Channel 4 says more than one million UK iPhone, iPad and Android users downloaded its official The Snowman and The Snowdog game in just three weeks.
The game, developed to celebrate the channel’s sequel Raymond Briggs’ Christmas classic The Snowman, launched on 9th December and hit its landmark 1m downloads by the end of the year.
It also topped many app store charts over Christmas, including reaching #1 in all free iPad apps, #1 in all free iPhone games, and #3 in all free iPhone apps.
Developed to mirror the broad appeal of The Snowman and The Snowdog, the game was set in the distinctive hand-drawn environment of the film and allows players to immerse themselves in the feeling and emotion of the story through an interactive experience featuring the film’s key locations and main characters.
The Snowman and The Snowdog game was created for Channel 4 by East Midlands based developer Crash Lab, founded by veterans of the games industry previously involved in creating TimeSplitters at Free Radical Design and Goldeneye 007 and Jet Force Gemini at Rare.
Colin Macdonald, Commissioning Editor for Games at Channel 4 said: “We wanted a beautiful game to accompany a beautiful film and I’m absolutely delighted so many people have enjoyed the experience of both. I’ve been genuinely moved by many of the 6,000+ reviews players have posted of the game in app stores.”
Steve Ellis, MD of the game’s developer, Crash Lab, said: “We set out to make a game that both kids and adults would enjoy, and we got our first inkling that we may have succeeded when we heard that Raymond Briggs himself had played and enjoyed it. But for the game to go on to hit this milestone in the UK alone is just incredible.”
Over 11 million viewers watched The Snowman and The Snowdog over the festive period across Channel 4, E4 and 4Seven.