Is there nothing that can’t be turned into a Wii game? Yoga? Cooking? Science experiments? They’ve all gone the way of the Wii. And now even playing with a baby doll can be Wii-ified: Baby and Me lets you strap a Wiimote to your favorite doll and then quantify how good you are at playing with it. There’s also a special doll that’s Wiimote-enabled, should you prefer that route.
Alas, the game will be released only in Australia — a rep for 505 Games says there are no plans for a U.S. release. Looks like we’ll have to enjoy “ten baby mode games” plus balance board support vicariously. Also, could everyone take a minute and listen to “William Wants a Doll” and admit maybe a boy would want to play with this, too, and that this could have been packaged to appeal to both girls and boys? Hmph.
I guess the concept of Wii-ified dolls is a little weird, but honestly, I would have been all about this game when I was little. Competitive, digitized doll-playing? Talk about a trifecta. Where do you fall on the “it’s awesome” to “it’s creeping me the hell out, that robot won’t teach my baby to love ” spectrum, PopWatchers?
Comments (1-9) of 9 Add your comment
I always thought that those dolls were creepy. They just got a little creepier…
Is this really what girl’s want to play on any type of Video Game System let alone the Wii? I know Nintendo wants the Wii to have an inclusive atmosphere for everyone that is not a Gamer, but I really don’t think this is a good idea. I remember I read article in a Video Game Website (I forgot its name it was really old) where a Female Gamer wrote about Video Games like this and her daughters reaction to it. The writer of the article pointed that when she presented Lara Croft her daughter and her friends enjoyed it but when she presented, I think it was a Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen game, her daughter and her friends rejected it. The Writers analysis was that the Video Game industry had made a false assumption that because it’s the Olsen Twins, they were popular, and it’s a “girl thing”, that girl’s in general would instantly jump at it and play the game. After seeing this Wii game EW had reported, the Mother Gamer has proven her point. There are too many games out like this and games like this really insult a Female Gamer’s intelligence.
LOVE the Free to be You and Me reference.
I am firmly on the “it’s creeping me the hell out, that robot won’t teach my baby to love ” end of the spectrum. I want my kids to develop creativity and imagination on their own rather than relying on digital toys to tell them how to play!
So when are they going to have Lamaze for Wii? Or do they already have that? Or “Giving Birth at Home” for Wii…will this ever end?
I also find it creepy that a game is going to measure how good a kid is at playing with her doll – it seems unnecessary. Isn’t it better for kids to decide on their own how to play with their dolls? My niece, for example, would put her baby doll to bed 10 times in an hour – probably not the most competitive thing to do!
So, my kids typically carry their baby dolls by their arms…the Wii alarms would probably go off for that… Good thing I’m not in Australia–I’m sure my daughter would want this!
My 4 year-old daughter would love this. My 6 year-old son would not. He doesn’t seem to have the nurturing gene built-in like my daughter does. Unless nurturing is defined as smashing action figure heads repeatedly with a toy box lid and pretending that they’re dead. My dog, on the other hand, would love to tear the baby doll to shreds. Maybe I’ll get it for him.
Does anyone know where they sell these with the dolls- not just the game?