NYC indie rock/rap group Shinobi Ninja, have launched their own music-focused gaming app for the iPhone. Part cartoon video game, part music video, and part music/video player, “Brooklyn to Babylon: Shinobi Ninja Attacks!” integrates digital music and video into a classic eight-bit video-game environment. Players get immersed in the band’s imagined cartoon world and are rewarded with free music, videos, and merchandise.
In what the band says is a first for music and gaming iPhone apps, “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” also leverages smartphone GPS tracking capability at concerts to locate and reward fans who have installed the app. A “lite” version is available free from the App Store and the fully loaded retail version sells for $3.99.
From the press release:
“We had already built up a formidable Web presence, using Twitter and other social media; so to get to the next level with the band, we knew we had to vault over the cutting edge and just start hitting people over the head with a retro-animated beat-‘em-up iPhone app,” said Stephen Sternschein, Shinobi Ninja’s manager and the game’s co-creator. “It’s a whole new way to introduce people to Shinobi Ninja, and to drive deeper fan engagement with our music.”
Within the virtual world of the “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” game, players choose a Shinobi Ninja band member as their avatars. As Shinobi Ninja’s music plays in the background, “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” players fight their way through the streets of Brooklyn to the L-Train, until they eventually reach the mythical Club Babylon. Along the way players beat up evil hipsters, knock down douchebags from the Jersey Shore, and subdue angry subway riders, as they earn points and treasure.
The game comes pre-loaded with four Shinobi Ninja music tracks and two music videos that can be unlocked for free, as gamers reach higher levels within the game. “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” also rewards fans for making the real world journey to a Shinobi Ninja show. The app uses smartphone GPS capability to locate concertgoers who have installed the app, so they can be further rewarded over-the-air (OTA) with more free music and other promotions. When players beat the game, they are rewarded with a-la-carte downloads of the band's music.
“We had already built up a formidable Web presence, using Twitter and other social media; so to get to the next level with the band, we knew we had to vault over the cutting edge and just start hitting people over the head with a retro-animated beat-‘em-up iPhone app,” said Stephen Sternschein, Shinobi Ninja’s manager and the game’s co-creator. “It’s a whole new way to introduce people to Shinobi Ninja, and to drive deeper fan engagement with our music.”
Within the virtual world of the “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” game, players choose a Shinobi Ninja band member as their avatars. As Shinobi Ninja’s music plays in the background, “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” players fight their way through the streets of Brooklyn to the L-Train, until they eventually reach the mythical Club Babylon. Along the way players beat up evil hipsters, knock down douchebags from the Jersey Shore, and subdue angry subway riders, as they earn points and treasure.
The game comes pre-loaded with four Shinobi Ninja music tracks and two music videos that can be unlocked for free, as gamers reach higher levels within the game. “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” also rewards fans for making the real world journey to a Shinobi Ninja show. The app uses smartphone GPS capability to locate concertgoers who have installed the app, so they can be further rewarded over-the-air (OTA) with more free music and other promotions. When players beat the game, they are rewarded with a-la-carte downloads of the band's music.
