CES 2008: Barbie Girls and Barbie iDesign
As a child, I loved Barbie, but lately I have felt betrayed by Mattel. When I walked up to the Barbie Girls booth at CES this year, this betrayal was seething right on the surface:
“Oh, you’re a blogger. Are you going to write about this?” She pointed at the Barbie Girls MP3 Players. I had seen them in the store.
“No, because they’re lame.”
She didn’t miss a beat. “Well, those might be lame, but this isn’t.” She held up the Barbie iDesign box and lead me over to the computer running it.
I immediately fell in love with Barbie all over again.
Fashion Plate Redeux
Barbie iDesign is the kind of toy that I would have LOVED as a kid. In fact, I had a toy that was very similar as a child called Fashion Plates. It was a coloring fashion toy that used plates to create outfits. I created a million outfits with that game and Barbie iDesign is a totally awesome update to that toy.
Gameplay
The Barbie iDesign is a computer program that runs on Windows and comes with a barcode scanner (called the Style Swiper and conveniently colored in Barbie pink). The Style Swiper reads the fashion plates that are included with the toy. Each plate represents a doll, a background, or a piece of clothing.
You scan in the doll and she shows up on the screen. Then you take a different plate to scan in her outfit and it shows up on the doll. Pants, skirts, tops and footwear are all different kinds of plates that you can choose from. You get a total of 60 cards with the Barbie iDesign, but there are a total of 200 available for separate purchase to augment your collection.
Once you’ve chosen a few outfits and dolls, you can have them walk down the catwalk in an Uncanny Valley extravaganza!
Download this video for your iPod
The strange little girl that I was would have systematically created every possible outfit and showcased it on the catwalk. Boots with swimming suits? YES… I must create each and every combination and walk it down the red carpet! I can even feel the adult in me wanting to play this game just so I can create every outfit. Quick, what is 60 factorial?! How many permutations are there?!
The additional card packs add even more permutations and are organized by style of dress. For the younger girls in your family, there is a princess pack with enough frilly dresses and crowns to please.
The fun doesn’t end with the fashion show, though. There were other games to play with the cards. You can play them against a friend or you can fight the clock alone. They were mostly games in which you were frantically searching through the cards trying to find the correct one to scan to get a good score. They didn’t look like they were intellectually taxing. Just fun.
The pieces of the iDesign looked pretty sturdy. I tried scraping off the barcode on the side of the cards to see if they were easily damaged, but they are printed well, so you won’t have to worry about your little girl breaking her toy. The worst you have to worry about is losing the cards.
Hacking
The most exciting idea I had was hacking this game. Trying out different bar codes to see what they create in the game was the first idea I had when I saw the iDesign. The easiest hack you can do is to photocopy the bar codes on the back of your friend’s cards so you don’t have to buy the additional packs. The only negative to that is that there is a lot of real world play that you do with the cards and since they are transparent, a picture of them isn’t good enough.
There is some hacking fun to be had with this game and I can’t wait to see what the girls of today do with their iDesign toys.
Complete 180
I walked up to the Barbie Girls booth feeling betrayed by Mattel and Barbie and walked away wishing I knew a little girl who I could buy iDesign for. I guess I’ll just have to buy it for myself…
Barbie iDesign looks and sounds great! My soon to be 9 yr old wants it for her b-day. Where can I buy this?
Comment by Paula Hardman — January 15, 2008 @ 7:21 pm
As far as I can tell, it’s not available yet. I don’t think I was playing with a prototype, but it seemed like a new product. As soon as I see it on Amazon.com, I will link to it, but until then, we’ll have to wait.
Comment by Laura Moncur — January 16, 2008 @ 6:49 am
I saw all the iDesign items at our local (Fairfax, Virginia) Target store tonight. The CD-ROM kit was $29.99, while the Fashion Card packs (4 styles: Princess, Sporty, School, and one I can’t recall) were $4.99 each. There was also a card sorter for $19.99. They all looked so cool! I wanted to read a review about them before I dove in, so thank you, Laura, for yours! (And yes, I’m buying the CD-ROM game for myself!) Oh, by the way, my first exposure to the game was a sample pack of cards included in the Barbie Island Princess DVD.
Comment by Jennifer C. — January 18, 2008 @ 10:16 pm
Jennifer C.,
Thank you so much for validating that they are out there in the wild! I haven’t been able to find them online at all, but I didn’t think of actually looking in a real live store!
After you play with them, come back and tell us what you think!
Laura
Comment by Laura Moncur — January 19, 2008 @ 7:39 am
So I just bought the cd-rom kit at my local (scottsdale, az) Walmart. I love it, my daughter & I played with it for hours. I love the idea of it since I, myself is a fashion designer & want my little girl to follow in mommy’s footsteps. I can’t to get her all teh other cards.
Comment by tina — January 20, 2008 @ 9:26 pm
We’re in SoCal and we went to both Target and Toys-R-Us yesterday (1/20/08) and neither had it nor heard of it. We’re so bummed. We can’t wait to get our hands on one. Can’t even find it for sale on the web anywhere.
Comment by Tracy — January 21, 2008 @ 1:19 pm
i gote the barbie idesign, and its so much fun and i got it at target for 29.99!!!!! and it comes with 60 cards!! i want the other cards too. But its a great game for girls who like barbie games and cute clothes!!!
Comment by jeslea — January 22, 2008 @ 10:17 am
I also found the card packs available at ToysRUs:
Barbie iDesign Fashion Cards – Princess Style – Mattel – Toys “R” Us
Barbie iDesign Fashion Cards – Sporty Style – Mattel – Toys “R” Us
Barbie iDesign Fashion Cards – Rocker Style – Mattel – Toys “R” Us
Barbie iDesign Fashion Cards – School Style – Mattel – Toys “R” Us
If you have been looking for these, you can finally find them online! Have fun!
Comment by Laura Moncur — February 10, 2008 @ 8:48 am
I bought the slider for my daughter and we both love it but I am very frustrated that I cannot find any of the extra card packs you all mention. None of the links above work and I’ve searched online and in stores. My daughter is quickly growing bored with the same old fashions because she plays with this so much. Help!
Comment by Tina — February 21, 2008 @ 8:22 am
Tina,
It looks like Toys “R” Us changed their site. I’ve updated the links and they work now. It looks like they’ve added a new set of cards, so there are four now.
Have fun shopping!
Laura Moncur
The Gadgets Page
Comment by Laura Moncur — February 21, 2008 @ 9:18 am
it is sooo awesome
Comment by nidhi — May 8, 2008 @ 2:33 am
Omg i am getting this for my b day And i cant waiit.
I am 12 and really dont like barbie but i think this looks exciting!
Im Glad to hear all comments on this topic are by adults who either have a daughter that loves it and/or themselves.
Thanks Mattel i love this idea EXTREMLY EXQUISITE! (QLD,Australia) Its In Target for around $29.99 Plus Extra cards $4.99 pack of 15, with 4 styles to choose from. Plus card sorter for $19.99. Au
Thanks Mattel,
Comment by Taylor — July 8, 2008 @ 12:29 am
I am having trouble uploading this program to my computer…It just won’t take it for some reason….Has anyone else had this problem???If so can you please tell me what I need to do in order to get this program to work….
Comment by Brenda Holloway — September 13, 2008 @ 11:14 am
It has been a while since anyone commented here, so I am not sure if this will be replied to or not. My daughter go thtis for christmas and it is fabulous! However, we have managed to lose 3 fashion cards (i know for sure one is shoes, but don’t know the others) and one of the model cards. Anyway is there somewehre I can a) get a list of EXACTLY which cards come with the original purchase, so I can compare and see what we are missing, and b) buy replacement cards for the ones I am missing. I know I can buy all the other themed card packs, but I would dearly love for my daughter to have the original set in its totality. Help!!!
Comment by stephanie — January 3, 2009 @ 11:21 am