<![CDATA[Kotaku: Girls]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: Girls]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/girls http://kotaku.com/tag/girls <![CDATA[ Yes, I Really Did Watch A Guy Play Boogie Superstar ]]> Girls, girls, girls. No, it's not a Vegas review, it's the target audience for EA's Wii title Boogie SuperStar, which was announced yesterday. I swung by EA's New York press event yesterday, too, where the game was on display, and I took a look at it.

I'm presuming that very few of you reading this are young females between the ages of six and 12 who love to karaoke to Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love, or dance to the best of Fergie and Good Charlotte. The songlist is intimidatingly marquee, though, and one of the major takeaways from having the game demoed for me was just how far games have forged in getting the music biz to recognize their power in helping label artists stay relevant to a new audience.

And while Boogie SuperStar might not be a game specifically for you or for me, I think that's pretty important - equally cool was the motion recognition tech.

It'll come bundled with a microphone for pretty standard-looking pitch and note duration-based karaoke, but for the dancing portion, you hold the Wii remote and Nunchuk and do whatever moves you're prompted to do. Simple stuff, like twirling or arm-rolling, but the guy who was demonstrating for me (yeah, a guy) seemed to be able to move really naturally and have the game still clearly understand which moves he was doing.

The fun part was that the on-screen avatar (characters are fully customizable, by the way) did whatever moves the guy was doing even when they were wrong - in other words, rather than lead the player, the on-screen character follows him, always attuned to the player's movements. That was pretty neat.

It looked like the kind of thing my eight year-old girl cousin would love to have at her next birthday party. There are cartoony narrative cutscenes following your chosen glamor girl's rise to stardom, suitably imbued with 'tween girl signposts of coolness and drama, so the game knows its audience well, even when that audience isn't me.

Girl games have a tendency to make us cringe a bit, but I suppose I'd rather have my cousin rocking out with this game than something with Bratz in it. Shudder.

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Kotaku-5020252 Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:20:00 MDT Leigh Alexander http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5020252&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Mobile's Lara Croft? ]]> phoenixshadow.jpg"Gentlemen, may I introduce you to Phoenix Shadowalker", begins the press release from Glu Mobile, announcing it's new mobile game available later this month, Shadowalker, or Shadowwalker going by the press release heading. Mistaking us for gentlemen was your first mistake. Assuming that some sultry model in a leather jacket and a mini-skirt holding a sword was going to ruin our on-again, off-again romance with Lara Croft was the second. We are gamers, Glu Mobile, and we have hot women with swords falling all over us all the time. We can't walk down the street without a walking hottie arsenal falling in step behind us. It's just how we roll. We've come to terms. Besides, mobile gaming already has a Lara Croft. Her name is Lara Croft. May we introduce you?

Shadowwalker Struts Her Stuff

Gentlemen, may I introduce you to Phoenix Shadowalker - the new videogame heroine ready to out-sauce Lara Croft as the number one pixellated female icon.

As the eponymous star of the new mobile phone title released this month, hack and slash your way through over 20 levels of classic platform gameplay, in a spooky shadowy world in need of rescuing from hordes of invading ghouls.

Developed and published by Glu, a leading publisher of mobile games, Shadowalker will be available across all games-enabled mobile phones. It boasts graphics and gameplay that matches the best handheld videogames, offering a rich game experience for experienced and casual gamers alike.

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Kotaku-316978 Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:00:06 MDT Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=316978&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Bogost on Imagine: They Aren't New, Y'All ]]> babyz.jpg With all the press (mostly of the incredulous variety) swirling around Ubisoft's line of DS games for girls (featuring such scintillating titles as Imagine: Babyz and Imagine: Fashion Designer, as Ashcraft mentioned earlier this week), Ian Bogost is here to set the record straight and chastise us all for having short memories and no sense of history (ouch!): the series isn't new, and Babyz was first released in 1999. I think Bogost is being a little disingenuous here - is it any wonder that many of us have no recollection of minor software toys targeted towards adult women released in the mid-to-late 90s (and do interactive desktop pets really count as a 'game'?)? I'll concede that a more complete historiography makes for some more interesting observations:

Petz and Babyz were software toys for adults, not for kids, at least not explicitly. They ran in a process on top of the Windows desktop, and the pets and babies literally moved around in the foreground, as you worked. They were little creatures and characters you could interact with ....

None of these observations change Ubisoft's strange assertion that girls want shopping and childcare, but the history of the titles make other observations possible. For example, Ubisoft is also just recycling old IP rather than reinventing these games from whole cloth.

Bogost says that the brand value has apparently evaporated, necessitating that miserable deliberate misspelling - but how much value did it have in the first place? And does currency with the inching-towards-menopause market in the 90s really have any impact on how well it does with tweens and teens in 2007 and beyond?

Imagine Game History [Water Cooler Games]

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Kotaku-307890 Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:30:54 MDT Maggie Greene http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=307890&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Enchanted Princess Journey ]]> Finally a game for me! Disney Princesses: Enchanted Journey is a Wii, PS2 and PC game (with a version due out on the DS) that allows young girls (discrimination!) to create their own custom characters and help their favorite princesses help save their worlds while learning an important lesson about courage, friendship, trust and the joy of discovery. Swoon! While I do appreciate how good they've gotten at rendering Disney characters in video games these days, one fact remains...boys do not like playing dress up in video games.

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Kotaku-274200 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 11:20:03 MDT Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=274200&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Clip: Haloid - Fan Service Evolved ]]> Okay, all you folks can shut up now, we're posting the Halo and Metroid fan movie, Haloid.

I'm not sure if this is the coolest thing I've ever seen or the saddest. On the one hand, it has two of the biggest video game badass characters ever, first fighting against each other and then teaming up against a common foe. It's got a lightsaber dual, short-circuiting crotches, Matrix references, suggestive girl on girl action, and even a dance number.

All those things are great, but all mashed together along with fighting moves out of a wire-fu martial arts film makes the whole thing feel like a fanfic threw up on camera. Great dance number though.

GameTrailers User Movie: Haloid
[Thanks to Everyone and their Brother]

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Kotaku-253360 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 14:20:22 MDT Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=253360&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Rant: Dr. 90210 the Video Game Girls Please! ]]>

I came across this little Princess Lea and R2-D2 figurine made by Gentle Giant and was like, "Why is Lara Croft with R2D2?" when I realized that this is the new look for cartoon Lea. So of course, a hunt down to find other babes in gameland ensued and I found QJ's Top 10 List of gaming vixens, which are as follows:

1. The Dead or Alive Girls (Dead or Alive series)
2. Lara Croft (Tomb Raider series)
3. Tifa (Final Fantasy VII)
4. Zelda
5. Chun Li (Street Fighter series)
6. Samus Aran (Metroid series)
7. Morrigan Aensland (Dark Stalkers)-
8. Aerith Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII)
9. Mai Shiranui (King of Fighters)
10. Maria Renard (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)

Now I'm not opposed to big breasts or blond hair, I'm just saying if there have been medical breakthroughs in the real world that some of the girls in the digital realm should, I don't know, LOOK DIFFERENT?! Every girl on this list falls under Chun-Li clone or Lara-Croft look-a-like.

Weekend Slowdown Our Top 10 hottest game babes to date [Wii QJ]

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Kotaku-250979 Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:40:00 MDT Kim Phu http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=250979&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ And The Girl Gamer Award Nominees Are... ]]> ggapproved.jpgToday sees the announcement of the 2006 Girl Gamer Award nominations, collected from various female gaming sites and forums across the interwebs, many of which hate our guts. These first annual awards are the product of a joint effort between Gamergirlsradio.com, Gameinatrix, and the KRT Ladies gaming clan.
We are furthering our efforts to bring more awareness of the female gaming community," says Gamer Girls Radio host, Danger Doll, "This is one of many steps we will take to ensure that developers have the information they need from female gamers to help them market to us better."

Winners will be chosen via a poll on Gameinatrix, which will stay open for a month. Once the votes are tallied the winners will receive a "Girl Gamer Approved" seal (see author's rendition at the top right.)

The nominees seldom stray from the norm, with a few notable exceptions such as Harvest Moon DS in the Sims category. The categories could use some work as well, as evidenced by Raving Rabbids and Elebits being shoehorned in with the platformers.

They also list Age of Conan in the MMO category, despite the game not being released until at least October of this year, but I'm not so unwise as to question the mystical farseeing powers inherent in the female of the species.

Hit the jump for the full nominee list.

Nominations for The Girl Gamer Awards Announced today!

Houston, Texas (March 28, 2007) Gamergirlsradio.com, Gameinatrix.com and the KRT Ladies have announced the 2006-2007 nominees for the Girl Gamer Awards. The ladies collected nominations from various female hosted sites and forums, such as Xbox's Gamer ChiX, last month. Today the polls open, and will allow female gamers to vote for their favorite game, genre, and console, via Gameinatrix.com. "We are furthering our efforts to bring more awareness of the female gaming community," says Gamer Girls Radio host, Danger Doll, "This is one of many steps we will take to ensure that developers have the information they need from female gamers to help them market to us better."

The polls will remain open for a month, at which time the winners will be presented with a seal stating the game is "Girl Gamer Approved". Gameinatrix.com also plans to make available the number of votes, the ages of the voters and locale. "This data is imperative to anyone trying to figure out how to market to women. Knowing which games women already love and what they are doing right, will hopefully also help them figure out what they are doing wrong."

To cast your vote please visit www.gameinatrix.com.

And the Nominees are:

Fighter
Fight Night Round 3
Tekken: Dark Resurrection

Platformer
New Super Mario Brothers
Loco Roco
Elebits
Yoshi's Island
Rayman Raving Rabbids

Racing
Burnout: Revenge
Need for Speed:Carbon
Mario Kart

RPG/Action/Adventure
Zelda:Twilight Princess
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
Oblivion:Elder Scrolls

MMO
Worlds of Warcraft
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Arch Lords
City of Villains
City of Heroes
Eve-Online
Dungeons and Dragons Online

FPS
Gears of War
Rainbow 6 Vegas
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfare
Call of Duty 3

Sims
The Sims 2
Harvest Moon DS
Viva Pinata
Animal Crossing Wild Wild World
Guitar Hero 2

Sports
Wii Sports
Madden 07
Blitz the League 360
Rockstar Table Tennis 2
Top Spin 2

RTS
Age of Empires III
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle EarthII
Company of Heroes
Supreme commander

Game of the Year
Viva Pinata
The Sims 2
Gears of War
Rainbow 6:Vegas
Ghost Recon Advance Warfare

About Gamer Girls Radio
Gamer Girls Radio, calling itself the "voice" of the female gamer community, originally aired on Gameshout in 2006, gaining an underground following in the gaming community, and have since moved to www.gamergirlsradio.com. Gamer Girls Radio is the first ever of it's kind all female hosted gaming podcasts. New podcasts are aired every Monday. For more information on Gamer Girls Radio contact webmaster@gamergirlsradio.com or visit www.gamergirlsradio.com.

About Gameinatrix.com
Established in 2004, Gameinatrix.com is the internets leading female oriented, gaming reviews and news portal. Gameinatrix.com strives to bridge the gap between developers and gamers. Contact webmaster@gameinatrix.com or visit www.gameinatrix.com for more information.

About KRT Ladies
KRT Ladies is the female division of the KRT Professional gaming clan. KRT Ladies also provides a safe and friendly environment for female gamers. For more information regarding the KRT Ladies, please visit http://knightshome.org .

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Kotaku-247690 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 09:20:11 MDT Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=247690&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Girl Gamers Are Easy ]]> gamegirlsez.jpgNow this here's a press release. UK online game rental company Gametart has randomly sampled 200 British women and decided to let the world know the ins and outs of their sexual appetites. To the point, they asked them how often they had sex, and if they regularly played video games.
Of our sample of 200 women, those who played video games on average had sex 4.3 times a week while those who didn't play games only had sex just 3.2 times a week.

A completely useless poll done for the purpose of advertising their site, of course. Do they take into account age? Looks? What was their definition of having sex? Rumble or no rumble? Most importantly, where is the photographic evidence?
Perhaps even more promising for gamers is the fact that many of the women that we interviewed who have only recently started playing games said that they now have sex more often than before.

As a wise doctor once said, "You are telling lies!" So what they are saying here is playing video games will enhance your sex life. Anyone else notice this particular phenomenon?


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13/02/07

Gamers Have Sex More Often!

It's official - women who play video games have sex more often! Gametart, the UK's largest online games rental company, carried out the survey throughout January to see how the recent influx of the likes of Pink PSPs and DS Lites would affect gamers' sex lives across the country.

The results were surprising.

Of our sample of 200 women, those who played video games on average had sex 4.3 times a week while those who didn't play games only had sex just 3.2 times a week.

Perhaps even more promising for gamers is the fact that many of the women that we interviewed who have only recently started playing games said that they now have sex more often than before.

Gamers have never had it so good!

And a tip for Valentines Day: a nice meal and a bottle of wine only last for one night but for only 11.96 you can have games for a month!

Head to www.gametart.com to make this Valentines Day the best ever!

###

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Kotaku-236211 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 10:40:14 MST Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=236211&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Oh Noes, Love And Berry Anime Announced ]]>

This is all we know, but Japanese film studio Shochiku is making an animated Love and Berry. A blurb from the studio's website:

Two 14 year old girls named LOVE and BERRY are trying to enter Magic school. Their task is to make a lonely girl, Yumi happy. They teach Yumi how to dance and have fun dressing up using their magic. Introduced in 2004 as a card game for girls, the popularity has expanded spinning off to books, music CD, dance DVD and other merchandising. Now comes a feature film of this popular franchise.

Yes, Sega will not stop until they have squeezed the last yen out of every girl under 12.

Love and Berry Anime [Anime News Network]

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Kotaku-232760 Wed, 31 Jan 2007 10:22:53 MST Brian Ashcraft http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=232760&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Kotaku Pantsu: A Chat With Wii Panty Girl ]]>

So today I thought I would give some of the readers a treat and post the Wii panty girl video, giving both the perverts and the curmudgeons something to comment on during a quiet Wednesday afternoon. Soon after I posted it, the video went private, the panties now replaced with a video of her playing the Wii in spandex. Why? I tracked her down via YouTube and Yahoo and asked.

Note that this is not her real Yahoo handle. Duh.

Mike Fahey: Mike from Kotaku here, and curious!

PantyGirl: hi

MF: Howdy, as they say down south. So what happened with the video?

PG: to be honest I'm worried that my friends or family might see

MF: I can understand that completely. You'd be an overnight internet sensation.

PG: aww
PG: do you like the spandex ones?

MF: As I am happily attached, I cannot comment as to whether I like them or not.
MF: Definitely.
MF: Oops. Stupid keyboard, answering for me.

PG: lol

MF: Well thank you for clearing the whole thing up. Many lonely gamers will cry themselves to sleep tonight, but I suppose pretending to be a good girl is an important part of being evil.

PG: I am a good girl

MF: Possibly, but the real question here is good at what?

PG: well getting attention for one

MF: You win this round, Wii panty girl.

PG: you want me

MF: Is that why you posted the video in the first place? To make men (and women) want you? (Note my artful dodging)

PG: maybe

MF: An exhibitionist, enjoying when people you don't know watch you...

PG: i like attention

MF: I do too. I just look horrible in a bra and panties, or so I've been told.

PG: hahaha

MF: Perhaps you could post another wearing a mask, so your family can't tell who you are.
MF: And possibly kitty ears.
MF: Ignore that last bit. Someone else typed that, probably.

PG: hmm
PG: I wish I could block by location
PG: then just my area couldn't see it

MF: And everyone else could see your area!

PG: good one

MF: I'm actually reading them from a "How to speak to a half naked gamer girl" handbook.
MF: So, should I just tell our readers to try for a friend request on YouTube?

PG: I have like 500 to go through
PG: I don't want to accept everyone

MF: No one wants to accept everyone. It's the concept this country is founded on.
MF: I suppose they'll have to be happy with the spandex. Just curious...what's under the leggings?

PG: guess

MF: I was thinking thong myself, being somewhat of a thong connoisseur.

PG: nope
PG: I wear them as underwear

MF: So just the sheer leggings and what you came packaged with then?

PG: what?

MF: Meaning nothing underneath but what you were born with.

PG: right
PG: its uncomfortable with anything under spandex

MF: Don't I know it. Well on that note I'm going to have to go find a quiet place to watch the spandex video another 10-15 times. Just to verify.

PG: haha
PG: what should I do next?

MF: That is the most dangerous question a girl has ever asked me.

PG: uh oh

MF: I think you were going in the right direction with the whole panties thing, but that direction only leads to one thing.

PG: ?

MF: Dressing up in a penguin costume.
MF: I mean, I can't just tell a random internet girl to get naked and play video games. Penguin is the next closest answer.

PG: as I'm talking to you I'm getting hundreds of messages and subscriptions

MF: Well of course you are. You've inflamed the gaming community with your sinful gyrations. You're like a modern day Elvis, only hotter.
MF: *looks at a picture of Elvis* Okay, way hotter.

PG: oh wow I just got a comment on my new years vid

MF: Oh yes. Once the internet latches on to one vid they'll hungrily devour anything they can find about you.
MF: Like long conversations on a gaming website.
MF: For instance.

PG: oh if you find that I would love to see it

MF: I'll let you know if I see anything. One last question...which probably should have been the first question. Over 18?
PG: by far

MF: *breathes a sigh of relief*
MF: You enjoy your attention now, young lady...and let me know if anything else comes up. Probably a bad choice of words, but nonetheless.

PG: ;)

Winking emote indeed! So there you have it, folks. She's an attention hungry woman with unfortunate limits. She wants to be bad, but doesn't want her family to know, and I am pretty sure that with the right answers I could have steered the conversation towards steamy cyber. Luckily I am a good and virtuous man, for all you know.

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Kotaku-225843 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:10:21 MST Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=225843&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Wii in Your Panties ]]> Yeah, tipster Maxwell is right when he says we've probably seen a great deal of people playing Wii videos since the system launched, but nothing quite like this girl. She starts off in a tennis dress, and then, well...loses the tennis dress. No real nudity involved mind you, but probably not all that safe for work anyway.

Update - Apparently she's shy, having privatized her video on YouTube and removed the others, leaving this video of her playing in spandex. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise!

Then she turned off embedding, but some jerk reupped the video! The nerve!


I don't know if this is going to become a big trend, but I am almost positive we need to push in that direction if we as a society are going to survive. The girl could be a bit more attractive, and honestly I could probably have filled out the bra better, but we're all gamers here and are used to taking what we can get. Let the "I can get any girl I want" comments begin!

Playing Wii in my panties #1
[YouTube - Thanks Maxwell!]

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Kotaku-225713 Wed, 03 Jan 2007 12:40:15 MST Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=225713&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ The Physics of Gaming Jubblies ]]> What better way to kick off a Monday morning than a borderline NSFW video about rendered jubblies? X-Play, one of the tattered remnants of game-related programming on the former TV 4 Gamers network, presents you with the evolution of breast physics in video games. There's no real nudity, but folks at work might think you just a bit more creepy than they already do for watching this.

It's sad that the internet has desensitized me so much that my favorite part of the video is the Midnight Spank deer commercial at the end. It is good to see how far breast physics have come, but when are we going to see realistic junk shifting in games?

The history of video game breasts [DESTRUCTOID]

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Kotaku-220801 Mon, 11 Dec 2006 10:40:32 MST Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=220801&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Sparkly Paris Hilton DS on eBay ]]>

If you found yourself drooling over the Swarovski crystal covered pink DS Lite designed by Paris Hilton we posted a few weeks back, then not only is their something wrong with you, but there is also a spark of hope, as one is now up for auction on eBay UK. I am assuming the seller simply had too much taste to keep the item for himself.

He also mentions that only 20 of these were made, a fact that I cannot seem to back up from any source. Everyone knew it was limited edition, but only 20? For an item this spectacularly fabulous? Come on. There's gotta be a warehouse full of these somewhere, and that warehouse needs to be bombed.

I do like how it comes with spare crystals and a glue kit, as if they expect someone to actually play this monstrosity and not lock it in a vault deep underground somewhere so it never hurts anyone again. The auction starts at approximately $670, with a buyout of $1465, depending on which conversion rates you believe. A small price to pay to save humanity from shiny pink doom.

PINK NINTENDO DS LITE - PARIS HILTON SWAROVSKI EDITION [eBay.co.uk - Thanks EZ]

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Kotaku-220363 Fri, 08 Dec 2006 14:40:57 MST Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=220363&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ The Gorgeous Ladies of 8-Bit ]]>

Forget Lara Croft, Kasumi, and Vanessa Z. Schneider (rawr). They've got nothing on the girls of the NES, and Syd Lexia knows it. He's compiled a list of the 23 hottest 8-bit hotties, and rated them in three categories - hotness, inner beauty, and a special arbitrary category. I'd have to say Ariel from The Little Mermaid is my favorite.

Ariel is a mermaid which means that while she may look human, her lady business has been replaced with a fish tail. That's not cool. And while I certainly wouldn't WANT to make love to a mermaid, I probably would out of morbid curiousity; I need to know if fish genitalia smells like a woman.

He obviously wrote this to get chicks. Other list makers include Zelda, Arylon from Final Fantasy, and Mario's resident transvestite, Birdo. The list can be a bit harsh at times, but it's just the thing to help make a painfully slow Friday afternoon go by a little faster. Besides, nothing with a Tawny Kitaen reference in it can be all that bad.

Girls of the NES [SydLexia.com via Dark Diamond]

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Kotaku-218745 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 15:40:45 MST Mike Fahey http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=218745&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ The Pink PSP Party ]]>

Hey, girls! You like pink things, right? Sure, me and Flynn may have rose-colred DS Lites, but we are men and only men by default. The pink stuff, I mean come on, is for girls. And because men and young boys are busy playing with their manly black and navy DS Lites, Sony thought it would be a good idea to target young Japanese women with Pepto pink PSPs. It even roped in bag designer Samantha Thavasa to do, we assume, absolutely nothing. The handheld hit Japan on November 22, and tonight (I write from the future), Sony held a big bash for the pink portable in Roppongi, complete with women. The shindig commemorates new online shopping site WWCITY. Because women not only like pink things, but buying pink things, right? There was also a fashion show with models and Miss Universe hopefuls. That though wasn't for the women, but for Sony dudes who fancy eyeballing the ladies.

PSP Pink Party [Famitsu]

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Kotaku-217581 Tue, 28 Nov 2006 12:22:03 MST Brian Ashcraft http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=217581&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ UK Gets Glittery, Girly Pink DS Lite ]]>

Women. They're great for a lot of things, but they make it difficult when you want to play video games. You want to play Gears of War on the big TV? Tough. She wants to watch an episode of A Baby Story she's seen twice already.

Fortunately, since girls are so predictable and will like anything pink, with shiny crystals impossible for them to refuse, Nintendo is releasing a pair of Swarovski crystal encrusted DS Lites to help you trick your girlfriend or wife into gaming. Just slap any old game in there, she won't notice the difference after being blinded by the pink shine.

They're designed by (Ha! Sure.) Paris Hilton, hero to girls everywhere (they all want to be skinny like her and have lots of nice boyfriends/clothes like she does) and feature over 1200 shiny jewels. At 360, about $680 (USD), it's cheaper than buying a second TV.

Thanks for the tip, Lesley. And don't buy too many of these! Gotta save some cash for new shoes! LOL am I right, ma'am?

A Diamond DS Lite Is A Girl's Best Friend .... Not!

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Kotaku-216546 Tue, 21 Nov 2006 19:40:06 MST Michael McWhertor http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=216546&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Men's Health Magazine Prescribes Wii to Women ]]> In this month's Men's Health Magazine, the "Ask The Girl Next Door" section looks at how to use the Wii to get your girlfriend into gaming. While we don't have the actual article to summarize the advice, I can probably extrapolate based upon my own experience getting my own non-gamer girlfriend trained in the complexities of handling an eight-inch, opalescent Wiimote.

At first, she was a bit bashful, so I put it in her hand. "Don't be afraid, baby..." I cooed. "Just hold it in your palm. Get used to the feel, the contour, the shape, the slight ergonomic curve."

"It's heavy!" she remarked.

"I know! But you'll get used to it. Just wag it around a little bit. Yeah, like that."

"I don't really feel comfortable with this, Flor..." she complained.

"No, no, keep playing with it, dammit. You'll learn to love it. Bond with it. Give it a little kiss. Well? What are you waiting for?"

"But I don't like it! It makes me feel self-conscious."

"Listen, I don't care. If you want this relationship to last, you'll damn well get comfortable with the Wii. What? Wait, where are you going?" But with the sound of hysterical weeping and a resounding bang of the bathroom door, she'd run out of the room to cry. Women!

This may not be the advice that The Girl Next Door gives, however. "Calling [your girlfriend] over to watch you pistol whip a hooker in GTA or solve the riddle of the moon druids in Myst IV is not the way. Maybe you should buy that new Nintendo system with the stupid name, Wii. It was designed to suck video-dissing women into the virtual world. Personally, I'm addicted to Rockstar's Table Tennis and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory."

So pistol whipping hookers doesn't appeal to women, but slitting guys throats from behind does? I'll say it again: women! Utterly inexplicable.

Wii pumps iron with Men's Health [Infendo]

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Kotaku-210561 Fri, 27 Oct 2006 08:40:06 MDT brownlee2 http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=210561&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Little Girls Delighted With Their DS Lites ]]>

Behold Lilly —my cute, button-nosed and raven-haired cousin — hugging the ivory DS Lite I gave her for her birthday, along with a copy of Nintendogs and Animal Crossing.

aunnads.jpg

Her fraternal twin Aunna does not like cameras, so though delighted with her gift, she would not deign to look up from her virtual puppy and smile at the camera. She will be a surly punk rock heartbreaker as a teenager, let me assure you.

Of course, I'll have my revenge: here's what Aunna's beautiful smile looked like at one week old.

Thanks for your help, guys! They were delighted. The gift card read "To Aunna and Lilly, From Flor, Love Kotaku!"

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Kotaku-210067 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:40:20 MDT brownlee2 http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=210067&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Most of the Games Ain't His, But Hers ]]>

My third date with my wife? We went to Yodobashi Camera in Umeda, and she bought Space Channel Five 2 for herself. Then proceeded to play it for the next five hours. Same for the DS and the 360 to an extent. Games magically appear and are played into the ground. Without explanation.

The above photo (via the divine Alice) comparing a guy's game collection to his girlfriend's hits home. Likewise, the majority of the games in casa Ashcraft are probably my better half's.

Most Are Hers [Wonderland]

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Kotaku-209330 Mon, 23 Oct 2006 05:22:07 MDT Brian Ashcraft http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=209330&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Help Me Buy DS Games For Little Girls ]]> As you might well imagine from my loud sense of self-entitlement, I am an only child. However, I have two adorable twin cousins named Aunna and Lilly, who are about to turn 12, and who have rather been adopted as surrogate sisters by myself. I do all the sorts of things expected of big brothers, including regularly threatening to lock them in the basement for misbehaving, throwing them in the garbage can and beating the crap out of the pervy little pre-pubescent punk down the street who dared suggest they play 'doctor.'

Their birthday is coming up and I've been giving some thought as to what to give them. They both like horses and have liked them for years, but I'm sick to death of giving them horsey-paraphenelia. I thought of giving them a gift that was horse-related, like heroin, in the hopes of expanding their interests. But my obnoxious aunt stamped down on that idea pretty hard, although Lilly — due to having to give herself a shot every day for an endocrinological disorder — is already a pretty mean hand with a syringe.

Lacking ideas, I decided that I may as well just fling aside their own interests with the contempt that the ideas, obsessions and passions of little children deserve. Instead, I will use this opportunity to buy them something that I really like... which is video games!

So I'm going to buy them two DS Lites: a pink and a white one, I think, although Aunna is probably going to go goth any day now. But as far as games are concerned, I'm stymied, and could use some input.

I want to buy them two games each. I thought maybe both would get a copy of Nintendogs, which seems like a safe bet. I'd like to buy each of them, then, a separate game, so they could trade. Animal Crossing seemed like a good bet, but outside of that, I have no ideas. Anyone have any suggestions for DS games for little girls? I want them to be good games with a lot of replay value, not just the standard bullshit regurgitated on the system to appeal to girls.

Danke, my little poppets.

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Kotaku-206717 Wed, 11 Oct 2006 05:00:10 MDT kotaku.com http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=206717&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Tekken Girls Get Wet And Naked in Maxim ]]>

Last week, Eliza verbally body slammed Playboy's editor over their upcoming feature about hot, naked girls in gaming... girls no one had ever heard of. Playboy claimed that "if you feel these women are not prominent enough in their games, that's an issue for the developers who should be creating more strong roles for women." Eliza's response — in which she rattled off dozens of names of well-known female game characters who re-affirmed positive gender ideals — can only be described as a Mortal Kombat style fatality. Scott's offal-coated pelvis hangs above Eliza's mantle, connected to the spine she deftly ripped out of his back.

We thought the battle for prominent, progressive female role models in games had been won. But then, today, we catch word that maxim has hired a bunch of models to dress up as Tekken models, then stand under cold flowing water and do karate kicks in miniskirts and brightly colored panties.

Did you hear that? That was the audible pop of Eliza's head flying apart in a puff of metallic blue hair and overly developed gray matter as the expanding kettle of her gamer feminism reached a boiling point, then exploded.

Tekken girls get real... and naked [PSP Fanboy]

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Kotaku-206132 Mon, 09 Oct 2006 08:00:39 MDT kotaku.com http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=206132&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ A Travesty Of A Girl Gamer ]]>

Wired's Joel Johnson writes:

You have to lambast this:

http://flickr.com/photos/femalethatlovestech/sets/72057594072372309/

So I will. The lithe, sultry minx, on all fours above? A shameful disgrace to female gamers. If she was a real girl gamer, she'd have a 36 inch plasma screen balanced on the top of her head, thus allowing me to fulfill both of my life's primary functions simultaneously.

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Kotaku-200939 Fri, 15 Sep 2006 12:40:31 MDT kotaku.com http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=200939&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Broads Want Brains, Bombs ]]>

I try to avoid "girls in games" articles but this is neat. According to a little study at University of Teesside, girls are apt to dig games with lots of fighting, thinking, and story. In other words, splodey games that aren't stupid.

I think this is something we can all embrace, vagina or no.

Clay used software developed at the University of Teesside in Middlesbrough to analyse the 34 best games as listed by 76 female gamers.

The software, called Strange Analyst, builds a profile of each game by trawling through online reviews and extracting key words. Clay found women prefer games with confrontation and attack, investigations and puzzles - and a good story line.

Unfortunately, the article is extremely short and doesn't mention which keywords were used, etc. Still, this sounds right to me.

More here [New Scientist, thanks DB]

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Kotaku-189825 Tue, 25 Jul 2006 17:20:02 MDT egauger http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=189825&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Top 10 Girliest Games Ever ]]>

As the founding member of Kotaku's own branch of the He-Man Woman Hater's Club, I probably should not deign to cootie myself up touching the subject matter of the Top 10 Girliest Games of All Time. Best to put on my Haz-Mat suit, hand off the assignment to our token female staffer, then go watch some Pumping Iron to up the testosterone levels again. But Eliza's never around when you need her.

So pastels ahoy! Kotakuite Paul K. was kind enough to direct us to this Aeropause post trying to determine what girlie games have the most rainbows, sticker parties, ponies and puppy dogs. The Spice Girls, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake and Hello Kitty are all over this list, so if you have any unfilled cavities, best to avoid.

Like the Top 10 Manliest Games of all Time, this list contains a stark omission: Super Princess Peach, otherwise known as the Pretty Princess Temper Tantrum Game. How could you miss that one, guys?

The 10 Girliest Video Games EVAR! [Aeropause]
Previously: Top 10 Manliest Games Ever

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Kotaku-183665 Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:40:58 MDT brownlee http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=183665&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Why Do Gaming Guys Hate Gaming Girls? ]]> whydoguyshategirls.jpg

Do boy gamers hate girl gamers? Yes. frankly, I'm sick of you baby factories mucking up my cathartic games of virtual butchery with your rainbows and puppy dogs. I wince every time my girlfriend wanders barefoot out of the kitchen to play a game of Animal Crossing on my Gamecube: Doesn't she know that the estrogen she's oozing all over the controller is having an acidic reaction to the Cheetos-dust patina I've laboriously worked up over the years? You girls want to game? I've got a game you can play. It's called "make me a sandwich."

I'm just being sarcastic, of course. No, I love girls, and I love games — in my book, they go together like bacon and peanut butter. But apparently, not all male gamers are thus enlightened, and Global Gaming League has posted up a series of anecdotal vignettes from girl gamers about the rank misogyny they face everyday in pursuing their hobby. As it turns out, a common reaction from the rank mouth-breathers who habitate XBox Live when put into contact with a real, live girl gamer is either smug condescension or an out-of-control boner that whips around the room, snapping spines, like loose fire hose. Who'da thunk?

Do Boys Hate Girls? [GGL]

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Kotaku-183285 Mon, 26 Jun 2006 07:40:57 MDT brownlee http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=183285&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ How To Get Your Girl Into Gaming ]]>

How To Get Your Girl Into Gaming, Florian Eckhardt Edition. Offer your girlfriend a clear choice: either she can spend a couple hours on the couch making little virtual men prance about in a brightly colored mushroom kingdom, or she can see you naked. This is a type of Pavlovian conditioning. If you're feeling vindictive, offer her the choice of either watching your corpulent strip tease or playing Battlecruiser 3000 A.D. — you will notice in her eyes the same look that people trapped in burning buildings get just before they hurl themselves out of the tenth story window. Rinse then repeat with the next girlfriend when your current one inevitably dumps you.

My technique has flawlessly converted dozens of girls into lifelong gamers, but it's not for the faint of heart. And you're S.O.L. if you look better naked than I do. Which your probably do. So if you've got a girlie who clucks her tongue, rolls her eyes and wonders aloud why you never go out anymore when she sees you jumping up and down on the couch thrashing along with Guitar Hero, you might try Cheap Ass Gamer's practical guide to converting your loved one over to the gaming fetish. It's written by a REAL. LIVE. GIRL. so there's got to be something here you can use to brainwash your spouse or significant other into a more convivial pastime.

How To Get Your Girl Into Gaming: Advice From A Gamer Wife [Cheap Ass Gamer]

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Kotaku-181988 Tue, 20 Jun 2006 10:40:17 MDT brownlee http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=181988&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ More Budget Blood Soaked Bikini Babes ]]> I'd like to Oneechan her bara if you get what I'm sayin'If you aren't familiar with the Oneechanbara series (and really, at this point, who isn't?) it's a Japanese action game involving nearly naked girls slicing up zombies, who shower them with blood in the traditional Japanese fashion. Publisher D3 is upping the babe factor this summer with the third Oneechanbara game, Simple 2000 Vol. 101 The Oneechanpon. This one's really just a cash-in special edtiion update to part 2 and features more girls (some a little too young), more outfits (obligatory zombie thrashing maid get-up), and more blood splattering goodness (who cares about this part, we want smaller bikinis!).

The games aren't exactly what you might called "good", but they serve their purpose — especially at the low low price of 2100 yen. If this sounds like your thing, more breasts and thighs may be ogled at Impress Game Watch.

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Kotaku-167488 Sat, 15 Apr 2006 09:28:16 MDT Michael McWhertor http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=167488&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Capcom Girls Fight Japanese Shops ]]> Yatai...The Max Factory line of Capcom's famous fighter girls have shipped to Japanese retailers this week, with US importers expected to ship them next week. If you don't mind dropping about $60 American (each) on these lovely plastic ladies, NCSX still has pre-orders open for Chun Li, Cammy and Sakura "Girl-Fighting" figures.

Pics of the line after the jump.

sakura_max_factory.jpg

cammy_max_factory.jpg

chun_li_max_factory.jpg

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Kotaku-161448 Sat, 18 Mar 2006 17:29:11 MST Michael McWhertor http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=161448&view=rss&microfeed=true