Planetboard Ltd (www.planetboard.fi), a rising star of Finnish gaming studios, is combining outdoor activity and mobile gaming in a brand new way with a game called OutCatch. A recent online survey, commissioned by Planetboard, reveals that mobile outdoor games really inspire people to spend more time outdoors.
“The fact that people spend too much time sitting down instead of walking, jogging and so on, is troubling. For example the The National Sports Council of Finland has estimated that the lack of physical exercise affects the national economy significantly. It creates major costs for national healthcare in the billion euro scale”, comments Matti Kuha, general manager of Planetboard.
In an online survey done in March 2014, people were asked how much time they spend on outdoor activities and how well they knew mobile outdoor games. They were also asked, how many had played this kind of mobile games before and how well they knew or understood the concept of geocaching.
A huge majority (94 %) of those who participated in the survey understood what mobile outdoor games are. Nearly a third (32 %) had also played some kind of mobile outdoor game before. It can be seen clearly that mobile gaming is becoming a strong influence on sports and outdoor activities.
Two thirds (69 %) of the survey participants believe that a mobile game that encourages outdoor activity will actually get people to spend more time outdoors. Figures are even higher among those who had tried this kind of games before. Over 81 percent of the participants estimate that a mobile outdoor game, such as OutCatch, will actually get people going outdoors.
The survey also measured people’s willingness to spend money on mobile outdoor games. Nearly two thirds (62 %) estimated that they would be willing to spend one euro or more on a game such as OutCatch. Amongst those participants who had previously played some mobile outdoor game, the estimate to spend money was as high as 74 percent.
The OutCatch mobile game combines the excitement of geocaching, benefits of physical exercise and the fun of playing a game. The idea of OutCatch in fact is rather simple, yet exciting. Much like in geocaching, OutCatch also builds on the idea of treasure hunting. With OutCatch the players are trying to find the treasure using their smartphone’s compass, geographic information and the map application. The game uses all these features and puts them together in a game-like activity.
OutCatch is easy to learn and the idea of the game can be understood in just a matter of seconds. According to the survey results 87 percent of the participants understood what geocaching is. The gradual learning curve, the simplicity of use and the unique and fun game concept make OutCatch an excellent mobile outdoor game for people of all ages.
A new version (v. 1.5) of OutCatch was just released for iPhone smartphones. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store. OutCatch is also fully playable on iPads on mobile network.
About the survey
The online survey was done in Finland during March 2014. All in all 702 people took part in the survey.
More info
www.planetboard.fi
http://youtu.be/yxnEjvGU2k8 (game video)
http://bit.ly/1gWyadd (images)
Contact info
Matti Kuha, CEO, Planetboard Oy, +358 40 5515 138, matti.kuha@planetboard.fi
Planetboard
Planetboard Ltd is a start-up company based in Espoo, Finland focused on games. Planetboard develops and produces games for smartphones and their aim is to attract and inspire people to spend time outdoors. Planetboard’s key personnel and owners have a lot of experience around IT and the healthcare industry among other fields. More info can be found at www.planetboard.fi