Home Gaming Love Pick n Pay’s Stickeez? Play the video game!

Love Pick n Pay’s Stickeez? Play the video game!

2 min read
45

Stikeez

Stikeez, if you’re unaware, are those infernal toys that local retailer Pick and Pay has turned in to this generation’s Pogs. Buy goods to the value of R150 at any Pick and Pay, and they’ll throw in a cheaply-made, suction-cup toy gratis. It’s genius-level marketing, to be honest – because it has thousands of parents acquiescing to their whiny brat children to buy their groceries from Pick n Pay – much to the chagrin of said parents.

They’re decidedly evil things, and even my own kids hint that we should do our shopping there, instead of the Spar that’s within walking distance. I remain resolute though – and if they want Stikeez, they’ll have to fabricate them from their own crystallised tears. And now, it appears, that there’s a game.

Retailer Pick and Pay announced that there’s a digital version of the collectathon available for Android and iOS, which they’d love for you to install, so that kids can become even more enamoured with the stupid things, forcing parents to give even more money to the Ackerman family.

Here’s what the game’s all about:

“Help the Stikeez find their way to their friends! Help them explore this strange new land as they gather themselves and rise up to the challenges that come their way!

Rise of the Stikeez is a puzzle platform game; help these three Stikeez gather their lost friends throughout 60 Levels, with various challenges and hazards that stand in their way.

Use power ups to help you find your friends, overcome obstacles and survive the dangers of being a Stikeez in such a huge place.”

Yes, it’s an awful cash in, and yes it has micro-transactions.

The game, developed by Hong-Kong based toy manufacturer Zing Global Limited immediately attracted questions of why it wasn’t put in the hands of one of our many capable local developers – many of whom do, or are willing to do, contract work of this nature. It would have been a wonderful initiative, for Pick and Pay to use a local developer – but there’s a good reason they haven’t.

It has nothing to do with the quality of work local developers are capable of, but rather that the Stikeez themselves aren’t new, and neither is their game. The whole thing looks like a packaged marketing deal to co-opt and adapt these insufferable toys to the local market – and have been used internationally, at other retailers, to similar effect.

In fact, expect Stikeez to become even more prolific. Here’s a look at the sort of tie-in marketing European retailer Lidl got up to with the things (Thanks, Umar!):

Last Updated: August 17, 2015

45 Comments

  1. Alien Emperor Trevor

    August 17, 2015 at 10:38

    They’re toys? I thought they were just some kind of bad-tasting jelly tots knock-off.

    Reply

    • Witcher Bob

      August 17, 2015 at 10:43

      Stikeez in your teeth eh? Sorta makes sense.

      Reply

    • Sageville

      August 17, 2015 at 10:44

      Very chewy

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      August 17, 2015 at 10:56

      I thought they were tips you can give to the car guard instead of money O_o

      Reply

      • Ranting Raptor

        August 17, 2015 at 10:57

        yoh

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          August 17, 2015 at 11:02

          He can sell them to a mom who only got one for spending more than R150 with three screaming kids.

          Reply

      • Alien Emperor Trevor

        August 17, 2015 at 10:58

        “They’re worth R150 at Pick n Pay.” huehuehue

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          August 17, 2015 at 11:00

          XD

          Reply

  2. Ranting Raptor

    August 17, 2015 at 10:49

    I actually downloaded this the other day. Meh. Kept me less entertained than the blog that lady wrote about this that had PicknPay up in arms

    Reply

    • FoxOneZA

      August 17, 2015 at 11:16

      That lady was being funny on assumptions. She makes it look like she’s at the mercy of stikeez! XD

      Reply

      • Ranting Raptor

        August 17, 2015 at 11:26

        The blog was parody / funny / sarcastic.
        Yes she made it sound like she’s at the mercy of stikeez and it becomes even funnier for people who do have more than one kid as it’s a known fact you can’t buy for one and not the other.

        It was never meant to be taken seriously. I enjoyed it for it’s comedic value and the way she used words to paint an exceptionally funny image in my head

        Reply

  3. DragonSpirit009

    August 17, 2015 at 10:51

    With my mother as a baker and she regularly buys her condensed milk and some other supplies at pick ‘n pay because it’s most of the time it’s a bit cheaper there… so you can imagine how many of these things she have already.
    I stole the cow and placed it in my car’s dash board… I call him Mooon!

    Reply

    • Ranting Raptor

      August 17, 2015 at 10:58

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      August 17, 2015 at 11:00

      I got 17 of the things last week when I did grocery shopping for work – my colleague & I split them between us. Got another 3 this weekend doing regular grocery shopping, but my mother took them all – because even though I paid somehow they’re not mine. :/ Damn it.

      Reply

      • Ranting Raptor

        August 17, 2015 at 11:01

        Your mother took them… wait.. what? That doesn’t even make sense 0_0

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          August 17, 2015 at 11:03

          It’s the same with his birthdays. She buys him presents and takes them for herself.

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            August 17, 2015 at 11:09

            My birthdays have been depressing the last few years. She’s all like, “what do you want for your birthday?” “A new graphics card!” “That’s too expensive, how about I buy you breakfast instead?” “Okay…”

          • DragonSpirit009

            August 17, 2015 at 11:09

            Haha I can relate to this experience!

          • RinceThis

            August 17, 2015 at 11:24

            GOOD.

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          August 17, 2015 at 11:04

          I KNOW! She wants to line up a whole bunch under her TV, which is a silly reason. Whereas I want to line them up under my monitor at work…

          Reply

          • Hammersteyn

            August 17, 2015 at 11:05

            Yeah, that’s not silly at all.

          • Ranting Raptor

            August 17, 2015 at 11:06

            Completely understand dude.

      • DragonSpirit009

        August 17, 2015 at 11:04

        That sounds familiar.

        Weird thing that happened over the weekend, even criminals take them when they break in to your house. I was totally baffled by this!

        Reply

  4. Kromas,powered by windows 10.

    August 17, 2015 at 11:04

    I thought they were sweets. I have like 20 packets in my car.

    Reply

    • Geoffrey Tim

      August 17, 2015 at 11:05

      Slowly drive past a primary school with your window down, offering them to kids. No, no..don’t.

      Reply

      • HvR

        August 17, 2015 at 11:07

        *slowly drive in a old rusty white van with a badly applied Stickeez vinyl on the side past a…

        Reply

        • Ranting Raptor

          August 17, 2015 at 11:08

          wtf guys.

          @Geoffrey Tim:disqus @HvR:disqus

          Reply

          • Kromas,powered by windows 10.

            August 17, 2015 at 11:11

            WoW

          • Ranting Raptor

            August 17, 2015 at 11:27

            Lol. Faaaaar too quickly

          • Hammersteyn

            August 17, 2015 at 11:12

            What? This was my second idea for the Stckeez after you shot my car guard method down.

          • Ranting Raptor

            August 17, 2015 at 11:26

            you lot need professional help 0_0

  5. Dutch Matrix

    August 17, 2015 at 11:11

    No Rocket Launcher, No Dutch plays.

    Reply

  6. FoxOneZA

    August 17, 2015 at 11:19

    Someone mentioned they are R15 for 3 at Checkers #research

    Reply

  7. RinceThis

    August 17, 2015 at 11:22

    Pic N Pay made a real fudge last week. They requested someone take down a post because the blogger ripped into the stupid stickeez. What a cluster fuck.

    Reply

    • HvR

      August 17, 2015 at 11:26

      Must say the designer of the toy was “absolute genius” making them the perfect choking hazard size.

      Reply

      • RinceThis

        August 17, 2015 at 11:27

        Yeah, and it has a sucker on, sticks to the inside of your throat, WIN!

        Reply

  8. RinceThis

    August 17, 2015 at 11:25

    I only have 4 🙁

    Reply

  9. Gardos

    August 17, 2015 at 11:31

    I HAVE THE ELEPHANT! I HAVE THE ELEPHANT!!!! I’ll do swapsies with someone though. Inbox me.

    Reply

  10. Dawid Eduard Roestorf

    August 17, 2015 at 11:38

    My Son has gone bonkers for them. Luckily for me, I normally do all my shopping at PNP.

    Reply

  11. Mark Vincer

    August 17, 2015 at 11:50

    We did online shopping the other day because wife = pregnant and while she’s still early in pregnancy, it was more to avoid the physical sweet and cake aisles. Anyway, got our slip and it said we’d earned 7 stikeez but they weren’t in packet. I had no idea what they were so I didn’t care. Now that I see they are physical currency, I feel hard done by.

    Reply

  12. Bob

    August 17, 2015 at 14:42

    More Chinese crap to “grow our economy”

    Reply

  13. schitsophrenic-toothbrush

    August 18, 2015 at 09:21

    how is this a thing? I went shopping at pick n pay yday and the teller lady gave me one. I opened it and got a stupid fish. They should bring back pocket monsters, I loved that shit!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

CD Projekt Red plans to spend less time between promotion and the release of future games

Cyberpunk 2077’s launch last year was something that experts would call “less than ideal”,…