A lone figure riding a camel wends his way through blowing sand. Suddenly a magical castle appears before him, and the traveler rides into the castle courtyard. A kindly man greets the traveler and explains that the traveler must enter the castle to find great treasure within. Thus begins the new interactive lottery game, Tresors de la Tour (Treasure Tower), from Loto-Quebec.
The game was introduced February 29, 2000 and has already been a huge success. Its popularity was apparent quickly, as it had already sold more than 187,000 CD-ROMs by the end of March.
What is this game? Treasure Tower is a multimedia lottery game that requires players to purchase an instant ticket as well as a CD-ROM. To play, the ticket buyer first inserts the game CD-ROM into his computer. When the first image appears on the screen, the player must enter an access code that's found by "scratching" one of the instant lottery tickets on the screen. The code determines how the game unfolds and whether the ticket is a winner. It's an easy game that has the player discovering one symbol or a series of identical symbols that will entitle the player to free tickets and cash prizes of up to $25,000. To discover these symbols, a player must get through the various steps along with the "traveler", the main character,
and click on various objects.
The game has attracted a huge following, with 13.6 tickets sold for every CD-ROM, Sylvie Claude Delorme, a media relations spokesperson from Loto-Quebec said. A starter's kit includes three tickets and a free copy of the CD.
The game's success has enticed other lotteries to add the game to their lottery line-up, including lotteries in Belgium and Switzerland as well as a U.S. state lottery that requested confidentiality until the game is launched. Loto-Quebec expects the Belgian and Swiss lotteries to boast their sales by $21 million thanks to the addition of Treasure Tower. Delorme also pointed out that Loto-Quebec is in ongoing talks with many state lotteries and other countries in Europe.
The first U.S. state to openly show an interest in the game is Iowa, although state lottery officials couldn't comment on their precise plans for implementation. "We are in the final stages of a contract negotiation regarding Treasure Tower," Lottery Public Affairs Manager Mary Neubauer confirmed.
Treasure Tower is the result of ten years of research and development in technology and marketing. Ingenio, Loto-Quebec's research and development subsidiary, developed the game with an eye on marketing it worldwide.
"Although we decided to offer this unique product in Quebec first, we planned from the start to concentrate efforts on the global marketing of Tresors de la Tour, in order to generate an additional source of revenue," explained Nathalie Rajotter, Ingenio's general manager.
Another interactive game by Loto-Quebec, Mystery Word, is also under development.
Vicky Nolan joined the IGN staff in October 1999. She's best known for inventing fire, the wheel and swiss cheese. She can be reached at
vicky@igamingnews.com.