19 March 2008

Diary Girl

Konami sent out the following press release for well, it's not really a game, more of a social networking tool:


KONAMI SHIPS DIARY GIRL TO RETAIL STORES NATIONWIDE

Make Friends Around the World With New Children's Title on Nintendo DS™

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - March 18, 2008 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Diary Girl™ has shipped to retail stores in North America. Developed for Nintendo DS™ system, this title provides girls of all ages the ability to interact with friends through their own customizable avatars, as well as organize a calendar and address book in their own password-protected electronic journal.

"The Diary Girl package gives young gamers an organizational tool, mini-games, and a social interactive component, all on their personal DS handheld system," said Rozita Tolouey, Director of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "Kids increasingly crave games with a social networking aspect and Konami is dedicated to giving them that and more with this new title."

Diary Girl packs friends, fun and organization in a password-protected electronic journal for Nintendo DS. Featuring a daily calendar and an address book, Diary Girl is a lifestyle accessory for the busiest girl around. Players are given their own avatar to customize with various clothes and accessories, as well as make-up and hair. For the girl on-the-go, advanced DS capabilities allow young gamers to talk to their friends in real time without a cell phone using the WiFi voice chat function of the game, and instant message with the Picto-chat style text messaging service. To complete the Diary Girl package, players can also participate in mini-games including mazes, jig saw puzzles, card matching, and personality quizzes. No girl's DS collection can be complete without Diary Girl.

02 March 2008

Little Girl Games

This article from the Escapist, while titled "Little Girl Games," seems to be more about working with licensed IP.

An excerpt
"It's easy to see how these kinds of elements might get overlooked by a development team comprised primarily of young men. But as Corbetta explained, one of the first things he learned in working on licensed titles is you're not making a game for yourself."