Nickelodeon is extending its AddictingGames brand from the online game market to the iPhone platform to increase reach.

Available in the App Store for 99 cents per game, iPark It, World Wars and 50 States are the first of several games to be released as part of AddictingGames iNetwork, a cross-promotion publishing network on which game developers can tap into AddictingGames.com?s promotional reach, upsell capabilities and social gaming features. Sears and its subsidiary Kmart are currently advertising on the AddictingGames Web site.

?Our strategy was to extend the great success we have seen with the AddictingGames brand in the online Flash game market to the newest exciting platform, the iPhone,? said Kate Connally, vice president of the AddictingGames, San Francisco. ?The iNetwork strategy extends the AddictingGames brand and our leadership with the independent developer community to the iPhone platform.

?We feel it is a very important moment for an umbrella brand to provide marketing support for the independent iPhone developer community,? she said. ?The iPhone deck is getting more and more crowded and association with a brand and highly-trafficked Web site like AddictingGames can make a difference for iPhone games getting attention on the iPhone deck.

?With our early releases, we have already seen great results, in the first days after launch, iParkIt has already broken into the Top 100 Paid application ranks.?

Viacom Inc.?s Nickelodeon specializes in television programming and production in the United States and worldwide, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films.

Nickelodeon also has a growing mobile advertising business around its mobile Web sites. 

Nickelodeon acquired AddictingGames' parent company, Atom Entertainment.

The AddictingGames target demographic is young people ? teenagers to young adults.

?We know this is a big group driving iPhone sales, usage and application purchases,? Ms. Connally said. ?We will leverage the blockbuster Nickelodeon brands like Spongebob to increase the size of the iNetwork enormously.?

Nickelodeon?s Spongebob Tickler mobile game has surpassed 1 million downloads.

?Branded games like these will be part of the iNetwork and will promote other games from independent developers,? Ms. Connolly said.

New AddictingGames now available on the iPhone include iParkIt. Using the touchscreen controls, users can guide a car through the parking lot to the flashing parking spot.

World Wars lets users wage war, battling one to seven opposing armies a la Risk.

The 50 States game features satellite pictures as the background. The game revolves around geography quizzes.

More titles based on properties from Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV and other divisions of MTV Networks will be part of the AddictingGames iNetwork and released in coming months.

For example, TV networks are increasingly turning to mobile to extend their brand.

MTVN has released applications around the VH1 properties Watch and Discuss and  I Love the ?80s, as well as an  MTV Video Music Awards application. Comedy Central has launched a South Park title.

Developers who sign up for the AddictingGames iNetwork will gain access to the AddictingGames suite of game community services such as high scores, level builders, Facebook Connect integration and player matching in exchange for a revenue share of their titles.

AddictingGames on the iPhone will be supported on AddictingGames.com and Shockwave.com through weekly ?iPhone Game of the Week? spotlights, promotions across select MTV Networks? sites and within the AddictingGames titles on the iPhone.

Certain game applications will also be prominently featured on AddictingGames.com, with ?Download now on iPhone? promotions running across associated game pages.

?We have a tremendous marketing channel on the AddictingGames home page,? Ms. Connally said. ?To promote the launch of iParkIt, we promoted the Flash version in the new games pod above the folks on AddictingGames.

?This promotional spot is super powerful and has driven a lot of awareness,? she said. ?Then, within the Flash game itself, we have links for the iPhone version.

?We are also doing a lot of social marketing for our efforts here, energizing the AddictingGames fan base on Facebook and Twitter about the release of these new games.?