My favorite is Carrie the Caregiver. It makes me giggle.

other than the nancy drew pc games, there isn't anything there of any interest to me

Of course not. When they are marketing to girls, they mean little girls that are interested in Disney Princesses and Hannah Montanah. Not adult women who have better taste.

i don't know. an awful lot of adult women purchased nintendogs.

tetris? mario kart? zelda?

Those were the first games I got for my DS lol Also got Nintendogs but my husky would never sit or roll over so I gave up on it and turned it in for some Castlevania.

Haha @ Cooking Mama LOL Welcome to 1954, my friends LOL

Seriously, those are games aimed at tweens...

No, no. You know not of what you speak. Cooking Mama is fabulous. I actually had an awesome conversation with a 20-something guy at GameStop when I bought Cooking Mama 2. He was like, "I can't wait to buy this game. I am obsessed with the first one. Have you played the Wii version?? I don't think it was as good," etc, etc. It's fun to play, you get to find out how all kind of Japanese dishes are made (and the weird way they make non-Japanese food ... ketchup on spaghetti anyone?), it has cute music and graphics, and it does actually require some skill. It's a good game.

Edited at 2007-12-31 08:49 pm (UTC)

Nintendo is running a similar gimmick in the UK, (I think? they're not Toys R Us adverts, anyway) but I was thankful that Zelda was one of the games advertised as a part of it. Not so thankful that the 'how to look after babies' one was there, though!

lol, that game confuses me on so many levels. Bet it doesn't mention the horrible nappies and post-natal depression.

you mean imagine: babyz?
that game makes me want to laugh. and cry.

i read the back of the box and saw that you "take care of up to six babies." i've taken care of four babies and it's too many. anyone who thinks taking care of six babies is fun or cute is crazy.

Cooking Mama is actually totally awesome. Because the Japanese are fucking bizarre. I also love pink stuff for my game consoles ... just because I love pink. Other than that, most of those other games look like they suck.

I have to ask -- what are those damned That's So Raven and Hannah Montana type games supposed to be about, anyway? I always stare at them in the store thinking "Wha ...? How can they make a game out of that?"

Any game that appeals to kids of both genders won't show up on that list. Which is why such lists are generally rubbish - I'd rather see all the games and decide for myself than see what someone who doesn't know me from Adam (or Eve, if you prefer) thinks people with a rather superficial similarity to myself might like.

I play a mixture of games... I play Nintendogs and RE4, Purr Pals and Guitar Hero. I think they just have that section for girls because of all the commercialization of stuff like Bratz, Barbies and stuff, girls will see it but instead of buying tedious dolls that you have to dress and brush their hair, why not buy a "super-hip game?" I play a couple of girl games, but after a while the plot fades into steriotypes... I prefer a wide range of games.

Those selections are common and I understand their strategy... Barbies + Girls = Gold in real life, why not in the digital world?

I'd so want "Phantom Hourglass" in that section. xD

But by segregating the games it'll make girls happier, I guess, because their "Bratz the Movie" game isn't mixed with "Dinosaur Racers" or whatever it's called. At the same time I'm a little insulted by the list... isn't this only encouraging young girls with gaming potential to go for low-depth games and not broaden their horizions to more in-depth purchases? "Nintendogs" is good for both genders, I know, but all the other games seem to be the bad in-laws of larger, more entertaining games.

I've heard that the Little Mermaid game is pretty good as far as kid's games go.

Since these games are specifically aimed at little girly girls, I'm not surprised that few people here would find the whole list to their taste. ;p

I went to a games conference, and apparently during a study they found that the thing that appeals to females most in a game (generalisation of course), is storyline.

In my case, I know that to be true.

If it has even a partial truth to it, wouldn't that start to develop in childhood? Instead, they throw shallow and PINK things at little girls.

I weep for the species.

I've read the same thing about girls generally finding characters and storyline most important in the excellent 'Trigger Happy' by Steven Poole. I can say it's true for me, especially regarding characters.

the only thing from that section that i could see myself wanting when i was a little kid is nintendogs. i would have just glared at the rest of it lol.

oh hey, cooking mama and DDR. i didn't know i was a girl!!!!

i forgot to add that i do own a ddr game.
my boyfriend played more than i did though.

What I wanna know is why there is nothing here for girls over the age of eight...

Mygawd. *shakes head*

Wow. All of that sucks.

I think the list is more of a 'things boys will not play list' rather than a 'things girls would play list'

that does seem more accurate.

I saw the Lisa accessories set and my husband and I agreed that if she saw them, it would be like Talking Malibu Stacy all over again.

ha. yes. there's no way lisa would go for that lisa set.

if i was still 8, i would totally go for that little mermaid DS game though.

Which is probably more or less around the age that those games are intended for when it says 'girls.'

It says Girls. Not Women. Chances are that list is aimed at girls under the age of 10.

And you know why everything on there is intended for a girl that age? Because that's the stuff that a majority of young girls like.

Sometimes, I think it's a shame that female gamers seem to feel they can't be as "girly" as they actually want to be without it somehow being a bad thing. Like being "girly" invalidates you as a person who also happens to play a variety of video games.

I always thought it was just about being who we are. *shrug*

As for the adverts? Anyone with a tiny bit of sense can see they're for GIRLS (as it says) and not designed for adult women. So I don't see what the big deal is. :)

You know, That list doesn't really bother me. Of course, the Nancy Drew games make me giggle like a fiend. Girls can figure out mysteries but boys can't? I'd endorse this just because of those games being on the list. Get some games that will make your little girl smart and have fun: Get them Nancy Drew! And I've seen those games floating around so much that I might actually get one.... Anywho, to me, it seems that list of games is more of something to help parents out that are completely clueless of what games are out there for tweens and that.

On a side note: I wish there was a store nearby, because I really like the surfer girl thing for the DS. Pretty

I dunno about all y'all, but i'd play some goddamn Disney princesses as a little girl into gaming. Hell, I'd play that now.

When I was younger, that stuff was hard for me. No really, I to this day have not beaten a single Zelda game and the only Mario games I've ever won were the Paper Mario series. I'm mostly a gamer now because Pokemon were cute to me. At 18.

They girls between the ages of 5-10 LIKE that stuff. And if they use the girly frou frou stuff to launch into more gaming, where's the bad in that?

Well, obviously, if you aim girly stuff that young girls like at young girls...it's sexist. Or something.

*shrugs*

Don't ask me, I think it's completely moronic.

I do wish that we were free of this gender-based targeting stuff. When I was a little girl, I'd play whatever games I wanted and there wasn't this attack of fluff aimed at little girls. Sure, I played The Little Mermaid for NES, but that's my favorite movie EVER. But why can't they promote something like Zelda or Mario or something non cutesy for "girls"? As if we're all ever the same.

I don't think your tastes in gaming as a little kid were a majority.

Also, keep in mind that they didn't MAKE games for little kids when the NES was out and stuff. It was marketed towards adults.

It'd be nice if the list was more like 'if you're into cotton candy and princesses....you may like these' instead of 'if you have a vagina, you may like these'

I always find it bizarre that our taste in games (or anything really) is supposed to revolve around a physical attribute.

I think the list is more "If you're a young girl under the age of ten, you might like these".

Because it's TRUE. What do you think market research tells companies?

I'm a girl.

I like RPG games where I can rip apart some monsters. Not "OMG, Barbie".

Though the Lisa Simpson controller is cute.