Overweight beer drinkers throwing pointed metal at corkboards has gripped the UK pub scene since the 19th Century. Since then, the sport has slowly grown in popularity, and even has its own sporting legend in the form of Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor.
And now, unusually, the sport has made a big impact on the video game world too.
The excellent Wario Ware: Smooth Moves was the first to feature its own dart game in multiplayer mode, and a darts mini-game also showed up in Grand Theft Auto IV. But it was the success of Oxygen’s PDC World Championship Darts 2008 on PS2 and Wii that really brought the world of darts into the gaming mainstream.
The game was released back in February, and has sold over 100,000 units to date. It has also impacted on both formats’ charts, and is still holding on in the PS2 Top 20. And Oxygen feels that the upcoming Xbox 360 and PSP version will be even better.
“There are over 100,000 fans of the games already in the UK. Now we are giving Xbox 360 and PSP owners the chance to get in on the action,” said Oxygen’s CEO Jim Scott.
“The game has evolved in the six months since the last game, and with the power of the Xbox 360 we’ve managed to refresh the games look to make it feel a lot closer to the what viewers see on Sky TV.”
Along with updated graphics, the 360 version also comes complete with online play and achievements, whilst the PSP edition boasts wireless multiplayer and game sharing. Both games will also feature 16 PDC champions, three levels of difficulty and four game modes – Exhibition, Tournament, Career and Party Games.
“We decided to do a 360 and PSP version based on the response we had from the previous games,” continues Scott. “We toured the title with the PDC and those who played it were asking if the game would appear on other platforms. So we decided to explore other formats.”
Accompanying the new graphical look and extra modes, Oxygen is backing PDC Darts with a full PR and marketing campaign, which includes online, print and TV promotions (see boxout, below). And top dart commentator Sid Waddell and referee Helen Chamberlain will also appear in the game as commentators, adding authenticity to the experience.
All of this, coupled with the growing popularity of the sport, is sure to make sure that PDC World Championship Darts will fly off shelves as quickly as the first game.
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