Desperate Housewives, the Video Game?

March 25th, 2006

Filed under:
Games

Desperate Housewives, the Video Game?

Via Wonderland, apparently Buena Vista Games will announce a computer game based on ABC’s Desperate Housewives:

Not only can you tap into the delicious secrets held by your naughty neighbors–including Bree, Lynette, Gabrielle, Edie and Susan–but shortly after settling into this cushy suburban neighborhood you’ll also discover you were in a car accident 20 years ago and have been living with amnesia ever since.

The primary market for this game will be women, so it’s a bit of a risky bet. Wisely, the designers are borrowing some elements from The Sims (a game popular with women), including “the ability to customize furniture in your home, upgrade appliances and walk outside to see what the neighbors are up to.”

Comments: 6 Responses so far

Heron
March 25th, 2006
8:10 pm

Oh yeah, that sounds like an effin riot. Where do I sign up for the pre-release? *gag*

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Patrick Dinnen
March 26th, 2006
6:04 am

Darren
I’m not sure whether marketing a game to women is a ‘risky bet’. According to an Entertainment Software Association report I dug up ‘Women over the age of 18 represent a greater portion of the gameplaying population (28%) than boys from ages 6 to 17 (21%).’

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Darren
March 26th, 2006
9:44 am

Patrick: That survey also says that 75% of heads of households play video games, which seems laughably high. Unfortunately, your stat references these guys as a source, but doesn’t point to a specific survey or study. So, there’s no way to evaluate the veracity of this (highly dubious, if you ask me) claim.

For example, check out the top video games on page 7. Of the top ten, only one looks like it would appeal equally to both genders. The computer games list looks a little more even, but not entirely.

Regardless, it’s certainly conventional wisdom in the industry that games targeted at women (not girls) are risky bets.

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Samuel
March 27th, 2006
7:37 am

It sounds like the worst idea, ever.

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Laura
March 28th, 2006
10:09 pm

I’d have to agree that it sounds like a horribly awful idea, and I’m probably their prime target market - a 26 year old female fan of the Desperate Housewives show, and we have an XBox 360 in the house. And I have been known to play video games on rare occasion. But I would definitely not play this game. Give me Tetris any day!

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