Barbie Girls too much like 'Mean Girls'?
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The Barbie Girls MP3 player doubles as a dress-up doll.
(Credit: Mattel)NEW YORK--Who's running things over at Mattel?
The Barbie Girls MP3 player that doubles as a paper doll with plastic clothes is now out.
First, I don't think parents should pay $59.99 for an MP3 player with 512MB of storage, even if you can dress it up. For that price I'd recommend spending a little more and getting their child the "big kid" iPod Nano or Shuffle you know they really want. To be fair, the device can hold a microSD card of up to 2GB.
But that's not my real problem with this tech toy.
Plugging the MP3 player into a computer grants the owner entry into new places in the BarbieGirls.com virtual world that non-buyers of the device won't have access to. It also gives you access to "exclusive" virtual purses and pets.
Seriously?
While I understand Mattel's desire to offer some sort of reward for buying the device, the concept of creating a virtual velvet rope seems destructive to the Barbie image the company has been struggling to improve.
"It's the next-generation fashion doll. We've always evolved with how girls play. It's all about music, being online and fashion," Lauren Dougherty, director of PR/Communications for Mattel Brands, told CNET News.com from the floor of DigitalLife 2007.
If Mattel is serious about reinventing Barbie's image and keeping up with the Webkinz of the world, maybe it should think about the overall picture.
As this writer was once a little girl who drooled over the outfits created for Barbie by some of the coolest fashion designers, I'm not anti-Barbie in the least. I just wish she was a little more Brenda Starr and a little less Paris Hilton. This is 2007, right?
Of course, this is the same company that in 1992 thought it was a good idea to make "Math class is tough" one of the lines for its Teen Talk Barbie.
We all know how well that went over.
Candace Lombardi is a staff writer at CNET News.com
are simply monetizing their web sites. What they're doing is no different than
what you find on any other subscription site. If you haven't visited either site,
you should. (Of course you'll need to buy a Webkinz to get past Ganz' front
door.)
Once you've purchased a Webkinz, you'll have access to their content for a
year, with a chance to resubscribe at no additional cost for a second year. At
Webkinz, it's obvious that Ganz has spent a lot of time developing a safe
gaming site for kids and their subscription model obviously works. It's a good
site and it has many of the games I played as a child, modified for the online
environment. (Dogbeard's Bathtub Battles [Battleship] kills me! You can also
find thinly-disguised versions of games like Frogger, Breakout, Bingo, Wheel
of Fortune, Connect Four, etc.) My kids can find gaming partners online in a
safe, "no-contact" setting. There's enough content to appeal to both boys and
girls (and adults), and Ganz is always adding things to keep it interesting. It's
definitely worth the price of admission ($15.00).
At the Barbie Girls site, a fair amount of content is freely available for girls
who don't have the Barbie Girls MP3 player, and my daughter enjoys playing
with the unlocked parts of the site quite a bit. She doesn't enjoy the fact that
it's still in beta, and it sometimes doesn't work according to her expectations.
She's disappointed that she can't adopt a pet, but not so disappointed that
she won't play with the site. She's been a registered user for several months,
and lived and died during the summer according to whether the BG site was
up or down. She hasn't gone to the www.barbie.com site much since the BG
site became available consistently. If Mattel offered a lower-cost key-only
device (sans MP3 player) and improved their content, I'd buy it. (Are you
listening, Mattel?)
I think it's quite clear than Mattel has taken a good long look at "the overall
picture." Toy sales are down substantially, but sales of electronics designed
for children are up. It makes sense for Mattel to monetize the site because
they're not going to be making their money off of selling Barbies forever.
Mattel is responding to a change in the marketplace. I haven't seen sales
figures of the Barbie Girls MP3 player, but from what I can see, the price is a
bit steep for the content they're offering, and they'll need to improve their
content substantially if they want the site to take off.
For now, the free content is ample for my daughter, who plays with that site
nearly as much as she plays with her real Barbies.
are simply monetizing their web sites. What they're doing is no different than
what you find on any other subscription site. If you haven't visited either site,
you should. (Of course you'll need to buy a Webkinz to get past Ganz' front
door.)
Once you've purchased a Webkinz, you'll have access to their content for a
year, with a chance to resubscribe at no additional cost for a second year. At
Webkinz, it's obvious that Ganz has spent a lot of time developing a safe
gaming site for kids and their subscription model obviously works. It's a good
site and it has many of the games I played as a child, modified for the online
environment. (Dogbeard's Bathtub Battles [Battleship] kills me! You can also
find thinly-disguised versions of games like Frogger, Breakout, Bingo, Wheel
of Fortune, Connect Four, etc.) My kids can find gaming partners online in a
safe, "no-contact" setting. There's enough content to appeal to both boys and
girls (and adults), and Ganz is always adding things to keep it interesting. It's
definitely worth the price of admission ($15.00).
At the Barbie Girls site, a fair amount of content is freely available for girls
who don't have the Barbie Girls MP3 player, and my daughter enjoys playing
with the unlocked parts of the site quite a bit. She doesn't enjoy the fact that
it's still in beta, and it sometimes doesn't work according to her expectations.
She's disappointed that she can't adopt a pet, but not so disappointed that
she won't play with the site. She's been a registered user for several months,
and lived and died during the summer according to whether the BG site was
up or down. She hasn't gone to the www.barbie.com site much since the BG
site became available consistently. If Mattel offered a lower-cost key-only
device (sans MP3 player) and improved their content, I'd buy it. (Are you
listening, Mattel?)
I think it's quite clear than Mattel has taken a good long look at "the overall
picture." Toy sales are down substantially, but sales of electronics designed
for children are up. It makes sense for Mattel to monetize the site because
they're not going to be making their money off of selling Barbies forever.
Mattel is responding to a change in the marketplace. I haven't seen sales
figures of the Barbie Girls MP3 player, but from what I can see, the price is a
bit steep for the content they're offering, and they'll need to improve their
content substantially if they want the site to take off.
For now, the free content is ample for my daughter, who plays with that site
nearly as much as she plays with her real Barbies.
Just Check it out.
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Best Loan Services.
Every time you think you got the best deal you find somewhere cheaper, especially when you have already done the shopping for the week.Auto loans like much in life is a matter of numbers, try enough times and you might just get it right.
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Aanna Jones.
Just Check it out.
Best Loan Services.
Every time you think you got the best deal you find somewhere cheaper, especially when you have already done the shopping for the week.Auto loans like much in life is a matter of numbers, try enough times and you might just get it right.
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Aanna Jones.
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by AannaJones
May 13, 2009 5:35 AM PDT
- Playing with Barbie girls is amazing even I haven't seen sales figures of the Barbie Girls MP3 player.But its wonderful I have a better option for you.
-
Reply to this comment
-
(6 Comments)Just Check it out.
Best Loan Services.
Every time you think you got the best deal you find somewhere cheaper, especially when you have already done the shopping for the week.Auto loans like much in life is a matter of numbers, try enough times and you might just get it right.
__________________________________
<a href="http://www.autoloans365.net">Auto Loans</a>
Aanna Jones.