Vodacom and Primedia Broadcasting at an event held at the Sandton Sun today launched Gotcha!SA, an “…ultimate integrated virtual and social media game” aimed at radio listeners in Johannesburg (94.7 Highveld Stereo) and Cape Town (94.5 KFM).
The game, which is based on an Australian concept, involves players tracking down and taking possession of a virtual wallet, called Smart Money, via the Gotcha!SA app which is available for Android, BlackBerry and iPhones as well as via the Vodacom app store. The iPhone version of the app is due to be live on the App Store later today. Using a smartphone’s GPS players can track the location of the Smart Money as well as the location of the other players, a feature which was demonstrated at Sandton City. There will be a boundary area set for the game, leave the area while you have the Smart Money and the virtual wallet is dropped, something that was tested by journalists when they left the event in possession of the Smart Money.
Snatching the Smart Money gives the person holding it a minute of immunity before others can take it back. Should GPS or data connectivity be lost, users have three minutes to reconnect before the Smart Money is dropped. There will be designated safe zones shown on the app which are locations that will mask players for 10 minutes before expiring. Whoever is holding it at a particular time will be able to redeem the value of the virtual wallet at the time for real money.
At stake is R400,000, which will be split over a four-week period starting 13 August. Gotcha!SA will run from 7AM to 6PM daily until 8 September, with updates on the game happening on 94.7 Highveld Stereo or 94.5 KFM.