Panini Adrenalyn XL

Panini approached A51 to create a digital version of their Adrenalyn XL trading card products. A51 turned around and delivered a community for Adrenalyn XL collectors fostering game play, trading, and discussion — all without leaving your living room.

The Challenge

Panini America is the US arm of The Panini Group, headquartered in Modena, Italy and the world leader in collectable and trading cards. A multinational company, Panini is also one of the leading children’s magazine and book publishers in Europe, North America, and Latin America as well as a major distributor of third party licensed products including Disney and Marvel worldwide.

Panini produces a sports card trading game titled Adrenalyn XL with licensed versions for major sports leagues including the NBA, NFL, and NHL. Sold in large retailers such as Walmart and Target throughout North America and Europe, the low cost collectors cards appeal to fans and hobbiests alike. Recognizing the future of the industry is shifting online, a version of each sports game needed to be developed not only to promote and sell the product online, but to extend it.

The Solution

A51 developed a core game engine built on SmartFoxServer that facilitates game play one–on–one. Each printed card contains a serial code that can be entered into the online system and instantly recognized and catalogued in the users card collection. With registered cards, users can begin to challenge others in real–time game play.

Two modes of game play were developed for each sport — Classic and Pro. Classic game play follows the rules of the gameboard sold in retail outlets whereas Pro enhances the functionality for added strategy that brings game play closer to that of the real sport.

Ecommerce functionality allows for real time transactions to purchase virtual cards, real cards, and box sets.

The Results

Each game attracts up to 55,000 visitors a month and an average of 6,000 visits a day, with a bounce rate under 21% and the average time–on–site being just over 14 minutes. The launch of the NHL Adrenalyn XL site attracted an astounding 21,000 visits on the first day. These games have found a global market and are played worldwide.