Electronic Game Maker Lets Kids Do Their Marketing for Them
nytimes.com
It calls the "coolest" or most popular kids "alpha-pups" and talks about how a company is trying to find them and get them to promote games. Its a long article (4 pages) which is why I didn't quote it.
I will quote part of it -
"As a test of diligence, Pox proved
to be a problem for Angel,
because his mother wouldn't let
him play as long as his friends
did. Within two days of getting
the game, some of his friends
were up to Level 6, but Angel had
reached only Level 5. Sitting in
his living room after school, he
was trying to catch up, but his
mother, Elsa, was not looking
pleased. ''When are you going to
start your homework?'' she asked.
''I just have to get to the next
level,'' he said. He tried to argue
that his electronic quest was just as important as
homework. ''The game gets you smart. You have to, like,
find treasures and figure out a way to open doors to get to
the next level. You really do learn something on your
own.'' These seemed to him essential skills for his
intended occupation of explorer (''I'll climb mountains and
find stuff''), but he realized that the argument didn't go far
with his mother. He knew, as researchers say, that video
games are a ''gendered'' phenomenon. ''Girls don't like
these games,'' he said, putting down the Pox unit. ''They
like to play with little babies -- yuck!'' He grabbed a doll
from the floor and absent-mindedly flattened its plastic
head between his hands as he talked. ''My sisters like to
pretend they have babies and live in a house. They use
Monopoly money to go shopping. Boys like to play with
cool stuff. Boys like aliens. Boys are like, more, I don't
know how to say -- more mature.'' " |
