INeedAttention.com

Yes, we have updates for McDonald’s Monopoly 2008

Better prizes, bigger numbers… No, it’s not a Japanese game show, it’s everyone’s perennial favorite – McDonalds Monopoly. The promotion started today, and visitors can expect a full and comprehensive analysis of odds & actual game piece statistics again this year. Here is the official INeedAttention.com analysis of the 2004 McDonalds Monopoly game. So far, I haven’t had as much of a chance to analyze things with this game as I did last year (although like last year, my coverage of this year’s game will be comprehensive and updated frequently).

Here’s what I noticed so far: first, they’ve done away with the massive Best Buy Bucks coupons in favor of many smaller coupons. Whereas last year virtually no one got Best Buy Bucks with face values in excess of $1, this year, it’s apparently just above a 1 in 3 chance that you can actually win a $3 Best Buy Bucks coupon. Clearly, this significantly raises the potential for hell-raising and profit as a result of creative participation in the contest. Next, the online prize redemption structure has slightly changed. Last year, the best prize that was realistically attainable was the free photo developing by Snapfish.com. This year, Snapfish prizes will only be available online during the first week of play! Redeem those online codes at PlayAtMcD.com quickly, or they’ll be worthless. Of course, the second the Snapfish.com giveaway is over, all the other low level online prizes are complete garbage, making them practically worthless anyway. In fact, all the other low level online prizes are gimmicks anyway. The other low level online prizes, for the record, are MIDI Ringtones (Realistic Retail Value, or RRV: $0), iTunes downloads (RRV: $0), and computer games made by JAMDAT (RRV: $0). iTunes is garbage in my opinion, so that’s debatable, but JAMDAT really is indisputably garbage. JAMDAT is a crapware peddler so the fact they’d use the “you just won!” angle to get you to download something is not surprising.

But I’m rambling. I haven’t even gotten a chance to crunch the numbers on this new promotion yet. With that in mind, so far, here are my counts for this year (this will change as I get more game piece data): Stats last updated 10/17/2005 @ 15:30 EDT

Mediterranean Ave – 0 (0%)
Baltic Ave – 6 (10.2%)

Oriental Ave – 3 (5.1%)
Connecticut Ave – 0 (0%)
Vermont Ave – 0 (0%)

St. Charles Pl – 5 (8.5%)
States Ave – 5 (6.8%)
Virginia Ave – 0 (0%)

St. James Pl – 3 (5.1%)
Tennessee Ave – 0 (0%)
New York Ave – 2 (3.4%)

Kentucky Ave – 0 (0%)
Indiana Ave – 2 (3.4%)
Illinois Ave – 2 (3.4%)

Atlantic Ave – 4 (6.8%)
Ventnor Ave – 0 (0%)
Marvin Gardens – 4 (6.8%)

North Carolina Ave – 2 (3,4%)
Pacific Ave – 2 (3.4%) ** This incorrectly said “Pennsylvania Ave” earlier, but this was a data entry error
Pennsylvania Ave – 0 (0%)

Reading Railroad – 3 (5.1%)
Pennsylvania Railroad – 4 (6.8%)
B&O Railroad – 4 (6.8%)
Short Line Railroad – 0 (0%)

Instant Win:
Small Soft Drink – 1 (1.7%)
Medium Fries – 2 (3.4%)
Small McFlurry – 1 (1.7%)
Breakfast Sandwich – 1 (1.7%)

Total pieces: 59

Best Buy Bucks:
$1 Off – 8 (66.6%)
$3 Off – 4 (33.3%)

Total Best Buy Bucks: 12 pieces, $20