Gaming Is Not Just For Guys Anymore

Companies reaching out to women, girls in an effort to broaden the market

James Shows Off Games for Girls on Nationwide TV Tour

Posted: 11/14/2007 -

One of the last bastions of male dominance is falling….Hi-tech isn't just a guy thing anymore: Increasingly, the decision maker on home technology is as likely to be a woman as a man. Digital cameras, printers, home computers, cell phones, are as likely to fall under mom's jurisdiction as dad's.

Gaming is going through a similar gender readjustment, with software and hardware companies realizing that beyond the hard-core gamer there is a huge, hitherto neglected market: Women, girls, and the "family".

The first efforts at bringing females to the gaming table were at the fringes (low budget games) or embarrassingly pink. But, there are signs of change.

Credit the internet: Women are blogging, surfing, and playing, and the industry is listening. According to the Electronic Software Association, women represent 38 percent of all gamers, and 47 percent of all online gamers. We’re seeing first rate titles with major production values designed for this newly discovered gaming demographic.

This holiday season I'll be showing off many products on TV that showcase this trend. Though the TV spots are sponsored (just like the other shows you watch on tv), product selection and my editorial comments are entirely up to me. Here are a few of the products I'll be demonstrating.

Three Games with Holiday Girl Appeal

For Disney, appealing to girls is nothing new; their Princess line has introduced many girls to video gaming. But, if you’ve seen the earlier titles I think you’ll be shocked by how cinematic this year’s Disney Princess Enchanted Journey looks. Featuring Snow White, Jasmine (from Aladdin), Cinderella, the Little Mermaid, and Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), this is an opportunity for young girls to role play and have arcade fun at the same time.

Girls get to create their own customized character – selecting dress, accessories, hairstyles, and more. Then, wielding the Wii remote as a magic wand, they enter five realms to save the day and restore harmony in the land. This is a game with very high production values: The animation is particularly beautiful for a children’s program and the arcade-style mini-games are enjoyable and easy fun. (Click here to buy Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey for Playstation 2 from Amazon.com or for the Wii.)

I was even more impressed with Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour, primarily designed for tweens and up. Exclusively for the Wii, this game will give you and the girls in your life a real work out as you dance with Hannah Montana all over the world as she puts you through your paces with 15 of her top tunes. It turns out the Wii remote and nunchuck are more adept at sensing motion than I originally thought. Kind of like a musical Simon Says, the game keeps you moving: Pointing, air-guitaring, clapping, twirling and more.

I love games that get kids up and moving, and this is one of the best music games (in a very crowded field this year) for tweens. Unlike Rock Band and Guitar Hero III, this Hannah Montana: Spotlight World Tour keeps things squeaky clean with no drug references or “adult” lyrics. Oh, yes…did I mention the virtual shopping tours in Tokyo, Rome and Paris? If you’ve got a tween girl in the house you’ll undoubtedly get major props for bringing this one home. Click here to purchase Hannah Montana Spotlight World Tour for the Wi

The next major epic from New Line Cinema, who brought you the Lord of the Rings, is The Golden Compass, and it is sure to be a big hit with teen girls who will identify with Dakota Blue’s character, Lyra. Armed only with a truth-telling compass, and accompanied by a giant Armored Ice Bear named Iorek, the game from Sega takes her on a journey of adventure, exploration, collaboration and discovery. During the adventure she gains the ability to call on shape shifting powers from her companion, Pan, and these often become the key to helping Lyra travel through dangerous worlds. Sometimes she’ll need animal strength, but other times agility or flight might be more important. Better yet, she can effortlessly switch from one power to the other. Sometimes she needs to charge forward into dangerous situations, but as often as not cunning and stealth are the paths to victory. The multifaceted approach to problem solving is one of the game’s highlights – but so, too, are the incredible graphics, movie clips, and cut scenes.

By the way, The Golden Compass has all the features that should appeal to guys too: action, adventure, and a great story. The graphics are amazing! (Click here to purchase The Golden Compass.)

Game Platforms are becoming more Family Friendly, Too

Microsoft is making it easier for the entire family to get into gaming with the Xbox 360 Arcade ($279); it comes with 5 free games like Pac Man and Uno.

Xbox 360 Arcade has everything the family needs to jump-in to the next generation of digital entertainment. Sure, it will play all the video games that have come to be associated with guys (such as Halo3, Madden NFL ’08, PGR4, and Mass Effect), but it also has something for everyone in the family with games like Pac Man, Viva Piñata and Guitar Hero III.

You can play CDs right out of the box, download TV shows and movies in regular and high-definition, listen to music or view pictures, and talk and play games with friends in your living room or around the globe on Xbox LIVE. (Click here to purchase the Xbox Arcade System from Amazon.)

The Xbox 360 Arcade also serves double duty in the living room as a way to play DVDs, like Shrek the Third, coming out this holiday and makes a great family gift –funny for kids, with adults getting the deeper references and double entendre. What a cast: Michael Meyers reviving the title role along with Princes Fiona (Cameron Diaz), Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), Donkey (Eddie Murphy), not to mention: John Cleese, Justin Timberlake, and Amy Sedaris. The DVD is packed with goodies, including songs, dance sequences, and even a special that shows how animations are created from storyboards. Click here to purchase the Shrek the Third from Amazon.

New controllers for the Xbox 360 also make it more accessable to new gamers: Rock Band from EA comes with musical instrument controllers; Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action for Xbox 360 is a trivia game that uses special wireless buzzers to ring-in. Microsoft has also got into the act with colored Xbox controllers so in addition to white, there are now pink, blue and black controllers, too.

This is just the tip of the iceberg: Family and female gaming is on track to make platform and pc gaming bigger than ever, and it all starts this holiday season.

Electronic Arts Editor's Day

Simpsons, Helecopters, and Rock and Roll

Posted: 11/9/2007 - The annual editor's day at Electronic Arts is an event that the publishing giant uses to stir buzz for their holiday launch titles.

This year's event featured Madge Simpson-haired waitresses, an assault on the quad by a Vietnam era Huey, and a chance to play Rock Band on a big stage. There was even a live monkey to promote Sims 2 Castaway.

Who Killed Children's Software?

And is it going to happen to gaming software next?

Posted: 11/10/2007 -

There was a time when children’s learning software was critical to the growth of home computing.  Dozens of titles were released every year.  And yet, this year there are almost no new learning titles on the PC, and precious few on other gaming platforms. 

So, who killed the home educational software market, and what lessons can be applied to other software markets like gaming and Web 2.0? Like a CSI team, let's examine the corpse for clues – and see if the killer is still on the loose. Click here to read more.

Deadly Toys

Parents must call on government and industry to act now!

Toys contaminated with lead are a serious threat to children.

Posted: 10/15/2007 -

The innocuous charm bracelet pictured here should be a cautionary tale to parent who haven't been paying close attention to the recalls of toys and other products from China for excessive levels of lead.

This charm, you see, came in a box of children's sneakers ironically called "Reebok Sweets". The box says "Surprise Inside" and indeed, parents might be surprised to find that this charm is linked to the death of of a four year old child from Minneapolis. According to the CPSC, Rebock recalled the product after it received reports that the child (who swallowed the charm) died of lead poisoning.

Parents are going to be in a horrible dilemma this holiday season: The toys on the shelves of major retailers may contain dangerous levels of lead and there is no way for the average consumer to know whether a particular product is contaminated. The story broke earlier this year with Mattel's voluntary recall of toys ranging from dolls to trains.

Lead is a serious concern, particularly for kids. This is what the National Safety Council says about it:

There are many different health effects associated with elevated blood lead levels. Young children under the age of six are especially vulnerable to lead's harmful health effects, because their brains and central nervous system are still being formed. For them, even very low levels of exposure can result in reduced IQ, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing, and kidney damage. At high levels of exposure, a child may become mentally retarded, fall into a coma, and even die from lead poisoning. Within the last ten years, children have died from lead poisoning in New Hampshire and in Alabama. Lead poisoning has also been associated with juvenile delinquency and criminal behavior.

Already this year we've seen recalls of toy trains, dolls, jewelry, and even boy scout badges for lead contamination.

You might think that a nation that cherishes its children would be reacting promptly to protect its citizens from a threat that has already killed. Congress might require mandatory batch testing for lead in children's products from toys to clothing. But, months after Mattel's massive recalls Congress has remained silent.

Conservatives might argue that the free market will solve the problem: But manufacturers seem to be so tied to cheap plants in China seem unwilling to certify that there products are within industry standards.

Parents are completely without a safe option this holiday. There is no way of knowing that the toys on the shelves are lead free. It is time for the government to take the field here and champion consumer safety by requiring testing for lead and certification of all children's products, particularly those manufactured overseas.

This is a time when we must give our collective voices to this public health issue. Individually, we can pull products we know to be contaminated from our kid's toy shelves, but it isn't enough. Parents need to be able to walk into a ToysRUs or Walmart or Target and rest assured that the products are safe. Until we make our voices heard by the industry and government, our children will not be safe.