it."
Ko admits his drawing isn't that good. In the beginning he even scribbled notes in the drawing, which is pretty close to cheating. "I'm OK with chair and ring, then they'll slip in some pop icon."
He met up with Dan Porter, OMGPOP's chief executive, and the two hit it off immediately. They both had "hundreds" of apps on their phones and Ko thought Porter and his crew would be a good buy for Zynga.
It is not Zynga's first purchase – but it is the biggest. The firm handed over $53.3m for Words With Friends creator Newtoy in 2010. But with Draw Something it reportedly had to fend off rival bids from Disney and games giant Electronic Arts.
More than 1bn apps are downloaded every month on Apple devices and another billion on Android, Google's rival mobile system. To stand out, you need something special. Ko says that difference is "social" apps. "People are busy. They want quick ways to say hi, to keep in touch.
"And there is no better way to do that than through games. Maybe you don't have time to call but if you are playing a game together, to me it feels more social.
"I have lots of friends I keep in touch with on Facebook but when I do this one to one thing with Draw Something or Words With Friends, it feels a little bit more special." Clearly 35m other people and counting agree. But opinion is divided over whether Draw Something can really be worth $180m.
Michael Pachter, managing director of Wedbush Securities, described the price as "reasonable". "It doesn't require a lot of work to make it popular in several languages, and is the kind of game that will give their international growth a boost," he said.
Arvind Bhatia, managing director of Sterne Agee & Leach, disagreed. Most people choose the free version of the game, he said, and Zynga will have to convince them to spend money buying extras like new colours and drawing tools, and Bhatia is unconvinced that is a big business. On top of that, he says, being this month's hot game is no guarantee of long-term success. "You can have the bragging rights to the number one game, but for how long? And it's not that easy to make money on the games," he said.
There were mixed signals for the Draw Something school on Friday when the game lost the top slot for paid apps to the latest flight of fancy from that other mobile gaming phenomenon, Angry Birds. The free version of Draw Something still rules the free charts and Ko is promising that under Zynga's wing Draw will add new features (chat, probably, and maybe a gallery to store your images) and different games that will keep the world coming back.
It remains to be seen whether Draw can repeat Angry Birds' success. But if it does not there will soon be another game along that will have us hooked.