The New York Jets, with help from Arkadium, have entered the social gaming space on Facebook, with the launch of Ultimate Fan.
From rooting for their favorite team to predicting game scores to holding a virtual tailgate with fans all over the country, there is a component of the game for everyone, no matter which team people are cheering on.
“The Jets have embraced digital marketing on a number of levels,” said Matt Higgins, the Jets’ executive vice president of business operations. “We’ve tweeted our draft picks as they were officially announced at Radio City and created a viral video-based sweepstakes in which one fan got the chance to lead the team out of the tunnel at a game last season. This application is yet another aggressive move into building out the digital side of our brand.”
Ultimate Fan is the first revenue-generating Facebook application to be backed by any pro sports team. However some hard core gamers may not find what they’re looking for here. According to Games.com, Ultimate Fan’s biggest draw will most likely be the Prediction feature that allows players to guess the outcome of the NFL season games (down to final score) for Fan Points.
Games.com recommends EA Sports’ Madden NFL Superstars, also on Facebook, which has many similar features and gives players the chance to test their skills managing a football team.