Mountain Dew has tried several new flavors in recent years. Some such as Code Red and Livewire have taken off, others such as both varieties of Pitch Black have been a dismal failure. It is not surprising this summer that they released a new flavor. However, rather than go with something that suggested what type of flavoring might be involved with the new product, they tried a different marketing tactic. The new flavor is called simply "Game Fuel."
The association between the caffeinated beverage and video gamers has been known for a long time. People into video games are not typically the type of person who would wake up in the early morning and use their cup of coffee to get going. While they may have jobs that require it, they are far more likely the type to kick back and relax by delving into virtual worlds long into the night. The hot coffee is simply not what is needed. Instead a cool beverage that contains just enough caffeine to keep you from falling asleep when you get to the latest boss is what is needed. Not to mention the alertness boosting affects of caffeine itself.
Well, as a long time fan of the beverage especially since drinking caffeinated beverages were not allowed during my youth I had to try it out. While Halo may have made me sick when I played it, I must admit the person who did the artwork for the Game Fuel flavor bottle did a pretty good job of depicting the main character.
What will carry the new product however is not how cool the artwork may be or what games are depicted (but do the labels all have to be Halo? There are plenty of other games) but exactly what it tastes like. While at first glance the product looks like it may taste similar to Code Red it is actually not quite as tangy. While the cherry flavored code red packs a little punch, the taste of Mountain Dew's Game Blast is milder by far. It doesn't have the same shock that the earlier variant did. Exactly which citrus fruits were used to produce the flavor are not known to me, although I hope grapefruit juice is not one of them. (Grapefruit juice reacts badly with Zoloft, but even if it does it's probably present in very small concentrations in the beverage.)
It may be better than Pitch Black was, but only time will see whether or not Mountain Dew's Game Fuel flavor is a hit with the consumer.
