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Viva Piñata Apparently 'For Girls'
An anonymous reader writes "Bill Gates has demonstrated his unique public speaking skillset again, this time by further ostracizing gamers who grew to love one of the best Xbox 360 titles of last year - Viva Piñata. Comments made by Mr. Gates during an interview on the Charlie Rose show include the choice comment 'We have a thing called Viva Piñata that's for young girls, where you're tending a garden and these animals come along...'. His comment are carried by Eurogamer, who also provide a link to the YouTube video of the interview. For gamers who really appreciated this under-marketed and lovably quirky title, this is just another low blow."
Look ... Microsoft is good at a number of things. Your hardware is great. You make terrific peripherals. You made wise decisions in getting the Bungie and Epic guys to do their thing exclusively for your console. I would point out, though, that your stated goal for the 360 was to reach out to both non-gamers, and gamers that traditionally didn't play titles on the Xbox. This kind of crap, right here, with Gates calling Viva Piñata a 'little girls' game? It's what is making sure that you're not expanding the market. I really like my 360, but Sony and Nintendo are going to eat your lunch if you don't get with the program. Remember that Psychonauts thing you strung along and then dumped at the finish line? Games like that and Viva Piñata would go a long way towards getting to those 'Moms' you were talking about back in 2005. My name is Michael Zenke, and I'm a proud Dragonache owner. And, apparently, somewhat outside the 'intended audience' for a really, really great game.
What's next, will he say MS Paint is a drawing program for 'children', insulting its wide and varied adult userbase?
...but did anyone stop to think for a second maybe that was their original intention was to market the game towards girls?
Hell, my fiance LOVES playing Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, hardly the target demographic for that game.
Living With a Nerd
Bill Gates runs like a girl.
The real problem here is not Gates' comment, but the public perception that a game which is targeted at girls somehow insults the game. Come on. This is 2007. Girls' games can be fun too.
Why is it such a low blow? There's no possible way that you could like something that was also made for girls? Are you that insecure that you can only like things that are made for men?
I fail to see the insult Mr. Gates made.
Who gives a damn what something is 'for'? So bingo is for geriatrics and Harry Potter's for kids; doesn't stop me enjoying either of them.
If you enjoyed Viva Piñata before Gates opened his mouth you have no reason to enjoy it any less afterwards. If you let marketing demographics dictate how you spend your leisure time you deserve to be miserable.
from the do-i-look-anything-like-a-girl-to-you-bill dept.
Manboobs.
"You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
I think the real culprit in this article is the anonymous person who managed to sneak this blatent anti-microsoft garbage onto slashdot.
The game was designed for little girls. If you feel ostrisized because you're a grown man playing a little girls game. Then there are two cases here:
1.) You should feel ostrisized anyways
2.) The game turned out a hell of a lot better than they thought it would.
We have this product for adolescent males called Windows Vista.--Bill Gates
You heard it here first.
Yes, in our narrow minded world it is a "girl game", just like Katamari Damacy and Sims were labeled "Girl Games" because they were fun and quirky and for some reason drew in the female demographic. I've played all of these titles and thought, "wow, a game thats easy to pick up, but challenging to master, and keeps my interest! I like this, and I bet my girlfriend will too!"
ok.. so heads you lose tails I win. right?
I have a 4 year old. The first time we saw a commercial for that game, I asked him if he thought that looks like a good game. He said, "Dad, that game's for girls."
I have no idea the quality of the game, but I wouldn't rip gates a new one for thinking it's a girl game.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Whatever, demographics are very useful.
It optimizes the purchasing of adspace for the company, keeping them from advertising a product where it is completely useful to do so.
When's the last time you saw a Viagra ads in a 'boys life' magazine.
ads for shoes out of Amputee monthly.
ads Omaha Steaks on a Vegan mag?
ads for Monster truck shows off of Oxygen/We.
Ads for tampons on Spike?
You have demographics to thank for that.
Sure, 15% of the people who watch Spike might use tampons, but the money is obviously better spent on Oxygen/We.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Shit, I just got a Badgesickle to live in my garden and I find out the damn game is for girls! I'm gonna go play some Vegas to feel manly again.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
"For gamers who really appreciated this under-marketed and lovably quirky title, this is just another low blow."
Because there's nothing more insulting that having something in common with a young girl, the lowliest of life forms?
There may or may not be something fundamentally wrong with Gates pigeon-holing the game for a particular demographic, but how is this visceral reaction better? The only way a gamer can be unhappy with being associated with being "girly" is if being "girly" is a negative. And what does this say about your attitude concerning actual, you know, girls?
Methinks the people complaining are the same ones who didn't get a GameCube because it was too "kiddie." Go play some FPS or something until you feel comfortable with your sexuality, like a grown-up.