Not Just for Kids: Games You Might Have Avoided but Shouldn't- Part One

"Will that be all?" the clerk asked as I stood at the register at my local purveyor of fine gaming goods, his question penetrating the blank stare that had aggregated on my face over roughly fifteen minutes of waiting. I looked at the sole item in my hand, an empty display case for Super Princess Peach on Nintendo DS, and answered "yeah, that's it." As he searched behind the counter for a retail copy, he tried to make some conversation, "are you buying this for your girlfriend?" and before I had a chance to answer, "it's awesome how many chicks have a Nintendo DS, it's like it's actually getting them into gaming�" My eyes glazed over as he attempted to explain to me the state of females and videogaming and as he ran my credit card I replied to his initial question, "nah, I'm buying it for me." Now it was the clerk's turn to assume a blank stare accompanied by a slight look of embarrassment. "Oh, sorry bro, it's just usually girls or parents I see buying games like this."

While driving home I thought about what he had said about mainly girls and their parents buying games like Super Princess Peach. It's a great game that anyone can enjoy if you can get past the fluffy, feminine girliness and obvious stereotyping, (Peach has different powers based on her mood swings... I'll let you infer what you want from that), and it's too bad that a lot of male gamers are missing out on it. As my mind wandered, I began to think about other games that have alienated a large segment of consumers by tailoring the theme, style or even the box art for a target audience. I don't have the sales demographics to back it up but I would guess that since Viva Pinata is targeted at children and looks like a kid's game, not to mention that it was released in conjunction with a kids television show, many older gamers have chosen to avoid it. Few of my friends will give it a try, even after my attempts to convince them that despite the childish exterior it is a well-crafted and gratifying "strategy/simulation" game with a great sense of humor that anyone can enjoy and easily justifies the twenty dollar price tag.

My friends' innate aversion to Viva Pinata shouldn't surprise me. For core and hardcore gamers, avoiding niche games that are aimed at children or girls has become something of a defense mechanism. When we see a game with hearts or bright colors or large quantities of pink on the cover we automatically let our eyes slide over it as if it isn't even there. We automatically ignore advertisements that look too cute. It helps us avoid the suffering that is inherent to games involving Nickelodeon characters, Barbie or anything that ends with a Z, (Bratz, Horsez, Petz, Babyz). Unfortunately, this instinct of ours makes us miss out on some real gems that deserve to be played.

I'm not sure if there is a way to solve this issue, or if anyone else even considers it an issue. Perhaps it's just a problem that is and will always be inherent to the entertainment industry; adults largely avoid kids movies and television shows in the same manner. It just seems a shame to miss out on some of the great prizes that are hiding under the thin guise of pretty, pink girl games or cute, cuddly kids games.
The upcoming part two, will include a list of some of the better girl-friendly or kid-friendly games that you might have avoided but shouldn't.