Topps is well-known (in the US, at least) for its collectable baseball cards. However, the company is now stepping into the virtual worlds arena, with a spin-off world called Toppstown - tagline: "Where your cards come alive".
The virtual world will have strong links to the core card product though. To gain access, you have to find a special code card in the company’s latest 2008 Topps Series No. 2 cards (there’s one in every two packs, so it shouldn’t be too hard).
Once in, users can create their own baseball avatar, collect and trade cards, and play mini-games. There’ll be 200 ‘e-cards’ that are exclusive to the site, while users will also get their own online clubhouse to customise.
Kids appear to be the core target market for Toppstown, as with the cards. While there’s plenty of virtual world competition for this age group, Topps’ sporting focus will help it to stand out from the crowd, assuming the games and content are good enough to hold users’ attention.
(via BrandWeek)
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