Barbie struts her stuff at CES

Hard on the Heels of launching BarbieGirls.com – the ‘fastest growing virtual world’ – Barbie takes a fashion play into the digital age with the debut of iDesign, an Interactive gaming experience, showcased at CES last week.

With nearly five decades as the global leader in “real world”” fashion play, the Barbie brand has launched an innovative, interactive gaming experience that gives tech-savvy girls a new way to play with fashion in today’s digital age.

Launched at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, Barbie iDesign features tech-based fashion play through a CD-ROM computer game, a USB-connected scanner and collectible, “”swipe-able”” fashion cards.

Additionally, Mattel participated at CES’ first-ever “”Sandbox Summit,”” a series of conferences addressing kids and technology, to speak on the success of Mattel’s 2007 launch of Barbie Girls and what’s next in technology for the Barbie brand.

Barbie iDesign is the newest introduction from the “”Barbie Tech”” group, and builds on the success of Barbie Girls, a hybrid play experience that combines a real world, doll-inspired music device with a virtual world platform. BarbieGirls.com, the first global, virtual online world designed exclusively for girls, now boasts more than 9.5 million registered users worldwide and has been referred to as the “”fastest growing virtual world ever.””

Continuing to tap into how today’s girls play, and expand the Barbie tech line-up, Barbie iDesign turns fashion play traditionally experienced through a doll into an interactive, computer-based game with scannable fashion cards. With Barbie iDesign, girls become their own fashion stylist through a highly creative and engaging gaming experience.

“”Based on the success of Barbie Girls, we know girls love experiencing the core play elements of the Barbie brand in a tech-based way,”” said Rosie O’Neill, “”Chief Barbie Girl.”” “”Barbie has had a nearly five-decade long relationship with girls because she continues to evolve as girls evolve. The launch of Barbie iDesign and the expansion of BarbieGirls.com demonstrate Mattel’s continued commitment to delivering category-leading play experiences by staying at the forefront of girls’ trends.””

Fashion Design Goes Hi-Tech

Barbie iDesign offers 200 different, collectible fashion cards, consisting of various hair styles, tops, bottoms, dresses, shoes, accessories and fashion models, and each has a unique barcode that when “”swiped”” through the USB-connected scanner, is uploaded to the “”Design Studio”” closet within the PC software. Once fashions are scanned and loaded on the computer, girls can play fashion stylist and create more than 21 000 000 fashionable ensembles in the game’s “”Design Studio.”” When the fashions are runway ready, girls are able to customise their fashion show in the game’s “”Fashion Runway”” mode of play. In the “”Design Studio”” and “”Fashion Runway”” modes of play girls can:

Additionally, there are many fun, fashion-themed activities girls can play in the “”Designer’s Club,”” where models, fashion editors and tired designers can relax. In the “”Designer’s Club”” girls can:

Barbie iDesign Fashion Cards also have additional play value once they have been scanned. These mix-and-match fashion cards are also transparent, allowing girls to create unique looks in real life as well. Each fashion pack includes nine scannable fashion cards (dresses, tops, accessories, etc.), three background cards featuring various locations such as the beach or the mall, three model cards, including Barbie and her friends, plus a fashionable frame to display their signature looks. The fashion packs are available in different themes: Rocker, School, Casual, Party, Princess, Bling, Beach and Sporty. Girls can collect them all to continue to create fresh new fashions.

Pricing and Availability

The Barbie iDesign game and fashion cards are currently available at major retailers in the USA, ranging from $5-$25.

The Barbie iDesign Ultimate Stylist Game/Set includes a sleek vinyl case that holds up to 200 collectible fashion cards as well as the iDesign CD-ROM and scanner for an average retail price of $30.

The Barbie iDesign Fashion Cards are available for an average retail price of $5

email this to a friend tt tt printer friendly version

“”,””body-href””:””””}]”