A gaming company says sales have gone through the roof after two of its games featured in the second episode of TV3's Apprentice.

The Sunday Tribune has learned that gaming company Electronic Arts is enjoying a "phenomenal" jump in demand for computer games Facebreaker and Spore after rival teams were given the task of organising a launch for them on last Monday night's show.

The gaming company says it now plans to send Apprentice boss Bill Cullen free copies of games in appreciation.

"Both games had been in the shops for the last two weeks but the morning after The Apprentice screened demand for them went through the roof," said a spokesman for Electronic Arts.

"We've had people coming into stores nationwide asking about the games. I'd describe the reaction as phenomenal.

"The day after The Apprentice went out, not only were people discussing the games, they were talking about the different ways the boys and girls teams approached their launches."

Electronic Arts is one of the first companies to sign up with programme makers Screentime ShinAwil after the Irish company behind The Apprentice sought local companies to collaborate with them on the new series.

More Irish companies will feature in The Apprentice in the coming weeks with each company having stumped sponsorship cash for their involvement and the resulting media exposure.

Although only three ep­i­sodes into the first series, Screentime ShinAwil is said to be already working on a second series for TV3, with boss CEO Larry Bass in negotiations with sponsors for a follow-up series.

The Apprentice had 218,000 viewers last Monday.