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Viva Piñata Apparently 'For Girls'

Posted by Zonk on from the do-i-look-anything-like-a-girl-to-you-bill dept.

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."

13 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Hey Microsoft! by Zonk · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:Hey Microsoft! by Who235 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Imagine what the movie industry would be like if Hollywood only made blockbuster action flicks.
      Umm. . .
    2. Re:Hey Microsoft! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Whoa, whoa, whoa. Animal Crossing may have looked kiddy, but it's really a very difficult and adult game representing the struggle of the common class against the entrenched mercantile-industrial complex and ineffective government leadership. Everything you do is part of the struggle against the oppressor, from the leaving of revolutionary literature on the town message board, to establishing a strong underground community amongst the populace and trying to instigate open revolt against Tom Nook's shadow regime.

      It's just really hard...I can get my fellow town members to gather near Nookington's carrying axes and wearing my "Down With Nook" shirts, but I can't get them to actually torch the place yet.

    3. Re:Hey Microsoft! by secolactico · · Score: 3, Funny

      Boy, are you missing big time... Nook and Tortimer are just puppets. The man behind the curtain is Mr. Resetti.

      --
      No sig
  2. Not to defend El Gates... by Pojut · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...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
  3. the real problem here by poor_boi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:the real problem here by Klowner · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Maybe if the games marketed towards girls weren't so insultingly bad, then this wouldn't be quite so insulting, but that isn't the case.

      Who'd have thought Bill Gates could emasculate a bunch of male gamers so easily? ;)

    2. Re:the real problem here by Aladrin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You obviously are -not- in touch with the Viva Pinata community, then. It wouldn't matter if God said it was a girl game, he'd get nothing but flames back.

      This is a cutesy, kiddie-looking game that has a very loyal following among non-kids, myself included. It's an amazing game. Every time someone calls it a 'kiddie game' or a 'girl game', it is a chance for everyone who hasn't played it to write is off as 'childish'. Fans of anything are alike in 1 way: They want everyone else to try the thing they love so much.

      So it's not that it's a personal insult, but rather that it's damaging to the thing we love.

      Nothing can take away the game as it is, of course, so damage to the game's image doesn't mean much yet. But when it comes time to create VP2 or another game along the same lines, any damage to the original game matters a lot.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    3. Re:the real problem here by Khuffie · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You obviously are *not* in touch with reality.

      From Microsoft's standpoint, they were creating a game that would appeal to girls (something that say, Gears of War doesn't). Note that that statement does *not* imply that girls can't play and enjoy Gears of War, or that men can't play and enjoy Viva Pinata. They talked about that game that way when they were developing it, their goal was to create a franchise for kids, along with a children's cartoon show, so get that stick out of your bum and realize the reason this game is in existence, and is so amazing, is because of this desire to create something that appeals to people who don't normally find something like Gears of War appealing. (ala Nintendogs, Brain Age, etc).

  4. Low Blow? What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  5. What's wrong with that? by WombatDeath · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:What's wrong with that? by grammar+fascist · · Score: 3, Funny

      If you enjoyed Viva Piñata before Gates opened his mouth you have no reason to enjoy it any less afterwards.
      No, but it might mean you're gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
      --
      I got my Linux laptop at System76.
  6. Zonk? Girl? by FishWithAHammer · · Score: 5, Funny

    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."