Burger King orders up Xbox games
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
[UPDATE] Burger King rep corrects previous statement, confirms that $4 Xbox 360 games will feature achievements after all.
Last month, McDonald's introduced a line of Happy Meal toys featuring Nintendo mascots like Mario and Donkey Kong. As part of the company's image-reworking emphasis on fitness, each of the toys had a physical activity focus.
Today, McDonald's rival Burger King officially announced a campaign that takes a different tack to a gaming tie-in. Instead of offering toys that evoke games and promote activity, the fast-food chain is going to offer three Xbox and Xbox 360 games of its own this holiday season, each of them slathered with Burger King branding like so much mayonnaise on a Double Whopper with cheese.
Burger King's plans to get into gaming were originally leaked in April by a company doing market research for the fast-food chain.
Pocketbike Racer will feature a number of Burger King mascots, including the King, the Subservient Chicken, the Whopper Jr., and former host of E!'s Wild On series, Brooke Burke. Five levels will be included, as will multiplayer races for four people on the same Xbox or Xbox 360, or eight people online over Xbox Live.
Big Bumpin' also takes a lineup of BK mascots and pits them against one another in vehicular competition, but this game isn't a race so much as a bumper-car ride. The game features a number of theme-park settings and on-track hazards like saws and bottomless pits, as well as bump-pumping power-ups. Big Bumpin' will also have four-player action and online multiplayer support.
Finally, Sneak King takes the stealth action genre and puts it to a friendlier use than usual. Instead of tiptoeing behind enemy guards to silently snap their necks, players will sneak up on hungry people to surprise them with offerings of Burger King food. Gamers will have to sneak up on people in a logging yard, a construction site, downtown, and the suburbs, and they will be graded on their performance "based on how elaborate the delivery is executed."
This is not the King's first visit to the world of gaming. The genuinely off-putting monarch of meat appeared in Electronic Arts' Fight Night Round 3 as an unlockable manager character to accompany your boxer to the ring.
The three games will be playable on either the Xbox or Xbox 360. They will be available from November 19 through December 24 at participating Burger King locations for $3.99 with the purchase of a value meal. All of the games are rated E for Everybody.
[UPDATE] It appears that the fast-food promotional tie-in isn't the only first that can be attributed to these games. "These are not backward-compatible original Xbox games, but truly designed and developed for each platform separately," the Burger King representative said. "There are two versions on each disc, specifically made for each platform. This has never been done before for a title."
[UPDATE 10/3] The Burger King representative contacted GameSpot this morning to correct a previous statement. It turns out that the three games will have achievements for the Xbox 360 after all.
By
Brendan Sinclair, Senior Editor
Brendan Sinclair has been a games journalist since 1999. His tastes are eclectic, though he has a definite affinity for games with arcade roots. He's Canadian, but has also been at home in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, and San Francisco.
490 comments
SNEAK KING IS HILARIOUS! Although I've only done a little bit from the first stage (lumberjacks), it's still great fun. Best $4 i've invested in in a long time. I just love the King's mask and his flowing overcoat.....LMAO.
Wow, these games make me wish I had an Xbox...no wait, I lied. I do NOT wish I had an Xbox for this. Maybe I should buy one and jam it into my PS2... ^.-
One last thing, on Sneak King anytime during game play you can push down on the L Stick for First Person Mode as the king. It's the sweetest 4 dollars I ever sent on a game.
My kids (ages 10, 6, & 4) and I got Sneak King at BK today and it's a very well professionally done game that has kept my kids attention for hours. As stated by BPWwrestler2002, the amount of details and missions is amazing! We haven't tried the other two games but probably will for only $4 each! Well done BK!! I can't wait for Maid Rite to come out with their own line of games... err, wait, yes I can. Lance
Got all three of them today, and glad to say they were totally worth the 4 bucks each. Sneak King is the best of the bunch, it's got so many missions to complete it's insane. And Pocketbike Racer is totally fun in a weird BK kinda way. They've packet it with powerups and you can even taunt. The create a driver sucks but who cares you can bun rubber on a little 50cc bike w/ the king. As for Big Bumpin, the controls feel very loose, but it's bumper cars so I don't know if they were going for that style or not. It's even got a create a driver and 4 game modes. Overall the graphics are sweet on the old Xbox, and on the 360 they get an even nicer facelift. Overall get these games, again you can't go wrong for the 4 bucks a pop.
I am going to buy all these just like yo noid on nes and all the other crazy fast food games I have. Not beacuse they are but beacuse they are insane.
this is actually really funny and really smart probly the best thing 4 bucks can buy lol. the king is sweet.
this is seriouly one of the sweetest ideas i ever heard of, hopefully McDonalds copies them and makes a clown/circus game.
Ha hah....these games are going to be complete and utter garbage. Still, I can't believe all of the effort being put into these games! Xbox Live and Achievements? I've definitely gotta' commend them on that. Who knows, maybe they'll warrant a $4 price tag in the end....
I want Sneak King and Pocketbike racer SOO bad. I can't wait till McDonalds makes something else to compete. This is gonna be a weird gen...
Yeah, what's the point of this article? Was anyone like, actually excited or interested at all? C'mon, GameSpot. Where's the stuff we wanna hear about?
sony_boy_18, just look at your name. Nice going, chief. Now please, go back to pining over your PS3 you're paying $600 for. I'll be waiting a couple years and getting it for less, not wasting my money. As for how it's going to "beat out" Microsoft and Nintendo, it's off to a terrible start, methinks. Such short supply when they've had all this time? Too bad about those laser diodes, eh, chum? At any rate, it costs Sony more to make a Playstation 3 than the retail price, so they lose money for each one sold. Again, I'd say it's not doing as well as it should be.
HA HA HA HA .AS YOU ALL KNOW THE PS3 SOLD OUT OF RESERVES IN 30 MINUTES TUESDAY.GLAD I GOT MINES IN TIME.SO NOW WE CAN GET BACK AT THOSE HATING ON THE PS3,SAYING HOW ITS NOT GOIN TO DO GOOD.WELL TO ME SO FAR SO DAMN GOOD! I THINK ITS GOING TO BEAT OUT XBOX 360 AND NINTENDO WII.
Call me crazy, but these games sound just wacky enough to shell out the cash for. I always get a kick out of the commercials where the King just appears out of nowhere offering food, so Sneak King sounds kind of fun. And mini-bike racing? Bumper car deathmatches? The Big, Cluckin' Chicken? I'll take mine to go with a Whopper and fires.
"The King's diplomatic immunity protects him from any and all restraining orders." ^ROFLCOPTER
Anyone remember that Mcdonalds game for nintendo back in the early ninety's? It was either called Mac and cheese adventures in mcdonald land or eddie and mac adventures in mcdonald land. I never played it but I remember seeing ads for the game as well as a guide for it in my EGM back in the day.
haha...thats a pretty neat idea. I cant wait to start sneakin up on people with breakfast sandwiches
xXKINGPINXx look what ever burger queen is offering iam not eating no whooper or big king or whatever and who said that burger queen is mcdonalds rival it doesnt even compare with mcdonald well that my opinion!!! wow thats original.
look what ever burger queen is offering iam not eating no whooper or big king or whatever and who said that burger queen is mcdonalds rival it doesnt even compare with mcdonald well that my opinion!!!
Burger King only comes up with this stuff because their food sucks so much! Triple Classic Extra Cheese and Bacon FTW!
Ha ha Games that ask you: how fast you can eat a double whopper with cheese? or How many people you can stalk with Burger King products before being arrested? All the little kids are going to get very fat
are u serious???.......trhis is the dumbest thing ive ever heard.......ever....and i've heard some dumb things
All I need now is to see him in a football video game laying some vicious hits & catching bombs & intercepting the ball like he does in those crazy Burger King/NFL commercials. Lord...don't make this into what happened in the 80's, when everybody & their grandma made a video game. Food chains need to just stay as advertisement & not put their "characters" even more into our face. It's bad enough we see them in commercials.
It's good to see this character get more exposure as I don't think we can ever get enough of him :p If the game is terrible I suppose it will make someone a nice coaster. I believe it will also encourage us to get the extra fat in our diets we all so desperately need.
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