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Kim Kardashian app to make $200m
http://www.sfgate.com/business/artic...le-5613456.php
Quote:
Since its June 25 release, "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" has risen as high as second among most-downloaded free-to-play games at Apple's App Store, and the well-reviewed title was holding steady in third on Thursday. Its success has driven shares of creator Glu Mobile Inc. up 44 percent.
"It might be our biggest game of the year," Chief Executive Officer Niccolo de Masi said. "We're not surprised. Kim is a one-of-a-kind talent with an incredibly precise fit to the game engine that we tailored but already had in the company."
While the game is free to play, the goal is to get users hooked on in-app purchases such as clothing or a burst of energy needed for traipsing through Hollywood. Users can spend as much as $100 for 175,000 virtual dollars. A trip to Beverly Hills costs 4 game dollars, while 400 will buy a necklace.
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"With this game, you can play all the time," de Masi said. "You can get your Kim interaction anytime you choose."
Annual revenue from "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" may reach $200 million, estimates Douglas Creutz, an analyst with Cowen & Co., who has the equivalent of a "buy" rating on Glu Mobile and expects the stock to rise to $6 in the next year.
Glu Mobile, based in San Francisco, closed Thursday at $5.37. The company, which went public in March 2007 at $11.50, peaked in June of that year at $14.67. In 2011 and again in 2012, the stock approached $6.
"Kardashian" is the only title among the top 10 in the App Store with a five-star rating, the highest possible, based on thousands of user reviews.
"There's no such thing as bad publicity, right?" Creutz said. "Obviously, Kim Kardashian's brand has driven people to download the game. But at this point, the game has taken on a life of its own."
Kardashian was unavailable for comment, according to Ina Treciokas, her publicist. The 33-year-old earned $28 million in the past 12 months, Forbes estimated last month.
If revenue for the game approaches Creutz's projections, Glu Mobile will get a significant boost. Its sales are projected to rise 52 percent this year to $160.5 million, analysts say.
The company publishes 12 to 14 mobile games a year, all of which are free to play. Its "Dino Hunter: Deadly Shores" is No. 31 on the App Store free chart, and "Deer Hunter" is No. 62.
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