New Game: Backstreet Boys Around the World

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Dec 16, 2000 Source: Beloit Daily News Submitted By: Katie By Don Bowen Daily News staff writer The battle of the boy bands has taken a new stage. After Patch Products' successful launch of ``N Sync Backstage Pass Game'' this fall, the Beloit-based game and toy company has started production on ``Backstreet Boys Around the World Game.'' ``It was the natural progression since doing N Sync,'' said Patch Products Licensing Manager Lisa Huston. Both games target similar audiences, the groups' fans, said Huston. The fan base for N Sync is young girls between 12 and 14, what Huston called the ``tween market.'' They're not quite teen-agers, and they're not little girls. ``That's a market that's still growing,'' she said. ``And there aren't a lot of girl games out there.'' Patch Products wants to be the one supplying games that those girls want to buy and play, she said. The fan base for the Backstreet Boys are older because they've been around longer, Huston said. Many of the fans that started when the Backstreet Boys first broke the charts are adults now. After Patch Products officials contacted both groups early this year, the Backstreet Boys weren't interested because they were in production for the newest release, ``Black and Blue,'' she said. But when production for the musical release was finished, the Backstreet Boys were ready to talk to Patch Products about the release of a game title. And now, Patch Products has a better idea how the game will play on the charts. ``When we came out with the N Sync game we didn't know how the girls would react to it,'' Huston said. ``They loved it. There are just as many if not more Backstreet fans. It's overwhelming. Fans love products with the groups they are crazy about.'' But Huston said there was a bigger challenge when Patch Products got the approval to start working on a game idea about two months ago. Game developers had to come up with a game concept that was completely different than ``N Sync Backstage Pass Game.'' A concept for the game came from the group itself when they announced their Around the World Tour, when they played concerts in six continents in 100 hours, Huston said. So, Patch Products used ``Around the World'' as the basis for the board and for determining a winner of the game, she said. The first player ``to go around the world with the Backstreet Boys'' wins. The next step was to develop a way for the players to move around the world, she said. Since the N Sync game is based on trivia questions, they wanted to come up with a different idea for the Backstreet Boys game. So, they developed the game largely based on lyrics from the group's songs. To successfully play ``Backstreet Boys Around the World Game,'' players must know the group's songs and videos. In order to move around the world on the board, players must answer questions from one of five categories, Huston said. In the Name That Song! category, players get a few words from a song and must name the song. In the What Comes Next? category, players get a line from a song and must give the next line. In the All About the Boys! category, players must answer questions about one of the group's members. In the Perform! category, players must perform part a song or perform part dance from a video. In the Dare! category, players choose another player for one of the other four categories. Patch Products officials got the approval to start working on the game in October, and by early December the game is coming off the production lines, Huston said. The game will be on the store shelves the week after Christmas. ``We didn't get it in time for Christmas,'' she said. ``There is no shelf space right now, and there won't be until after Christmas.'' Even though the game isn't available at local stores, Huston said the game can be bought online on the Backstreet Boys online store, which can be reached at www.backstreetboys.com. The game will soon be available through the Patch Products Web site, www.patchproducts.com. Comment on this item. Next Item: BSB to Sing Super Bowl XXXV National Anthem Prev Item: On-air stunt: "Insane Blaine" has pulled his first and last